Car Accidents and Lawyers to Reduce Stress

Posted on: 4 March 2015

There are many people each year who don't understand why they've been convicted by law enforcement officers, despite the fact that their blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was under the maximum federal limit. These convictions are typically called OUIs, also referred to as Operating Under the Influence. DUIs, also known as Driving Under the Influence, are different from OUIs in that the latter is incurred with a BAC lower than 0.08.

What leads to an OUI conviction?

There are essentially two things that will cause a law enforcement agent to convict you with an OUI:

• You blew through the breathalyzer and the results came out negative, but the agent firmly believes that you're under the influence
• You were pulled over because you showed signs of impairment in your driving, but your BAC is lower than 0.08

These two reasons challenge the traditional belief that a driver whose BAC is under the 0.08 limit is a legal driver in the U.S. What's even more surprising about these two reasons is that they're not featured among driving regulations. Yet, they lead to charges that can have serious consequences for you, such as a rise in your auto insurance premiums.

OUIs are usually hard to evidence

If you decide to appeal the charge for which you were convicted, the court will hold a hearing between you and the agent. When called to explain what led them to convict you, the officer will base their decision on

• Your poor driving behavior
• The results recorded by the breathalyzer

This is exactly when the court case can be turned to your favor. Indeed, without any tangible evidence proving that you were driving under the influence, the agent's arguments will be too weak to be considered by the judge. 

OUI cases are significantly harder to prove than DUI cases. This means that the only way the officer's arguments can be strengthened is if they say that they spotted you drinking alcohol or smoking illicit substances while behind the wheel, for example.

As you prepare to go through the appeal process, you'll have to choose between self-representation and legal representation. The latter is highly recommended not only because of the accident lawyer's ability to easily break down the strategy applied by the other party, but also because of the peace of mind that comes with knowing that your case is being handled by a knowledgeable professional like The Law Office of Frederick J. Brynn, P.C.