Alameda DUI Stops

A police officer, Alameda County sheriff's deputy or California Highway Patrol Officer may not arbitrarily stop a driver of a motor vehicle. The law enforcement officer must have reasonable suspicion or probable cause which are legal standards established by United States and California courts.

Reasonable suspicion is the lower standard and can include driving maneuvers such as weaving within a traffic lane, turning wide, or bad driving. Probable cause to stop is the higher standard and is usually based upon a vehicle code violation, such as speeding, running a red light or running a stop sign. The other basis for law enforcement to initiate a DUI investigation occurs if an individual is involved in an accident or another individual reports a driver is suspected of driving under the influence.

The DUI stop is one basis for challenging the DUI case. If the attorney specializes in representing people accused of driving under the influence and is experienced, that lawyer will be able to recognize the issues which can be successfully challenged. The legal procedure for challenging a DUI stop is in a Motion to Suppress evidence brought pursuant to Penal Code Section 1538.5. If the Motion to Suppress DUI evidence is granted because of an illegal stop by a police officer, Alameda County sheriff's deputy or California Highway Patrol Officer, all evidence which followed the unlawful stop is ordinarily suppressed and may not be used against the person accused of DUI in the Alameda County District Attorney's case in chief.

If the Motion to Suppress the DUI evidence is denied by a judge who may be biased against the person accused of DUI, an appeal of the denial of the Motion to Suppress may be pursued in the Appellate Division of the Superior Court in the case of a misdemeanor DUI or before the California Court of Appeal in the case of a felony DUI. This can be done prior to a DUI conviction if and only if the Motion to Suppress the DUI evidence is brought within very strict deadlines.