Improper Stops: Stopping the Wrong Car

An officer must be able to clearly identify an automobile he has stopped and explain why it was stopped. If an officer receives a description from a dispatcher that is vague and stops a car that, more or less, resembles the description, that detention is in all likelihood invalid. For example, a BOLO (be on the lookout) for a maroon or brown Mercury or Ford does not justify the traffic stop of a maroon Ford Taurus. A BOLO for a white van, possibly a Ford, does not justify the detention of a white Ford Aerostar heading towards, not away from, the scene of a possible offense. Once again, if the traffic stop is invalid, all the evidence obtained after the stop should be suppressed.

More Strategies for Winning a DUI Trial in Georgia

Improper Stops

• Tips or Anonymous Calls
• Mistake of law
• Failure to maintain lane
• 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