PROVEN PROTECTION OF OWI LAWYERS ANYWHERE IN INDIANA
An OWI Attorney in Indiana must fulfill several roles when representing a client. One of the first is to discuss how we will label a drunk driving offense. People legitimately get confused with the terms DUI DWI & OWI in Indiana and often want to know the legal difference between terms. The simple answer is that there is no legal difference, as all refer to the same offenses for Operating While Intoxicated in Indiana. As people are more comfortable comprehending the terms with which they are familiar, I have attempted to use the terms interchangeably throughout this website whenever possible.
One of the most important attributes of a skilled OWI Lawyer in Indiana is the ability to communicate with a client. The lawyer must understand that one in need of a drunk driving lawyer will often have many feelings when speaking to a defense attorney; sadness, biterness and/or fear are all common. In my experience, clients are not unreasonable in their expectations of an owi attorney. They expect calls to be returned promptly. They expect me to provide them with information that is knowledgable and told in a clear way that they can understand. Most importantly, they want to know that I care . They want to know that they have retained an owi lawyer who will fight and do everything legally possible to protect them. They do not want to be made to feel as though they are inconveniencing the lawyer with questions and want clear and concise answers as to the best way to proceed with their case.
It is often a challenge to feel comfortable as to what to do when arrested and needing the best owi attorney in Indiana for your needs. Depending on the location of your arrest, you might have arrived home from jail only to be bombarded with mail solicitations from lawyers seeking to be the first to make money off of your legal misfortune. You may be pushed toward the family lawyer who feels an obligation to assist you even though he or she might know next to nothing as to how to defend a owi case in Indiana. Most commonly, you may have thought all owi lawyers are of the same skill level and went with the lawyer who gave you the lowest fee.
I know all too well all of the fact patterns that can lead one to the wrong owi attorney in Indiana. How do I know? I know because a large percentage of my clients unfortunately come to me from other attorneys who are ill equipped to handle such cases, much less clients who need their help and compassion. The best defense attorneys in Indiana care. They care about what happens to clients on their watch. They have pride in the work that they do and are fulfilled with the knowledge that once representation has been concluded both lawyer and client will have benefited from their developed relationship together. Clients still keep in touch with me on cases from years ago. It is my hope that the efforts that have brought you to my website are rewarded with valuable information on Indiana drunk driving defense and the knowledge that you have found a defense attorney who will welcome your call for help.
The Police Officer Says I Failed a Breath test and Sobriety Test For Intoxication, Is There Hope For Me?
Yes. The ability of a prosecuting attorney to secure a conviction in a drunk driving case has nothing to do with your belief that you are guilty or the police officer’s assertion that you tested above the legal limit of .08. Rather, guilt or innocence within a prosecution will often rest on the admissability of the breath or blood test results and field sobriety testing the prosecution will attempt to introduce. Owi attorneys must have more than mere legal training to be successful. Winning owi attorneys in Indiana must be well versed on all certifications and training required of officers and breath test eqiuipment to be admissable in court under standards set by the Indiana Department of Toxicology. Further, your defense lawyer must have a working knowledge of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) manuals on approved methods of field sobriety testing; knowledge that will rival or surpass that of the arresting field officer.
When it comes to the validity of an Indiana OWI arrest, what happens within three hours of a police investigation is critical as to whether dui charges against you or a loved one will be able to be proven in a court of law. This, “three hour window” for an Indiana police investigation refers to the timeframe within which the Indiana Department of Toxicology has established for the admissibility of alcohol breath test results. In other words, a police officer with probable cause to believe one has been drinking and driving must administer a certified alcohol breath test within 3 hours of the time one is suspected of operating a motor vehicle.
In Indiana, two factors are often the central issue as to the strengths or weaknesses of of a potential owi prosecution; 1) Breath Test or Blood Test Results and 2) Performance of Field Sobriety Tests. Unlike other forms of evidence within an Indiana criminal case, the admissibility of both breath test results and field sobriety performance assessments are not dependent on whether an officer has read you your rights in accordance with Miranda warnings. This is so because in the State of Indiana, breath or blood test results as well as performance of field sobriety tests are considered, “non testimonial.” In other words evidence gathered and based upon not what one says, but what one does. Therefore attacking both the breath or blood draw results and field sobriety testing procedures of an investigating dui officer can often become a central component in successfully defending against an Indiana owi prosecution.
In Indiana, there are prescribed requirements mandated by the Indiana Department of Toxicology governing how breath tests must be conducted. Scrutinizing how such tests were performed by law enforcement is of monumental importance to a qualified owi lawyer in Indiana. Potential depositions & cross examination of all officers, procuring court orders for maintainence records of breath test equipment and acquisition of all certifications pertaining to the admissability of breath test readouts are often an essential focus of capable owi lawyers in Indiana. To provide but one example, in the State of Indiana, law enforcement who performs breath testing must be certified to do so once every two years. As for the machinery in question, all applicable breath test equipment must be certified and recertified once every one hundred eighty (180) days.
Should the test results withstand legal challenge, focus must be turned to the maintainance records of the breath test equipment be it a Datamaster, Intoxilzer 5000 or any other legally permitted breath testing apparatus. In Indiana, if the certifications are in order, the results are otherwise legally admissable evidence in a court of law. As a result, your defense attorney would need to focus on the time, place and manner with which the breath test was conducted as the credibility of the results would become an issue of fact for judge or jury. In impeaching the credibility of any breath test findings, both the maintainance records of the machinery involved as well as the manner with which the officer conducted the breath test must be investigated thoroughly. It is in this area where an owi attorney in Indiana must be aware of all recommended procedures for police investigators to utilize in accordance with NHTSA training manuals to validate and have confidence in the results. As this website is geared for one needing an Indiana drunk driving attorney and not a toxicologist, I will spare further information in this area unless requested.
Where blood draw evidence is the central component of the state’s case, the experienced owi lawyer will need to thoroughly examine “chain of custody” issues that may effect whether such blood evidence can be admissable in court. How did the lab store the vials? How were the vials treated and properly maintained so as to limit contaminants that can alter the reliability of the results? Who had access to the vial(s) in question? These are just some basic grounds for investigation that can potentially weaken or even allow a dui prosecution to be dismissed through proper pre trial preparation.
A second prong of attack for a capable defense attorney is in the area of how field sobriety testing was conducted. In combination, it is both the breath test results and field sobriety test results of an arresting officer that are the heart of any owi prosecution in Indiana. Unlike breath test evidence which will be an objective form of evidence legally admissable in a court of law if the above referenced certifications have been authenticated, field sobriety testing is a wholly subjective undertaking in the eyes of the experienced defense lawyer.
It is not uncommon for a police officer not exclusively trained in the field of drunk driving detection to devise his or her own unique methods to assess impairment. Finger to nose, backward count or any other testing procedure decided on the fly can be a gift the inexperienced police officer can provide an experienced defense lawyer. Why? Because there are only three approved methods of field sobriety testing deemed credible for the detection of OWI in Indiana and all states. Within the NHTSA guidelines, it is clearly stated that the proper training of officers includes learning and subjecting drunk driving suspects to only three approved methods of field sobriety testing; the walk and turn test, the one leg stand and gaze nystagmus observation. Field sobriety testing results not based upon one of these three disciplines should be thoroughly discredited by a qualified Indiana drunk driving attorney.
Inevitably, thorough cross examination of an instructing police officer’s analysis of a suspected drunk driver is bound to have significant flaws. In my experience as a defense attorney, the issue will not be whether the officer’s conduct in instructing and observing a given field sobriety test was flawed. The question is how flawed. Should either blood or breath test evidence be subject to exclusion, a candid asessment of this issue must be made before trial is warranted.
INDIANA OWI PROCEDURE
As this page is devoted to the most accurate information as to the procedure taken following an arrest for Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated (OWI) in Indiana, I have referred to Indiana drunk driving as ”Indiana OWI” as the most accurate term you are most likely to hear in a court of law. Where I refer to drunk driving as dui or dwi elsewhere, owi is the most legally accurate abbreviation of the three for a discussion of drunk driving procedure in Indiana.
An Indiana owi is not just another form of criminal defense that can be defended with knowledge of the rules of criminal procedure and evidence alone. An Indiana owi lawyer must know any and all approved methods as to how field sobriety testing must be properly conducted on the part of one engaged in an Indiana owi investigation according to the dictates of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Further, certifications of all breath test equipment as well as police officers involved in a owi investigation must be thoroughly examined in regard to the potential exclusion of breath test results into evidence. If needed, qualified Indiana toxicologists must be consulted and or retained so as to determine whether based upon factors such as weight and time, one charged with drunk driving could have actually been below the legal limit of .08 BAC at the time operating a vehicle as opposed to when tested.
In cases involving one who has been accused of refusing to properly give a breath sample, it is imperative that your owi attorney understand the ins and outs of what is called “Implied Consent” law in an effort to determine whether refusal to blow into properly certified breath test equipment was done “knowingly.” In cases where an officer has determined a refusal based upon one not blowing hard enough, etc., Department of Toxicology regulations as to the meaning of “invalid” samples versus “insufficient” samples can often carry the day as to whether an additional 1-2 year license suspension based upon a refusal action alone can be legally warranted.
In recent years it has become more common for police officers engaged in owi investigations to seek a court order to draw blood from one suspected of drunk driving. In Indiana, one suspected of owi does not have the right to choose whether one wishes to submit to a breath test or to have blood drawn. Drawing blood has become an option when a police officer accuses one of either refusing to submit to a breath test, claims one is incapable of performing a breath test or suspects one is intoxicated not due to alcohol but to the presence of drugs in one’s system. In such circumstances your owi attorney in Indiana must know how to investigate the validity of the procedure used to obtain a search warrant for blood evidence, how to challenge “proper chain of custody” for the admissibility of a blood draw as well as whether the blood draw was properly obtained and stored in accordance with Indiana law.
Unfortunately for many charged with owi in Indiana as a result of blood test results, a charging decision in court can often take months from the time one has been arrested to the time an Initial Hearing is actually scheduled in a court of law. This is so due to the backlog of cases requiring examination throughout the state of Indiana. Breath test results usually require no such delay and are usually brought to court for an initial hearing far more quickly.
After an arrest for an Indiana owi has been made, all proposed evidence is directed to the respective county prosecutor’s office as to charging decisions and options. It is at this stage that an Indiana prosecutor must determine whether charges for owi will be filed and if so, whether the charges will be enhanced to a felony or habitual offender status based upon the facts of the case or prior criminal history of a suspect. If at all possible, all steps should be taken to retain a qualified owi attorney in Indiana who can address the prosecutor before filing decisions have been made. In doing so, a message can be sent that weak evidence or unreasonably harsh charging decisions will be vigorously challenged. Thus, causing a second look at the evidence and a more reasoned approach as to all available options down the road.
Although a Grand Jury can be convened in Indiana to allow citizens to determine whether evidence is sufficient to bring criminal charges, a grand jury is rarely ever convened when it comes to the filing of criminal charges for drunk driving . As a result, once the county prosecutor has reviewed the evidence and potentially heard from a qualified owi lawyer, a charging decision is made. Once charges are filed, the first court hearing called, an initial hearing, begins the process of an Indiana owi prosecution. For misdemeanor cases in Indiana, the Initial Hearing can often be, “waived” by your owi lawyer. This simply means that the suspected drunk driver would not have to appear in court for the first hearing. For a felony owi prosecution, the defendant must be present. The initial hearing, also referred to as “an arraignment” in other states, informs the person charged with the maximum and minimum penalties for the owi offense charged. Typically, an initial plea of not guilty is entered on behalf of the Defendant and future court dates are set.
Most significantly, at the initial hearing once the judge has determined that probable cause has been established (not guilt) that the Defendant may have been driving while intoxicated, his or her license will be ordered suspended in the State of Indiana until further notice. If the Defendant has not been accused of refusing to submit to a breath test, all of the time suspended before the charge has been resolved will be credited toward any ultimate driver’s license suspension should the defendant later be found guilty of owi. Although the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles will send notice of suspension to the defendant by mail with a suspension period of one hundred eighty (180) days, this time frame for license suspension will most likely be changed once the owi case has been concluded.
During the course of a prosecution, the owi lawyer in Indiana engages in what is referred to as the “discovery” process. This process is essential in allowing the attorney to uncover any and all weaknesses in the prosecutor’s case. Weaknesses that can be later be used in trial or to fashion favorable resolutions for a client without the risk of trial. Being allowed to ask for information in this discovery process is far different than knowing what to demand from a prosecutor. Using our experience we know what to ask for in the form of in car videos, jail or police station records and recordings, breath test equipment certifications and maintainence records, officer course completion memos, records and re certifications, Department of Toxicology inspection records and reports, etc. to name but a few modes of inquiry obtained through demands for production of evidence.
In Indiana, the owi prosecution will end either through a dismissal, conviction or plea agreement. Dismissal is always preferred through the filing of what are called pre trial motions based upon objective evidence challenges. In other words, evidence that doesn’t rely on the defendant’s word versus an officer’s, but based upon the rules of law. For our clients this is most preferred not only due to the successful result, but to the significant financial cost savings in not having to secure such a dismissal through the hard work and long hours required of a trial victory. Trials can be heard before a judge often referred to as a “bench trial” or through the more commonly known jury trial where the owi lawyer and prosecutor simply cannot agree to a suitable case resolution.
One charged with an Indiana owi can often not get his license reinstated until the criminal prosecution is resolved in court. This fact has contributed to the reality that the majority of owi cases in Indiana are successfully resolved through a plea agreement where the case cannot be dismissed without the risk and expense of trial. It is your attorney’s role to go over the risks and benefits of each course of action before deciding whether a plea agreement and the terms of such an agreement are appropriate for you. In such a situation, your defense attorney must exert all available pressure to bear upon the prosecutor to leverage the most favorable terms possible on a client’s behalf. Always remember that when it comes to owi defense procedure, you or a loved one must be pro active as to consulting with a top defense attorney at your earliest possible opportunity. Failure to act quickly to preserve your legal rights can result in the loss of legal defenses that could otherwise be used to dismiss a owi charge against you.