Top Strategies to Beat DUI Charges: Insights from a Durango Attorney

Challenging the Traffic Stop Itself

The most powerful defense often comes first: Was the stop even legal?

Police need reasonable suspicion to pull you over. They must observe something specific—weaving between lanes, speeding, running a stop sign, broken taillight. "You looked suspicious" or "driving in a bar district late at night" don't meet the legal standard.

If the officer can't clearly articulate what traffic violation or suspicious behavior justified the stop, everything that happened afterward becomes questionable. No valid stop means no valid arrest, which often means no case.

Your attorney will scrutinize the officer's report and dashcam footage. Sometimes officers write one thing in their report but the video shows something different. That discrepancy creates reasonable doubt.

Attacking Field Sobriety Test Results

Field sobriety tests are subjective and notoriously unreliable. Sober people fail them regularly.

Common problems with these tests:

• Medical conditions (knee problems, back issues, inner ear disorders)

• Uneven pavement or gravel surfaces

• Poor weather conditions or inadequate lighting

• Uncomfortable footwear (heels, boots)

• Officer gave incorrect instructions

• Natural nervousness during a police encounter

Officers must follow standardized procedures exactly. If they modified the tests, failed to demonstrate them properly, or conducted them in unsuitable conditions, the results become questionable.

Experienced criminal defense representation knows exactly what to look for in the arrest video and officer testimony.

Questioning Breathalyzer Accuracy

Breathalyzers seem scientific and precise, but they're machines that make mistakes. Several factors can produce falsely high readings.

The device must be calibrated regularly according to strict schedules. Officers must be properly trained to use it. And specific procedures must be followed before and during the test.

Key breathalyzer defenses:

• Improper calibration or maintenance records

• Officer training issues or certification problems

• Mouth alcohol from recent drinking, mouthwash, or GERD

• Radio frequency interference from police equipment

• Failure to observe you for 20 minutes before testing

• Device software or firmware issues

Blood tests have their own vulnerabilities—improper draw procedures, contamination, chain of custody problems, or lab errors. These technical defenses require attorneys who understand the science behind the testing.

The Rising Blood Alcohol Defense

Your blood alcohol level continues rising after you stop drinking. This creates a timing problem for the prosecution.

Say you had your last drink at 10:30 PM, got pulled over at 11:00 PM, and didn't take a breath test until midnight. Your blood alcohol level could have been legal at 11:00 PM (when you were actually driving) but illegal by midnight when tested.

Colorado law says your BAC must be measured "at the time of driving or within two hours thereafter." The longer the delay between driving and testing, the stronger this defense becomes. Your alcohol level might have been rising throughout that time.

This works best when you can establish exactly when you stopped drinking and when the test occurred. Restaurant receipts, bar tabs, or witness testimony about your last drink can all support this defense.

Exposing Miranda Rights Violations

You've heard it on TV: "You have the right to remain silent..." But many people don't realize how powerful these rights actually are.

If police questioned you after arrest without reading Miranda warnings, those statements can't be used against you. Did you admit to drinking? Describe where you'd been? Explain how much you consumed? All potentially inadmissible.

Sometimes officers try to blur the line between casual conversation and formal questioning. Or they read you the warnings but then ignore your request for an attorney. These violations can suppress crucial evidence.

Proving You Weren't Actually Driving

This sounds simple, but "driving" isn't always obvious in DUI cases.

If police arrived after an accident and didn't witness you behind the wheel, they have to prove you were driving. Sometimes that's easy—you're the only person there, you admit you were driving. But sometimes it's not.

Multiple people in the car? Sleeping in a parked vehicle? Keys weren't in the ignition? All of these create reasonable doubt about whether you were actually "in actual physical control" of the vehicle.

Colorado courts have specific rules about what counts as being in control of a vehicle while impaired. NewbergerKing Law has successfully argued these cases when the facts support it.

Challenging Officer Credibility and Conduct

Police officers are human. They make mistakes, cut corners, and sometimes their credibility becomes an issue.

Does the officer have a history of disciplinary problems? Have they been caught lying in other cases? Has their testimony changed between the arrest report and trial?

These credibility issues matter enormously. Prosecutors build DUI cases largely on officer observations—slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, odor of alcohol, failed field tests. If the officer isn't credible, the foundation crumbles.

Sometimes officers also make procedural mistakes that violate your rights:

• Conducted an illegal search of your vehicle

• Coerced you into taking tests

• Failed to provide access to an attorney when requested

• Improperly handled evidence

The Disconnect Between Test Results and Impairment

Here's something most people don't know: You can have a blood alcohol level over 0.08 and still not be impaired.

Colorado has two types of DUI charges. One is based purely on your test results (per se DUI). The other requires proof of actual impairment—that alcohol affected your ability to drive safely.

If you had a high BAC but performed well on field sobriety tests, drove normally, spoke clearly, and showed no signs of impairment, that creates a "disconnect" the prosecution must explain. People have different tolerance levels. What impairs one person might not affect another the same way.

This defense works best when video evidence shows you acting normally despite test results.

When Multiple Strategies Work Together

Strong DUI defense rarely relies on a single strategy. Your attorney might challenge the legality of the stop AND question the breathalyzer calibration AND point out field sobriety test problems. Each issue creates doubt. Together, they can convince a prosecutor to reduce charges or persuade a jury to acquit.

Attorney Barrie Newberger King examines every case individually because what matters depends on your specific arrest circumstances, the evidence collected, and the weaknesses in the prosecution's case. That's why early involvement matters—the sooner an attorney starts investigating, the more defense options remain available.