Smelling Alcohol On Breath: 3 Areas To Cross-Examine

If a Texas police officer smells alcohol on a drivers breath then there is about a 95 per cent  chance the driver will be arrested for DUI. There is tremendous pressure on law enforcement to aggressively pursue Texas DUI arrest. Most police departments have specially trained officers who target areas near restaurants and bars in order to stop and arrest intoxicated drivers. The first clue the officer is looking for after making a traffic stop is alcohol on the breath. In a DUI trial the criminal attorney must cross-examine the officer regarding the smell of alcohol on the defendant’s breath and make the following 3 points:

1. Type of beverage. Get the officer to admit he could not tell what type of alcoholic beverage was consumed by smelling the drivers breath. If the officer tries to tell the jury the exact type of liquor that was consumed then he can be made to look foolish on cross-examination.

2. How many drinks. Get the officer to admit that he can not tell the jury how many drinks the driver had from smelling his breath. Alcohol on the breath smells the same if you have had one drink or ten drinks.

3.  How recent drinks were consumed. Get the officer to admit he can’t tell the jury how recent the driver had a drink. He will have to say it could have been 10 minutes before the stop or 3 hours before the stop.

Cross-examining on these points will demonstrate that the prosecutors version of the DUI facts is not as strong as they purport it to be and will show to the jury that reasonable doubt exist in the case. If you are arrested for DUI meet with an experienced Dallas DUI Attorney who can investigate your case and tell what kind of defense is available.