Vince Neil, singer for the rock band Motley Crew, was charged with DUI. According to police reports. Neil’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was .08. The legal limit in Nevada, where Neil was arrested, is .08, the same level as Illinois DUI law provides for.
At this point, it is not clear how long after the DUI arrest Neil registered his .08 BAC. In Illinois, for instance, the police must, once the decision is made to arrest you for DUI, begin a 20-minute observation period. During that time, the police must confirm that you have not consumed any alcohol or done anything else that could cause a false reading (such as burping or regurgitating).
Furthermore, the test must be administered under specific conditions set for in Illinois State Police regulations. The officer administering the test must be properly trained, and the breath machine must undergo certification.
Failure of the police to follow these exacting procedures may result in dismissal of the DUI charges. Only a DUI lawyer will understand how to challenge the reliability of the Breathalyzer test results.
Another issue to examine is that in Illinois, the charge that the state must prove is that at the moment you were driving, you were under the influence of alcohol. Your BAC during any particular drinking episode rises gradually and then starts to fall. This is known as the absorption curve and anyone who consumes alcohol is familiar with it. You do not immediately notice any effects from drinking alcohol. It takes time to enter your bloodstream. Likewise, once you stop drinking, alcohol leaves your bloodstream.
The state must prove that you were impaired at the moment you were driving, not when you took the roadside standardized field sobriety tests (SFTS) or, and not when you took the Breathalyzer test. Typically, by the time the FSTS are administered and you are transported to the police station for testing, an hour or so has passed since the arrest.
If you are charged with a DUI in Illinois, by pleading guilty, you throw away the right to raises defenses, including those that relate to the validity of the Breathalyzer test. Only a DUI attorney has the ability to present these defenses in a convincing fashion.