Building a Delaware County Prescription Drug DUI Defense

If you have been charged with a prescription drug DUI, you could be facing serious penalties and long-term consequences. Therefore, it is crucial for you to reach out to a dedicated prescription drug DUI lawyer who could advocate for you. A dedicated attorney could help you with building a Delaware County prescription defense. Call today to get started.

Role of a Toxicologist in Prescription Drug DUI Cases

A toxicologist on the prosecution side is an expert witness who will analyze the blood report and testify at a trial based on their review of the toxicology report, the blood work, that the drug has impaired the defendant’s ability to operate a vehicle sufficiently under the statute. They also testify as to whether the draw that showed up in the blood report is the same as the ones that are outlined in the statute, which make it unlawful for the individual to drive under the effect of those drugs.

A toxicologist will be necessary when there is a blood report to explain to the jury, which will be a necessary witness most of the time for any prosecutor trying to prosecute a DUI offense against someone. A seasoned defense attorney will be experienced with cross-examining a toxicologist. This is crucial to building a Delaware County prescription drug DUI defense.

Importance of Providing all Prescription and Medical Information to Defense Attorney

Providing all the prescriptions that a person has to their defense attorney can be helpful for several purposes. For one, doing so can show that this prescription drug is used for medical purposes and not for recreational use. This information can be essential for negotiation with the prosecution, and it can be important for sentencing or approaching a judge about the charges.

In addition, based on the prescriptions and what is in the blood work, it might set up a defense of accidental intoxication or a good-faith mistake of fact when someone has a prescription for one medication and was provided something else. In this case, they may have been unintentionally intoxicated. Therefore, if the defendant was found to be driving at the time, then they would have no intention to be intoxicated at the time.

What if the Defendant Does Not Have a Prescription for the Drugs in Question?

A prescription drug DUI can be aggravated if the defendant does not have a prescription because they have gotten the prescription by someone other than a legal source. While not necessarily charged as a separate crime by the prosecutor or the judge, there is additional criminal activity, or perhaps, even an addiction issue in which someone is repeatedly getting prescription drugs through unlawful means. If this is an additional issue, then it must be addressed in the punishment or rehabilitative aspect of the case.

Preparing a Defense for a Prescription Drug DUI Charge in Delaware County

To start building a defense, the lawyer will want to look at the affidavit of the probable cause, which is the base summary by the police officers about what they did on their investigation and why they stopped the defendant or how they encountered a person and arrested them for a DUI. After this, they will want to find out more about the incident either from the defendant or from questioning the police officer about what statements were made, what explanation was given, if there were any witnesses available, or if there was a blood test taken.

When building a Delaware County prescription drug DUI defense, an attorney will investigate the facts of the case and look for any evidence that could be favorable to the defendant.