Chattahoochee County GA defense lawyers
Columbus GA DUI lawyer
In a normal drunk driving criminal trial, the State has to establish that the driver was a less safe driver due to alcohol consumed. This type of lawsuit can be pursued even if no test result exists. When a person has taken a blood, breath, or urine test, the State must introduce evidence of the result. To assist the prosecutor establish “less safe” driving, the government passed a law which permits the prosecution to benefit from certain “legal” presumptions. A blood alcohol level of .
08 is the level of “presumed” impairment for persons 18 or older. This presumption plays an important role at trial when the prosecutor requests the judge to instruct the jurors that if they believe that the prosecutor has demonstrated beyond a reasonable doubt that the driver had an alcohol level of 0.08% or more, that the jurors must “infer” that the driver was impaired. This inference, nonetheless, may be disputed by the driver, and evidence showing lack of impairment can be produced.
GA law also sets forth other “inferences” in the law, including the fact that persons who have a blood alcohol level of .05 or under are presumed to NOT be impaired by alcohol. Whereas, the prosecutor can try to refute that “presumption” by other proof. If a person is .06 or .07, neither the driver nor the prosecution is given the benefit of an “inference”.
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Columbus GA DUI Lawyer | Fort Benning Georgia Criminal Defense Attorney.
www.columbus-dui-defense.com
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