Can I Fight a DUI if I Failed the Breathalyzer?
We hear this all the time. "They got me. I failed the breath test." Many people think a breath test number is the end of the story. It's not. It's just the beginning.
As a firm that has handled these cases for decades, we know that a DUI case is about process.
● Was the machine itself working right? These machines have to be calibrated, like a scale.
● Was the officer trained to use the machine?
● Did the officer have a legal reason to pull you over in the first place?
● Did they watch you for 15 minutes before the test, as required?
Even the "walk-and-turn" tests are shaky. A government study by NHTSA found that the 9-step-walk-and-turn test was only 79% accurate, at best, at guessing someone was over the limit.
A failed test is not a "guilty" verdict. It's one piece of evidence. Our job is to take that evidence apart, piece by piece.
