do you have a chance of fighting a particular dui in california?

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the person was driving and then saw a dui checkpoint coming up. he then turned onto a street about 2-300 feet away from the checkpoint and made another right turn immediately. the line of sight was clearly broken between him and any officers and so he exited his car and started to walk away. when he got about 15-20 feet away from his car an officer turned the corner on a motorcycle and approached him. he admitted to having a few drinks but does not think that he admitted to driving under the influence, if he did admit to driving it was under duress from the officers (3). he then was submitted to alcohol tests and arrested for a dui. Does this person have a chance in court arguing that he was not driving the car? or maybe that someone in the same type of car drove away and this person was just in the wrong place at the wrong time? also if the officers demeanor was at all inappropriate does it matter in court? thank you for your time


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  1. John Buckley says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:02 am

    I don’t know California case law on this subject but in Colorado, as long as he didn’t commit a traffic offense in avoiding the sobriety checkpoint, simply avoiding the checkpoint does not rise to the level of ‘reasonable suspicion’ necessary to initiate contact. The question then becomes one of what other grounds did law enforcement have to contact your friend.

    Without something else, I think there is a significant 4th amendment problem with the contact and your friend should contact a defense attorney immediately.

    Additionally, they should contact the DMV to find out if they are entitled to a hearing on their driving privileges. Again, in Colorado, this must happen very quickly — within 7 days, or they waive their right to the hearing and receive an automatic 3 month suspension of their driver’s license.

  2. sweetangie714 says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:02 am

    if you can prove it.. now think..how can u prove it? u have pictures, you have videos of the other car ..? otherwise, i dont think you have a chance especially the courts here in california.. DUI’s are badddddddddddddd out here.. sadly though, you taking the time to want to prove something may show that you somewhat care and you stick up fo ur rights and what not.. but u got the worse thing of the worse, a DUI.. not a speeding ticket.. so i doubt you have any chance.

  3. Uncle Ben says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:02 am

    Doesn’t sound like he can be placed behind the wheel…Hire a good attorney…

  4. Cookie says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:02 am

    It’s possible because there is a grey area and it will be interesting to see what the police report says also what his BAC was. If it were me, I’d fight it. I’ve fought several and I’ve been successful in most of my attempts (not all lol) A lot of it has to do with how you set it up before the judge starts to hear the case. Also the D.A. and the attorney can make or break you. I don’t believe they can prove beyond a reasonable doubt that it was him driving. There are all kinds of scenarios you can come up with.
    If you want to email me, I’ll try to help as much as I can.

  5. Kate says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:02 am

    This is such a law school question. And there is a case on this issue. At a dedicated DUI check point, which is advertised in advance in the local newspaper, a vehicle making a U Turn to avoid the stop creates reasonable suspicion to stop and detain the driver… even when he walks away from the car. The cops saw the U Turn!

    As for submitting to BAC (blood alcohol) testing under duress, there is NO such thing in CA. When you take your CDL test, you agree to voluntarily submit to BAC testing, if requested or face a one year CDL suspension. This person will be convicted by plea bargain or by jury.

  6. mikeysco says:
    September 16, 2009 at 4:02 am

    First things first:

    You don’t have all the details here so it’s going to be difficult to give you a certain answer.

    It’s entirely possible this person can be convicted of DUI based on what you said and even more likely depending on what you didn’t say.

    Does this person have a chance in court? Yes. But how good that chance is would be impossible to predict without seeing the arrest report. My educated guess is the chance of beating it is slim.

    Inappropriate demeanor isn’t something that’s normally a matter for the courts to handle but you’d have to explain what you’re talking about for anyone to be able to guess.

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