The holidays are a time for joy and celebration for many Oregon families. People from all over the state get together to have fun, eat food and drink. Many of these celebration can last all day or for many days at a time. During all the fun, it is easy for people to consume too much food or drink without even noticing. While many people may feel the ill effects later in the evening, some realize too late -- after they have been pulled over on suspicion of driving while intoxicated.
In Oregon, police understand that during the holidays more people are on the roadways, and that some of these people are likely drunk. Therefore, officers in Marion County have increased patrols to look for drunk drivers. Starting on Dec. 20 and lasting through the holiday season the Marion County Sheriff's Office has increased DUI patrols. These police officers will be on the roadways and ready to arrest anyone that they suspect has been drinking and driving. The results of this sweep, will then be released after the holidays.
In order for these officers to arrest someone, the officers will need to show that the person's blood alcohol content level is above the state's legal limit of .08 percent. This can be shown through a variety of tests including blood test, urine test or breath test. A field sobriety test may also be conducted as further evidence of intoxication.
However, none of these tests are completely accurate all of the time. Depending on how a particular officer administers the test, or how the tests are stored and maintained the results can vary. Even a small variation from standard procedure may make the test results so unreliable in court that they must be thrown out. Everyone accused of DUI this holiday season should make sure that questioning the accuracy of the DUI tests is a part of their overall criminal defense strategy.
Source: The Oregonian, "Marion County steps up DUI traffic patrols for holidays," Lynne Terry, Dec. 20, 2013
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