Birmingham Building a DUI Drug Defense

While building a Birmingham DUI drug defense may seem like a stressful and overwhelming task, know that you do not have to face it alone. A skilled Birmingham defense attorney can assist you in crafting a professional strategy to help fight for your innocence. Read on to learn more about what goes into building a Birmingham DUI drug defense, as well as the ways a qualified DUI attorney could make a difference for your case.

In the State of Michigan, involuntary intoxication cannot be used as a defense for a drug DUI. There has been some exploration of the defense with certain drugs, where someone enters an unconscious state and continues to physically perform tasks. There have been examples where the individual has gotten in the car and driven on medications such as Ambien all while being in an unconscious state. There have been some attempts to try to bring that in as a defense, but there is no actual case law in Michigan that says it is allowed. It does not mean that it has not worked in positively resolving some cases, but as far as a general defense to drunk driving or drugged driving, there is no involuntary intoxication defense.

In a drunk driving case, it would be very difficult for the prosecutor to ever prove an instance of drunk driving because the defense would simply state that they did not intend to drive as they were too intoxicated to understand what was happening. Because of this reasoning, drunk driving is not considered a specific intent crime. There are certain states where drunk driving is a specific crime with a specific intent, but in Michigan, it is considered a general intent crime. A specific intent crime is a crime in which someone intends to commit the act. For example, stealing is considered a specific intent if someone takes something they know is not theirs. However, when building a Birmingham DUI drug defense, the question is not whether the individual intended to drive drunk, it is whether or not alcohol or drugs were affecting them when they were driving.

Blood testing is much more complicated to understand than breath testing, and not as many lawyers take the time or the effort to go out of their way to actually figure out how to do drug testing or what the science behind it means. Some may just accept the numbers at face value. Because blood and breath testing can have false positive results, it is very important that someone retains an attorney who has taken the time to understand what goes on behind the scenes and who can read those various charts and graphs received from the state testing lab in regards to various drugs and their analyses.

It is important to contact an attorney who understands where they are at, who the judges are, and who the prosecutors are. An attorney needs to be aware of who those key players are from day one to start crafting arguments and a defense, as a drugged driving charge is generally a misdemeanor that can potentially lead to more penalties down the road. If you require legal assistance in building a Birmingham DUI drug defense, reach out to a dedicated lawyer today to schedule your initial consultation.