DUI Law Research Center



Top Ten PA DUI Defenses

1. The police cannot prove that you had actual physical control of the movement of a motor vehicle.

The Pennsylvania DUI Law requires actual physical control over the movement of a vehicle before a conviction can result. Were you in the passenger seat? Were the keys in the ignition?

2. The police cannot prove that you had a blood or breath alcohol level of .08% within two hours of your having actual physical control of a vehicle.

If police cannot prove when you had control of the vehicle, they cannot prove that your blood was drawn within two hours of the time of driving, which is required under the statute.

3. There was not "reasonable suspicion" that a crime was being committed, thus the traffic stop was illegal.

Without a "reasonable suspicion" that a crime was being committed, an officer does not have the ability to make a traffic stop. Crossing the yellow line or the white fog line a couple of times has been found not to constitute enough reasonable suspicion to make a stop. There are many other examples where courts have found that there was not enough reasonable suspicion to make a stop.

4. Due to variances inherent in chemical testing, the police cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that your blood alcohol level was over .08%.

In Pennsylvania, there are three tiers of DUI offenses. If you blood alcohol is within twenty percent of one of these tiers, it may be possible to offer evidence that you were not "beyond a reasonable doubt" over the legal limit.

5. According to Commonwealth v. Haag, you cannot be charged as a second offender until you have been sentenced on a first offense or you have accepted ARD on a first offense. Make sure you are being charged correctly.

It also follows that you cannot be charged as a third offender until you have been convicted or found guilty of a second offense. This is due to a very recent caselaw change and many prosecutors are not fully aware of the ramifications.

6. Breath testing equipment was not calibrated correctly.

Many times the breath testing equipment used in the Commonwealth is very old. Many times the machines are not calibrated correctly. Without proof of calibration, the breath test results cannot stand.

7. An observation period was not used before breath testing was done.

In order for the breath test results to be accurate, the police must follow a strict twenty minute observation period before they can ask for a breath sample. They must closely monitor you to ensure that you do not eat or drink anything during this time. Without proof that this period took place, the breath tests are invalid.

8. The police did not have jurisdiction to make the stop.

Pennsylvania has a multitude of different law enforcement bodies, each with jurisdictional boundaries. If you were stopped by an officer who was outside of his jurisdiction, the stop is most likely no good. Although exceptions apply here to hot pursuit and other situations, many of these out of jurisdiction stops can be successfully challenged.

9. The police did not have probable cause to make an arrest after they made the traffic stop.

Once you have been stopped, police have to have probable cause to arrest you. Many times police use field sobriety tests that are not recognized by the National Highway Transportation Safety Board.  Many times police do not have the required probable cause to arrest. When are arrest is made without probable cause, a court cannot consider the evidence which came from arrest.

10. The checkpoint was not valid.

To determine if a DUI checkpoint is legal, courts look at 5 different factors. If any one of the factors is missing, a court must find that the checkpoint was an illegal stop, and the evidence produced cannot be used in court.

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