Improper Stops: Tips or Anonymous Calls

In most situations an officer cannot stop you based solely on an anonymous call. The officer must observe an actual violation of the law before the stop is legal. However, over the past decade the Court of Appeals has eroded this Fourth amendment protection in DUI cases. The Court has issued an opinion stating that the odds of someone falsely reporting a suspected DUI are remote. Since only the cases resulting in an arrest end up in court, they will never have an opportunity to confirm their hunch.

Nevertheless, 911 calls lead to DUI arrests, and most of those arrests result in DUI convictions.  What is frequently overlooked is the fact that the dispatcher or officer must have a reasonable suspicion of criminal wrongdoing based on articulable facts, and not opinions, to justify a traffic stop.  Texas has some excellent case law on this point, and we are bringing it to the attention of Georgia judges with increasing success.  Remember that if you were stopped unlawfully, all of the evidence obtained as a result of the stop will be suppressed, and that means your DUI case will be dismissed.

How to win a DUI case: more strategies

Improper Stops

• Mistake of law
• Failure to maintain lane
• Stopping the wrong car
• Stopping for a hunch or just felt like it
• Stopping a vehicle for a different reason than the officer claims

Improper Arrest

• Improperly Administered Field Sobriety Tests
• Coerced Field Sobriety Tests
• Medical-Physical Conditions
• Illegal Extension of Stop
• Videos Don't Support Arrest Report

Improper Blood Test

• Proper Request
• Statutory Requirements
• Lab Mistakes

Improper Breath Test

• Rules
• Certification
• Certification of Machine
• Interferents
• Machine Not Calibrated
• Machine Malfunction

Procedural Mistakes

• Mirandize/Read Your Rights
• Implied Consent Warning
• Witness Appearance
• Inconsistent Statements by Law Enforcement Officer
• Expert Witness