Proving Impairment in Montgomery County, PA DUID Cases

If you are pulled over and suspected of being under the influence of drugs in Pennsylvania, the following is information on the various ways the prosecution will try to prove your impairment in court. To learn more about DUID charges or to begin building a defense for your case, call and schedule a consultation with a Montgomery County DUI drug lawyer today.

How Impairment is Proven

In addition to blood tests, the government can prove that an individual is impaired in a number of ways. First, through scientific evidence, either with the results from a Breathalyzer machine or the results from a blood test. After a chemist analyzes such blood, they can determine if anything is in a person’s system. Additionally, the government can seek to introduce other pieces of evidence, which may or may not corroborate a person was under the influence of drugs or alcohol while at the time of driving.

An officer can testify to a person’s demeanor, a person’s stance, a person’s glance, the type of redness in a person’s eyes, the smell a person emanates, and whether or not there are any drugs or alcohol in a person’s vehicle at the time of stop. A person’s demeanor is often at the forefront. If a person seems overly nervous, is sweating profusely, has disheveled clothing, those are all signs that a person may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

An experienced Montgomery County DUI criminal defense attorney can challenge all of those instances. For example, it may be 3:00 in the morning and a person is simply tired or it may be an individual just work a 12-hour shift at work and wanted to get home. All of those defenses can be brought to light. However, the Commonwealth and government have their position and opinion.

Blood Testing in DUID Cases

In Pennsylvania, and more specifically in Montgomery County, authorities will test for the use of drugs or alcohol in a person’s system by drawing blood upon probable cause found at the time of a person’s DUI checkpoint or road stop. In Pennsylvania, the law has two requirements:

First that the individual was operating a motor vehicle

Secondly that the person who operated such motor vehicle was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and specifically drugs that made them incapable of operating a motor vehicle per se safely on the road in Pennsylvania.

They test for such by drawing blood at local hospitals. That blood is analyzed to determine if anything is in the system and whether the person imbibed in street level controlled substances as per se DUI, or the person overly imbibed in prescription drugs and can still be found guilty of driving under the influence.

Test Refusal

In Pennsylvania, a person should always submit to a blood or Breathalyzer test. If an individual refuses, the individual will automatically lose their license for an additional year on top of any possible license suspension for the DUI case. Also, any such refusal to a court and jury will be looked upon as evidence of a person not being able to drive safely on the streets of Philadelphia.
An experienced Montgomery County DUI criminal defense attorney can use all of their resources, experts, and any other materials necessary to challenge the results from a Breathalyzer machine or from a blood draw. When an individual refuses to give such, all defenses go out the window, and an attorney must develop a reason why the person refused to give blood or take a breath test, which sometimes is a very daunting task before a judge or jury.