Idaho Criminal Attorney Discusses DUI Traffic Stop

Many people don't know what constitutes probable cause for a DUI traffic stop. As and Idaho criminal attorney I hear the statement, "the police had no reason to pull me over" all the time. Whether the the police can pull you over or not depends upon reasonable cause. The police must have reasonable suspicion based upon their own actual observation of a person's questionable or unusual behavior to make a traffic stop for DUI.

I have seen an Idaho criminal attorney or two try to argue that swerving within your lane, for example, is not probable cause as long as you don't cross the dotted lines because that is not a crime in Idaho, but this Idaho criminal attorney believes that trying your case based solely upon that as a defense is a sure way to lose. The police are trained and know the tell tale signs of drunk driving. That is not to say, however, that the police cannot be mistaken. If, for instance, you have a medical condition or you lost your shoe while driving, you may have swerved within your lane, but that does not change the fact that the police observed unusual driving behavior. This first stop sets the stage for the police to further determine whether or not you are a candidate for a DUI. The question to challenge the initial stop has to be did the police have probable cause? If they stop you, don't smell alcohol on your breath and find that you pass field sobriety tests, then you are free to go and no constitutional right has been violated.

There are many ways to challenge a DUI but unless you did absolutely nothing and you can show that, the police are trained to give the information they need to to show that they had probable cause for the initial traffic stop.

For more information concerning DUI in Idaho please visit, www.duiboiseid.com or www.lawboiseid.com