Drunk-driving laws vary from state-to state. In Kentucky and all states, operating a motor vehicle after consuming alcohol and/or drugs is a serious offense. Both criminal and civil penalties apply and can include:

• Loss or suspension of license
• Large fines
• Substance-abuse treatment
• Jail or prison time
• Community service
• Restitution
• Criminal record

There is also a social stigma that comes with a charge of drunk driving and convictions can carry long-tem negative consequences - both for your career and otherwise.

If you have been stopped for, arrested or charged with drunk driving, you need to discuss your options and rights as soon as possible with an attorney.

Drunk-driving law can be a difficult and complicated area to defend. Sometimes, the additional effort to explore all the facts in the case and your possible defense can pay big dividends. In other instances, these efforts prove unsuccessful. Whatever the final result, know you did everything you could to reduce or mitigate the charges and long term results.

For example, the law requires that you are driving or operating a vehicle, which implies being in some sort of actual control or command. What if you are just sitting behind the wheel of a car? What if the keys were in your pocket and not in the ignition? What if you were not in a public place?

There are thousands of court cases defendants bring to court, many tried successfully, to account for technical issues that have not been addressed completely by the statutes. Your case might represent such an instance where the facts need to be explored and, in doing so, you could avoid a harsh punishment and the long-term consequences that come with a conviction.

Vehicle Requirement - Obviously, cars truck and vans are considered to be vehicles for drunk-driving law purposes. However, people have been convicted of drunk driving while operating motorboats, mopeds, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, electric wheelchairs, golf carts, bicycles and even ATVs.

Intoxication - Prosecutors frequently prove driver intoxication through testing of the amount of alcohol in the body, usually by analyzing breath or blood. Some judges have allowed defense attorneys to challenge the integrity of these results, based upon many factors. In some instances the manufacturers won't release the internal software used to make the alcohol concentration calculations, which proves legally problematic. The procedures used to administer the tests also have to be performed to a precise standard. If blood was taken, there are numerous criteria for taking and handling blood that must be followed and if not, the results might be thrown out.

In all states, a person with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) over .08 is considered legally intoxicated. Implied-consent laws create the legal presumption that when persons take advantage of the privilege of driving, they automatically consent to state-administered chemical testing to determine their BAC. If a driver refuses to take a chemical-alcohol test, his or her driver's license may be revoked or suspended.

Police conduct and observations also must be carefully scrutinized. For example, police gather important evidence of intoxication by administering standard field sobriety tests (FSTs) at the scenes of traffic stops. Was the weather particularly windy? Was the defendant in high heels, elderly, diabetic or otherwise in conditions that made performance of these tests difficult, even under perfect circumstances? There must also be a reasonable basis for pulling your car over in the first place.

Common field sobriety tests include:

• Finger-to-nose test
• One-legged stand
• Walk-and-turn test
• Horizontal-gaze-nystagmus test
• Picking up coins
• Counting backwards
• Reciting the alphabet
• Throwing and/or catching a ball

If you are facing a drunk driving charge, call me immediately to discuss your case.