Evidence in a DC DUI Rising Blood Alcohol Defense
Evidence in a DC DUI rising blood alcohol defense is important information to understand in a DUI case. DC law does not define rising blood alcohol. Rising blood alcohol is a concept to argue in a DUI cases where a person’s alcohol level does not ratchet up in a moment-by-moment correlation with alcohol drinks they consumed. If an individual starts drinking alcohol at 6:00 PM, it takes time for the alcohol to work its way into the bloodstream.
It goes into their digestive track but does not immediately go into their bloodstream. In other words, if a person has a beer at 6 o’clock and finishes the beer at 6:05 they are not immediately under the effects of the amount of alcohol from that first beer. It takes time for the person’s body to process the alcohol. Contact a skilled DUI attorney to determine how you would like to proceed with your case.
Factors Influencing Rising BAC
Various factors influence the rate of absorption of alcohol in a person’s system: metabolism, age, weight, gender, the temperature of the body, and what the person ate when they were drinking. Another important factor is what else the person had to drink while they were drinking alcohol. Different factors come into play when analyzing the absorption of the alcohol into the bloodstream.
Under the concept of rising blood alcohol, if an individual consumes alcohol over a period of a few hours and then starts driving, the alcohol is not necessarily fully absorbed into their blood stream. When a person drinks, their blood alcohol content is rising or falling. When a person is driving after drinking alcohol and is pulled over by a police officer, their blood alcohol content could actually be lower than the results of breathalyzer tests done another time.
Breathalyzer Test
The person is taken back to a police station and by the time the breathalyzer test is administered their blood alcohol content is rising. A portion of the alcohol they consumed was not yet absorbed into their bloodstream, so they were not yet affected in any manner by that alcohol. Because there was a gap between the times they were driving and before they were tested with the breathalyzer, the results can be inaccurately high.
The results can show a greater amount of alcohol in the bloodstream than was actually present when the person was driving. Their blood alcohol level continued to rise as it was being absorbed even after the person ceased drinking. A defense attorney can make the argument that the blood alcohol level as reflected in the breathalyzer results is not an accurate reflection of the blood alcohol level when the individual was actually operating a motor vehicle.
Evidence Preparing Defense Involving Rising Blood Alcohol Level
When there is a possibility of a rising blood alcohol level defense, there must be some significant gap between when the individual operated the vehicle and when the breathalyzer test is completed. The police are aware that any significant gap can result in theoretical arguments about the accuracy of their test.
DC law does not have a specific provision limiting the amount of time in which the test must be administered after the operation. However, some jurisdictions mandate that the breath test must be administered within two hours of the individual’s driving. Otherwise, it cannot be admitted in the case. DC does not have that provision, so there is no strict deadline.
As more time goes by between the initial traffic stop and the administration of the breath test, the potential for a rising blood alcohol level defense increases. In addition to the time gap, the other evidence is how much the individual had to drink and at what point they started drinking and stopped drinking.
For evidence in a DC DUI rising blood alcohol defense to be successful, it is important to demonstrate that the individual’s operation of the motor vehicle was shortly after their consumption of alcohol. When the operation of the motor vehicle took place hours after the person’s consumption of alcohol, the argument that the alcohol was still rising is not as valid.
Police Reports
The police reports are fairly one-sided. The police officers emphasize everything that justifies and supports their decision to stop, arrest, and cite for DUI. That means there is a significant gap in the full story. A defense lawyer was not present, for obvious reasons, at the scene when the individual is stopped and investigated for a DUI, nor would they be present earlier when the individual was drinking.
It is critical that the lawyer obtains all of the information from the individual well beyond what the police report says about what they were doing before they were driving. The attorney needs to know everything the person can share about when and where they were drinking so they can get evidence showing what they were drinking, if that information assists in a rising blood alcohol defense. The defense attorney can pinpoint the important facts for the person to focus on to assist with getting the information, which can help form a coherent and persuasive argument to a court or jury. Evidence in a DC DUI rising blood alcohol defense requires every bit of information from an individual.
How a DC DUI Lawyer Can Help
A DUI defense lawyer can point out the important case factors to a person. One thing to remember is when an individual is stopped, investigated, and arrested for a DUI, the police complete their reports and their documentation, and send them to the prosecutor. The police officers already decided to issue a citation for a DUI and when they are writing the reports, they must justify why they arrested the individual when they request the Office of the Attorney General or the prosecutors to charge the individual with DUI.