Proving Fredericksburg Marijuana DUI Cases

When an officer suspects illegal marijuana use it is commonly due to their ability to smell marijuana in the car or on somebody’s breath. When someone is suspected of driving under the influence of marijuana, that person will be required to take a blood test at a local hospital. Typically, a nurse will draw their blood and have it analyzed for content. As a bright marijuana DUI attorney knows, this process can be critical when the prosecution begins their attempt at proving Fredericksburg marijuana DUI cases.

Evidence in a Marijuana Drunk Driving Case

Generally, an alcohol-based case is governed by the evidence of someone’s blood alcohol content which is given by a breathalyzer test which measures the amount of alcohol in their breath. Once calculated, an equation provides how many grams of alcohol per liter of blood that person has based on their breath test. In alcohol-related cases, a 0.08 or higher creates a presumption that that person is under the influence of alcohol; a 0.07 eliminates that presumption.

What is the Role of the Department of Forensic Science?

The Department of Forensic Science Representative would have to go to court and testify what was found in the blood that was drawn. If there is no legal limit for a level of marijuana, they must be able to be able to testify that there was marijuana in this person’s bloodstream and that the level of marijuana would cause somebody to be intoxicated.

Difficulty of Proving Intoxication by Marijuana Use

Marijuana will stay in an individual’s bloodstream for up to 30 days. Meaning, someone who smokes marijuana regularly will have higher levels of marijuana in their bloodstream than someone who does not, and someone who smokes a lot of marijuana in one day may show a higher or lower level than someone who regularly smokes. This could also make it near-impossible to tell, just from that blood test, whether or not an individual is intoxicated at the time they were driving.

What Does the Prosecution Need to Prove in a Marijuana DUI Case?

When someone is accused of driving under the influence of marijuana, the prosecutor has to prove that they were driving first of all and that they were intoxicated to a degree that their ability to drive the car is impaired.

It is not enough just to show that someone had smoked marijuana that day, or even if they were smoking a marijuana at that time. Part of proving Fredericksburg marijuana DUI cases is presenting evidence that the accused had smoked marijuana to the point where their ability to drive the car is impacted in addition to being intoxicated.

However, that is difficult to show with marijuana. If their driving behavior shows that they were driving poorly, it makes sense to assume that that person’s ability to drive was impaired.

If there is not clear evidence that their driving behavior was worse than normal, then the prosecution has the problem of proving to the judge or jury that that individual was intoxicated to the point of their driving ability being impaired.

Importance of Contacting a DUI Attorney

Working with a local attorney that is familiar with the charge is important in every case. Speaking with an attorney about how prosecutors plan on proving Fredericksburg marijuana DUI cases could also be beneficial for the accused.

An attorney who works often with the same police and prosecutors will know exactly what evidence they tend to rely on and what types of arguments and mitigating facts they will be able to see from the defense standpoint that they are likely to accept as a good mitigating factor.

An experienced attorney who knows that the prosecutors in the area and knows DUI law can help you create possible defenses before going to court.