Free DUI Lawyer In California

Reader’s Question:

I did a little research about alcohol because my daughter has been arrested for DUI here in Buena Park, California. One of the reasons my daughter was asked to do the field sobriety tests is because the officer said that he smelled strong odor of alcohol on my daughter’s breath. I found out that alcohol really does not have an odor, so could she use this as a defense on her DUI case?

Piper

Buena Park, CA

Yes, your daughter can definitely use that as a defense on her DUI case in Buena Park, California. I bet you can never see a DUI case where the police officer doesn’t report an odor of alcohol on the DUI suspect’s breath. The officer actually expects to smell it and it is a psychological fact that we see, hear and smell what we expect to see, hear and smell. As a matter of fact, most DUI police reports are formatted for the usual symptoms: there would be a box for “odor of alcohol”, which the officer checks off. There are three boxes labelled as “strong”, “moderate” and “weak.” The “strong” box is usually checked because presumably, the stronger the odor of alcohol, the more intoxicated the person arrested; and the problem with that is alcohol has no odor. Even a non-alcoholic drink can smell like the “odor of alcohol,” when in fact, what the officer smells is not ethyl alcohol but the flavoring in the beverage.

And, of course, there could be a number of causes of an “odor of alcohol” on a person’s breath such as mouth wash, throat spray and cough syrup. Indigestion, illness or simple bad breath has been the cause of more than one officer’s trigger-quick conclusion that the suspect has an “odor of alcohol on his breath.” The main point is that the odor of alcohol has very little relevance in a DUI case. It could or could not indicate that the person has consumed alcohol. It has no evidentiary value as to how much the person has consumed, what he had to drink and when.

Reader’s Question:

If I try to run around to sober me up first before driving, will I be safe in taking a breath test for a DWI arrest in California if in case I was caught by a policeman? How long after consuming an alcoholic drink can they detect it with a breath tester?

Samuel.

Bakersfield, CA

As we know, alcohol does not remain in the blood long enough for most tests to detect recent use. That is why breathalyzers and oral fluid tests are now being commonly used by law enforcement officers in California to easily and conveniently detect current use of alcohol on a DWI subject. Exercising won’t help you sober up faster after drinking too much alcohol. Thus, it will not be safe but it will just be tiring for you if you do that.
Detection of alcohol with a breath tester, depends on how much the person had to drink, and how long ago they drank. Alcohol is eliminated in the body at the constant rate of about .015% BAC per hour, that is about one drink per hour. If a person had only one drink, the maximum intoxication level they might have would be about .02%. This means that within one hour, their alcohol level would possibly be about zero. On the other hand, if a person had an alcohol level twice the legal limit for drunk driving in most states, for example, .20%, it would take13 hours or more for their alcohol level to reach zero after they stopped drinking. Breath alcohol testers measures blood alcohol level, which is an actual measure of intoxication. Therefore, a person who is not intoxicated has no alcohol in their bloodstream, and a breath alcohol test will provide a negative result.