Stone Mountain Georgia DUI stops and arrests

A Stone Mountain police officer cannot randomly  stop vehicles for DUI (at least not legally).  They must have some reasonable basis for pulling the driver over.  This could be some type of erractic driving like failure to maintain lane or failure to yield, running a stop sign, no seatbelt, etc.  Once the driver is pulled over, the officer will question the driver.  The officer then needs some probable cause to make a DUI arrest.  In a common fact pattern, the officer will say that they smelled the odor of alcohol on the persons breath and that they appeared drunk based on glassy eyes and slurred speech.  The officer will administer some field sobriety tests and then tell the driver that they failed.  They Stone Mountain officer will next ask the driver to submit to a breathalyzer or blood test.  If the result is over the legal limit of .08 for a driver over 21, the person will be charged with DUI per se (or unlawful blood alcohol content).  

Police officers often do not have the probable cause they need to make such arrests.  There may have been no basis to stop the driver in the first place.  The field sobriety tests could have been improperly administer.  The officer may not be properly licenses and trained in giving the breath test.  They may have incorrectly made the implied consent warning.  If you are charged with a Stone Mountain or DeKalb County DUI charge, call the Law Office of Richard Lawson for a free consultation.  DUI cases can be contested and won.