Oregon DUI (aka Driving Under the Influence, DUII, DWI, or in the vernacular “drunk driving”) lawyers, are often asked a common question: Is a police officer is required to see that individual drive before he or she can charge someone with DUI. In Oregon, it is not required for an officer arresting someone for DUI to have seen that individual drive. In fact, it is not uncommon for an officer to use circumstantial evidence to establish that the person has in fact driven. This often comes by way of the accused DUII driver’s statements to the officer about how they got to a particular location in conjunction with the vehicle that the officer believes that they have driven having, for example, a warm hood. There are also circumstances where witnesses, other than the driver, attest to the person having driven the vehicle.
One of the issues that arises where an officer has not seen a driver drive to the location where the officer has contacted the drunk driving suspect, and believes that that person has driven under the influence of intoxicants, is whether or not that DUI suspect consumed any alcohol once they arrived. Of course the question is not whether they were under the influence at their home or other location, the question is whether that person was under the influence of alcohol or other intoxicant at the time of the driving. More often than not, the officer will actually ask the individual whether they had consumed any alcohol or controlled substances or intoxicants once they arrived at the scene. If the individual tells the officer that they have not consumed any such intoxicant, in most cases, that individual’s statement to the officer would be admissible evidence before a jury. Of course, an experienced Oregon DUI criminal defense lawyer is going to be on the lookout for whether the officer’s interview with the alleged DUII driver was properly conducted in relation to the point in time where an officer should have read the Miranda Rights to that individual. A defense attorney can file a motion to suppress any statements that were unlawfully obtained from an accused DUII driver, and if the court rules in favor of the defense attorney’s motion to suppress, then the prosecution would not be allowed to tell the jury about that statement from the alleged DUII driver.
An experienced Oregon DUII (aka Driving Under the Influence, DUI, DWI, or in the vernacular “drunk driving”) criminal defense lawyer evaluates the police reports in a case where the officer does not claim to have seen the individual driving to determine whether or not there appears to be sufficient admissible evidence to establish that the person actually drove. Even if the client is alleged to have told the officer that he did not consume any alcohol after he drove, that attorney should evaluate whether the officer followed proper procedure in determining when the officer should have provided the client with his Miranda Rights.
The Duvall Law Office represents felony and misdemeanor DUII clients throughout the state of Oregon. The office is located in Lane County, Oregon, and spends much of its time defending felony and misdemeanor DUII charges in Lane County Circuit Court and other municipal courts in the area including Eugene, Springfield, Cottage Grove, Florence, Junction City and Coburg. It also represents individuals in the surrounding counties and appears regularly in Benton County Circuit Court, Linn County Circuit Court, and Douglas County Circuit Court. Please contact the Duvall Law Office to schedule an appointment to schedule your case: 541-345-4500.