How Do Oklahoma’s Per Se DUI Laws Affect Me if I’m Charged?
Tulsa, OK- When you are pulled over for suspicion of drunken driving, police need to have a reason to arrest you. They must be able to show that you are impaired, and they typically do so by asking you to agree to a breathalyzer test. And, if your blood alcohol concentration is above Oklahoma’s legal limit or 0.08, the prosecution will evidence to secure a conviction. Here our team of DUI lawyers in Oklahoma will discuss how the state’s per se laws affect their DUI charges.
First, we’ll explain what “per se” means. Oklahoma’s per se laws mean it is illegal to drive with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 or higher. With per se laws, prosecutors do not have to show that you were impaired to convict you of a DUI, they only have to show that your blood alcohol concentration exceeded 0.08 percent, the state’s legal limit. If your BAC did exceed the legal limit, you need to have a defense lawyer on your side to counter the prosecution’s evidence.
Per se laws help the prosecution and force you to present a more robust defense. The law presumes that since you have reached the legal limit of 0.08 percent, you are too impaired to drive whether that is true or not. Each individual metabolizes alcohol differently, and it may not affect one person as it does another. Per se laws don’t take this into consideration and are stringently applied.
Basically, per se laws make it harder for you to challenge your DUI. One way to counter the prosecution’s evidence is to question the accuracy of breathalyzers. While breathalyzers are considered scientifically accurate, they are not completely infallible and can have issues with accuracy especially if they are not regularly calibrated or maintained. Breathalyzers are also inaccurate if they are used by someone who has received the right kind of training.
In addition to making an effective defense difficult, Oklahoma’s per se standards mean some DUI offenders can be wrongfully arrested and charged. A person who has a medical condition such as diabetes or auto-brewery syndrome, a person can be charged with a DUI even if they weren’t impaired. That happens more than you think and if you find yourself in that situation, you definitely need legal help.
You should not ignore the seriousness of a DUI charge. If you are convicted, you face jail time, costly fines and will have your driver’s license suspended. USAttorneys wants to emphasize the importance of retaining a DUI lawyer near your Tulsa, Oklahoma location to examine the facts of your case and lay out a defense strategy that will get the best results. Call a DUI lawyer today and discover the different paths you have to resolve your case with the best possible outcome. More is at stake than you realize.
Don’t face DUI charges alone; contact USAttorneys.
