Challenging the DUI Evidence in Lincoln

Under the law, you are not guilty of DUI when you “fail” a field sobriety test or Breathalyzer test. You are not guilty of anything unless you enter a plea or you are convicted at trial.

Berry Law thoroughly examines the circumstances of your drunk driving arrest to explore your possible defenses. We aggressively challenge DUI charges, especially when the harsh consequences of a conviction leave little choice.

Contact our proven criminal defense lawyers to protect your rights. We have helped clients across Lincoln beat DUI charges or mitigate the punishment by aggressively challenging the prosecution’s case.

Building a Defense for DUI in Lincoln

Tougher laws have made it more difficult to fight a DUI, yet there are many legitimate defenses:

• The traffic stop — What was the real reason for the stop? Did the officer have probable cause to believe a traffic violation had taken place or reasonable suspicion that criminal activity was afoot?
• Field sobriety tests — The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests can detect an impairment to a reasonable degree, but only when properly administered. The three standard tests are the Walk-and-Turn, One-Leg Stand and the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test. DUI attorney Chad Wythers is trained and certified to administer field sobriety tests (FSTs) used by police. He understands the many factors that can affect performance.
• “Breathalyzer” results — The Intoxilyzer 5000 or Datamaster machines used by Nebraska law enforcement are not infallible. They must be properly calibrated and carefully administered. Even when used correctly, the margin of error for blood-alcohol content (BAC) is as high as 30 percent according to some forensic toxicologists. We commonly recommend our clients hire toxicology experts to dispute the test results, especially when the BAC reading is “on the bubble” of .08 (DUI) or .15 (enhanced charges).
• Squad car video — Dash-mounted cameras can contradict the officer’s written reports or testimony. More importantly they provide an accurate record of what actually happened. The video may show that the officer improperly administered the field sobriety tests or that contrary to the officer’s opinion, the defendant did not display the signs of impairment that the officer reported.
• Arrest, search and seizure — We examine whether the law enforcement violated your constitutional protections in stopping your car, making the arrest, ignoring your requests for an attorney or denying your request for an additional chemical test.

Challenging the DUI Evidence and Breath Test in Lincoln

These are just some of the ways we have successfully challenged DUI arrests. We exhaust every defense to spare you from jail, loss of license, a criminal record and the other consequences.