Driving while under the influence of alcohol is a serious charge. It could land you behind bars for anywhere from a month up to a year or more, depending on how many times you have been in trouble in the past. You could also wind up losing your license and having to pay a lot of fines. In the event you were charged with a DWI and want to fight the charge, there are a few different defenses that your attorney might be able to use in your case.

They can challenge whether the stop was legal or not.

Police officers can't go around just pulling people over for the heck of it. There has to be a reason for them to do so. If they believe that you have committed some type of criminal activity, they have every right to pull you over and conduct a small investigation. This can include things like giving you a series of field tests to determine if you were in fact driving while intoxicated.

Oftentimes, a DWI charge is the result of an officer pulling an individual over because they were speeding, weaving between lanes, tailgating or driving on the shoulder of the road. However, just because you were doing those things that doesn't mean you had too much to drink. It might be that you were reaching for a CD and swerved lanes or the weather was bad and you were having a hard time seeing in front of you.

They can dispute whether the suspicions are accurate or the result of something else.

While the officer investigates whether you are in fact under the influence or not, they are looking for certain telltale signs. If the officer smells alcohol on your breath, your speech is slurred, your eyes are bloodshot or your motor skills are lacking, they will often bring you in for driving under the influence. All of these things are typically notated in your case file. However, there are other reasons for these things beyond just have a few too many drinks. Things like a medication that you were recently prescribed, using a mouthwash with alcohol in it and a medical condition can all cause similar symptoms and have nothing to do with being inebriated.

Your lawyer can go through the evidence and begin building your case to help get the charges reduced or dropped and get your life back.

For a DWI lawyer, contact a law firm such as Garrett Law Firm, PA.