Reader’s Question:

My cousin was arrested for DUI here in East Seattle, Washington and he told me that his lawyer visited the place where he was arrested. Is it necessary for the lawyer to personally check out the arrest location?

Brynn

East Seattle, WA

Visiting the arrest location can be exceedingly crucial in your cousin’s DUI case in East Seattle, Washington. A good DUI defense lawyer usually takes pictures of the spot where the tests were given. The reason behind this is to point out that the particular location made the field sobriety tests difficult to perform. An example is that if there was a heavy traffic speeding by on a highway or if the of the road used for the roadside test is slanted because a slanting road automatically make the field sobriety tests more difficult to perform. Another thing is that a winding road may be able to explain erratic driving.

Seeing and knowing these things would make it much easier for your cousin’s DUI lawyer to ask probing questions about the field sobriety tests and in some cases, point out a physical impossibility to the jury. Another example is that the officer may testify that your cousin wove too many times on the road but there could not have been enough time for him to weave many times in a given stretch of road. There also could have been obstacles preventing him from driving with two wheels on the sidewalk.

Tags: DUI, DUI lawyer, field sobriety tests