Unless a police officer forced you to drink and then forced you to drive, you will not likely succeed in arguing that you were entrapped into driving while intoxicated.
If you’re a fine of crime, law or police shows, you may be familiar with the term entrapment. Generally speaking, it can serve as a legal defense in situations where police trap or trick someone into doing something that you wouldn’t normally do.
Unfortunately, entrapment is not usually a defense in California DUI cases. As a DUI lawyer in Pomona, CA, I believe that it would be incredibly rare for this defense to ever work. In short, it would require the police officer to make an intoxicated person drive his vehicle when he did not plan to do so. Of course, it can happen — but such cases would be outside of the norm.
In New Jersey, there was a case where a defendant in a DUI case claimed that the police entrapped him into driving drunk. He was at a wedding, and was intoxicated. A fight broke out in the parking lot, and police arrived and ordered him and other guests to leave. He got in his car and left, but hit a police car when backing up. He was then arrested for drunk driving. The case went through several court orders before there was a final ruling: nobody forced the defendant to get drunk or to drive when he was drunk. This ruling may seem fair, but it is a sign of how seriously law enforcement and courts take drunk driving.
Of course, situations like this are unusual, but many people have a question about different types of DUI arrests. If a person is “forced” to go through a DUI checkpoint, is that entrapment? Read on to learn more from a DUI lawyer in Ponoma, CA.
Why DUI Checkpoints Are Not Entrapment
DUI checkpoints are a legal method for the police to use, and courts have repeatedly upheld their use in states, cities and towns across the country. The reasoning is that the government has a right to prevent drunk driving accidents. This interest outweighs the intrusion on sober drivers to submit to a DUI checkpoint. Because the intrusion is minimal and the safety interest is high, courts have decided that DUI checkpoints.
However, in California, you do not have to go through a DUI checkpoint. As long as you are legally able to do so (i.e., it doesn’t require you to break traffic rules, like doing a u-turn in the middle of the street), you can turn away from a DUI checkpoint. You cannot be forced to go through a DUI checkpoint. If you have been stopped from turning away from a checkpoint, a DUI lawyer in Pomona, CA can argue that your rights were violated.
Even if you were forced to go through a DUI checkpoint, however, it would still not be entrapment. Nobody forced you to drink or forced you to drive while intoxicated. The police did not trick or trap you into doing something that you wouldn’t otherwise do. Your rights were violated if you were made to go through a checkpoint against your will, but that is a separate issue that your attorney can address in court. In the vast majority of California DUI cases, entrapment will not be an issue.
If you have been charged with DUI, you need an experienced DUI lawyer in Pomona, CA on your side. Contact the Chambers Law Firm today at 714-760-4088 or dchambers@clfca.com to learn more about how we can help you get a favorable resolution to your DUI case.
