Paul Horton: Top DUI in Taylorsville Utah

When police in Utah find a person that they believe is driving in suspicious manner, they often pull the car over. The traffic stop can be for driving too slowly, too quickly, for a broken tail light or for many other reasons. In some cases, drivers are pulled over when officers suspect DUI is the cause of their erratic driving. This is when you need a DUI Lawyer.

Utah anchor faced DUI charges after arrest

This is what happened recently to a local television personality in Utah. On a spring evening, the woman was travelling slowly in the left lane of a highway. Noticing this, an officer pulled her over for a traffic stop. Once the woman stopped her vehicle, the officer noticed a cup with a straw in it in her car. The cup turned out to be filled with alcohol.

Field sobriety tests were administered on the woman, though she refused to take a preliminary breath test at the scene. Instead she requested and received a blood draw at the local station. In the end, she was accused of having a .10 blood alcohol level, which is above the state DUI limit of .08.

This finding led to a DUI charge for the Utah woman. She mounted a defense against the charge and eventually plead guilty to a lesser crime. This allowed her to pay a fine and serve community service rather than face jail time for her crime. Mounting the defense proved to be a good choice for the accused woman, and many in the state may find that taking similar actions could help to ensure that they receive a fair and appropriate outcome in their individual case.

Is stopping at DUI checkpoints legally required?

Many law enforcement agencies throughout the country use checkpoints in an attempt to deter drivers from getting behind the wheel of their vehicles after drinking. The question becomes whether Utah drivers are legally required to stop at DUI checkpoints. As is the case with other legal issues, the answer is complicated.

The first question that needs to be answered is whether these checkpoints are even legal in Utah. The simple answer is that they have been legal since 1992. However, law enforcement agencies cannot simply set up such a checkpoint without first adhering to certain parameters. First, a court order must be obtained to conduct such an operation.

Thereafter, the public must be notified before the checkpoint takes place. This gives drivers the option to avoid the area if they choose. However, for those vehicles that do approach the location, their ability to avoid being stopped is somewhat limited. If a driver attempts to perform an illegal maneuver in order to avoid the checkpoint, he or she could face legal consequences. One source indicates that police could charge a driver with disorderly conduct under these circumstances.

For those drivers who are arrested on suspicion of DUI, it would be in their best interest to obtain legal counsel as soon as possible in order to ensure that their rights are protected. Just because an individual is taken into custody for driving under the influence does not necessarily mean that the charges will stand. Even if the arrest was legal, it is not a foregone conclusion that the driver will be found guilty. The charges must still be proved beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law before any penalties can be imposed on an accused individual.