What To Expect From a Salisbury Drug DUI Case

Law enforcement officials in Salisbury take driving under the influence charges very seriously. They want to curb the number of DUIs in the area and are thus extra vigilant about potentially DUIs. Paired with the severity of drug charges, drug DUIs are very concerning. Below, a Salisbury drug DUI lawyer discusses the important things to know about these charges, why it’s pertinent to contact an attorney as soon as possible, and how an attorney can help an individual build a defense against these charges.

What’s Important to Know About Salisbury Drug DUIs

Someone who has been charged with driving under the influence of drugs should understand that they will have to attend court, as the citations that they were issued are going to eventually have a trial date. They should expect that they are going to have to go to court and, because of that, they also need to think about what sort of medical records or pharmacy records might be necessary to defend against that charge. The state will have police reports that will need to be reviewed.

There is a good possibility that the driver was examined by a drug recognition expert (DRE) and the DRE is going to have written a report, which should be reviewed with their attorney. There also is a good possibility that, as a result of that examination, a blood sample was taken, that blood sample will be analyzed, and a toxicology report will be prepared concerning the kinds of drugs that were in the person’s system at that time. Anticipating that there might be a toxicology report showing that the person had consumed some sort of drug, it would be relevant to find out or to be able to gather the records to show that the person was prescribed that drug legally and that they were taking it as directed.

Possible Defense Strategies

There are two defense strategies that are used frequently. One is a lack of proof and inability to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt; that would be based on the fact that the State has to prove that the vehicle was being driven in an unsafe manner. A defense attorney could argue that the State did not have enough evidence to prove that the vehicle was driven in an unsafe manner and question the evidence regarding the way the vehicle was being driven. Another issue that could be a successful defense strategy is arguing with the toxicology report. While perhaps showing that the defendant had consumed some sort of drug, the toxicology report does not show when consumption occurred. It may show that there is an amount of that drug in the person’s system, but was it enough to impact the person’s ability to drive the car safely?

Another defense strategy, which is very unique to driving under the influence of drugs, is the fact that there is a recognized defense within the statute in the Transportation Article—if the defendant can show that the medicine they were taking was prescribed to them, they were taking it in the dosage as prescribed, and they were unaware that taking that drug or taking it in combination with some other prescription drug would impact their ability to drive the vehicle safely. There are some unique issues and some unique defense strategies to the charge of driving under the influence of drugs.

Importance of Contacting an Attorney

They should contact an attorney immediately and they can contact an attorney while in the process of the police officer investigating the incident. They have the right to speak with an attorney before they agree to take any test and they have the right to speak with an attorney before they make any statements to a police officer and this would be incredibly important because any statement that the driver would make could be used against them in court. They should understand that the police officer is absolutely going to ask them questions and get them to admit to having consumed something and the answers to these questions could be very damaging in trial; that’s why it’s important to consult with an attorney before answering any question.

An attorney could advise them that they shouldn’t answer any questions or perhaps they could be interviewed once the attorney can be there to assist them during the interview. Contacting an attorney should happen immediately. If it doesn’t happen during the investigation phase, if the person has already been charged, then it would be important to contact an attorney immediately after being charged.