Lesser Known Nevada DUI Facts
When the police pull a person over for suspected Nevada DUI, they first must have a legal reason for the stop. It cannot be on a hunch or only because they saw you leave a bar. However, law enforcement merely needs a legal reason to stop you. That threshold is very low. It can be something very minor such as speeding one mile an hour over the posted speed limit such as going 26 mph in a 25 mph zone. Another common reason for stopping suspected drunk drivers is weaving or failing to maintain your travel lane. These stops are difficult to dispute unless there exists some sort of independent evidence that you were not violating any traffic laws. That evidence could be a video from the officer’s dashboard camera or possibly an independent witness. Police cars are rarely outfitted with dashboard cameras and when they are, the video usually only confirms the illegal driving behavior. Your intoxicated friend sitting in your front seat is not helpful in disputing any claims made by law enforcement. For these reasons, among many others, it is crucial you retain the best DUI lawyers in Las Vegas to help you during this difficult process.
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The legal limit for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in Nevada is .08. However, there are other areas of a Nevada DUI that you can be pulled over and arrested for, such as: Nevada Marijuana DUI , Nevada Prescription Medication DUI , Nevada Illegal Substance DUI. Once you have been arrested by law enforcement for a DUI, the arresting officer is supposed to offer you, as a test for measurement of the alcohol in your system, the option of breath or blood. Obviously, if you have taken any medication such as painkillers or have used any street narcotics such as marijuana in the last 24 hours, you should choose breath. These drugs will not show up on a breath test. You still may be over the legal limit of .08 if you have been drinking. Your case will be made more difficult by the additional evidence of having certain medications or street narcotics in your system on top of the alcohol. If the arresting Officer has any indication or reason to believe you have taking certain drugs, he is not required to offer you the option of breath. He can legally have you take a blood test sometimes requiring a warrant from a Judge. Evidence that might lead the Officer to believe you have taken drugs might be he smells marijuana or another drug in your car or on your breath or person. He might view pill bottles or meds in your vehicle or find them when he searches you or your vehicle upon the DUI arrest. Often times a Defendant will have simply admitted that he or she has taken medication or used street drugs thinking the Officer will reward them for their honesty. In fact, the result of such honesty typically ends up with a blood test being required and a more solid case for the Prosecutor. Do not forget your 5th Amendment right to remain silent and not incriminate yourself.
There is no law or policy that specifically skips testing for drugs but, in general, if your blood comes back at .15 or higher, the arresting officer rarely requests further testing of your blood sample. The logic is the evidence is solid enough at a .15 so they do not need additional evidence of drug use to secure a conviction. Law enforcement will still, on occasion, request the additional testing by the labs. If the case is potentially a felony expect the additional testing. The case can be a felony if it was the 3rd DUI within 7 years. Even on a 1st DUI, if there was an accident and someone other than the arrested driver suffered more than bumps and bruises, the case could be a felony. Typically those injuries require permanent scarring, a broken bone or more severe injuries. If you have taken certain medications or partied like a rockstar, the safest approach is to not drive for a minimum of 24 hours. In some cases a longer period may be required for your metabolism to remove the drugs from your system.
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