You’re a rapper who annoys all the cornballs who slam hip-hop culture. Your gangsta anthems have inspired armies of alienated urban youth deep in crisis.
You’re chilling with the Queen Bee at your Westport bang pad when the Prez of Rig Records materializes at your front door, toting a bottle of Dom Pérignon, to announce Street Sweep just topped 4 million in worldwide album sales.
Bling’s not your thing, the Prez knows, nodding solemnly towards the driveway. He’s showing his love with a spanking new red Porsche 911 Turbo Cabriolet.
Next thing you know, you’re gliding down a Connecticut country road past fragrant fields, farmhouses hidden by dense trees, and ponds with water that shimmers like glass.
You’re not even pushing it as you lean into the winding curves. The Queen Bee pops the Dom Pérignon, the wind whipping through her long locks, and the whole world assumes a new benevolence.
Then, you hear a siren. You peep the lights in the rearview. It’s the Man.
After pulling over, the dumbass motorcycle cop is hovering over you belligerently. You see your own reflection in his mirror shades. You’re wearing a headscarf, a Rig Records tee, and jeans. He reads it for gritty gang, and gleefully announces you were speeding. When the Queen Bee gets out of the car to hotly protest, holding the gushing Dom Pérignon, she trips in her stiletto heels. The officer grins buffoonishly, then asks you to take a breath test.
Undaunted, you say, “Sure, you know I got love for the Man.”
A moment later, reading the portable breathalyzer, the Man announces you flunked the test. You’re arrested for speeding while under the influence.
What Is It?
Traffic violations run a wide range of vehicular transgressions, including driving without a license, registration, insurance, or seat belts, violating emissions standards, ignoring required mechanical standards, speeding, driving recklessly, and perhaps the most serious, driving drunk or under the influence of drugs. A traffic defense attorney specializes in legal strategies designed to assist you when you have road trouble like this.
Who Needs It?
If you’ve been cited or arrested for violating a traffic law, your safest and wisest first step is to contact an ace traffic violations defense attorney. Even convictions for minor traffic offenses, such as making an illegal u-turn, can negatively impact your driving record and auto insurance rate. A speeding charge will definitely affect your record and rates. Convictions on reckless driving, leaving the scene of an accident, or driving under the influence can be life-changers.
On the topic of drunken driving in particular, many defense attorneys feel that well-publicized campaigns to fix the country’s chronic drunken driving problem has created a “DUI exception to the Constitution.” They argue that in as many as one-third of all DUI arrests, the driver is innocent of the charge.
Benefits
Police must produce evidence of a violation. It’s the role of a defense attorney to assess its reliability. A prudent defense attorney will not directly attack a police officer in court. He’ll avoid irritating the judge or offending the police department, and present your case in a manner that encourages civility and mutual respect. But he will vigorously attack the evidence.
In your D.U.I. case, for instance, if you fail a breath test, and you’re certain your blood-alcohol level was below the legal limit, your defense attorney will question the reliability of the breath test by terming it a “false positive.” The best traffic violations attorneys are on top of the physics, biophysics, chemistry, and medical technology of the breath test. Portable breathalyzers are frequently poorly calibrated or inaccurate. Moreover, they’re designed to measure the chemicals found in consumable alcohol, but these same chemicals are commonly used in non-intoxicating over-the-counter medications.
Another issue your attorney will be keenly aware of is the execution of physical sobriety tests. Say, for instance, when a driver is asked to stand on one leg, with the other bent at 90 degrees, and hold that position without swaying for a period of 30 seconds. In this instance, the police officer is required to ask whether the driver might have any physical impairment that prevents them from performing the task. If the officer fails to consider the physical abilities of the driver, your attorney will see to it that the charges are dismissed. For instance, a woman wearing stiletto heels will be handicapped when performing a one-leg stand test.
For speeding violations, just as a conscientious defense attorney will challenge the technology of breathalyzers, he or she will assiduously question the accuracy of electronic devices for monitoring speed. Moreover, officer’s training will be examined, as well as the device’s maintenance records. It is not uncommon that a police officer did not properly use or maintain his radar or laser gun, and its reading proved to be inadmissible.
Moreover, it there was not a proper posting of the speed limit, or the speed limit sign was hidden by foliage or not posted in compliance with state or local regulation, the charges can be thrown out.
Another serious concern a skilled attorney will raise is whether the traffic stop was justified at all. Police do not subject all drivers to traffic stops. Rather, if the driver happens to look like, say, a “gangster,” the traffic stop might simply be a pretext for pulling your car over to inspect its contents. A hugely disproportionate number of African-Americans and Hispanics are stopped and ticketed for dubious violations simply as an excuse for searching for illegal weapons, drugs, or cash profits. Such actions, your attorney will note, constitute a direct violation of the Constitution’s 4th Amendment.
Risks
Not having legal representation when facing serious traffic violations means you run the bleak possibility of losing your job, your community standing, and if you’re in the middle of a divorce, the loss of child custody.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the legal expertise and advice of your attorney. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about litigation with an appropriate legal expert.
