Lawmaker Persists in Request to Have DUI Thrown Out, Despite Already Being Denied

Even those who make the law are not above it, but every reasonable request with solid grounds to dismiss a DUI charge should be wholeheartedly considered. South Carolina senator and ethics chairman Paul Campbell was charged with driving under the influence last Fall. He was likewise accused of switching seats with his wife at the time of the accident, in an alleged effort to avoid a DUI conviction. This remains in dispute. He was charged with lying to law enforcement in conjunction with his DUI charge. Campbell asked magistrate Elbert Duffie, through his attorney, to toss the DUI charges on various grounds at different points in time since his arraignment. Duffie ruled that he lacked the authority to grant Campbell's request, but suppressed the breath test evidence against him.

The legal reasoning for doing so was sound - the state trooper who carried out Campbell's arrest failed to get him the independent blood test he requested. As is the case in Georgia, anyone who requests additional blood testing by another technician at his or her own expense must be accommodated. The officer did not accommodate Campbell, going so far as to casually discussing the lack of funding available that would've allowed him to accommodate such a request.

On November 4, 2017, Campbell allegedly rear-ended another vehicle on Interstate 26. The driver of that vehicle is the one who alleged that Campbell changed seats with his wife. The breath test given to Campbell, later thrown out, showed a .09 BAC limit which would've put him above the legal limit and far more vulnerable to a DUI conviction. Campbell has campaigned to have the entire case dismissed since the ordeal began last year. Concerning the magistrates "lack of authority" to dismiss the case - it is true that magistrates cannot by law dismiss DUI charges outright before a trial. Campbell has persisted in his request to get the charges tossed nevertheless.

How To Get DUI Charges Dismissed In Georgia

There are legal means by which you can get your DUI charges dismissed/dropped in Gwinnett County, Georgia, not unlike the way in which Senator Campbell is trying to get his dropped. There is no aspect of his case or that particular request that isn't feasible for a regular citizen, it is not as though only lawmakers get to make requests that questionable or dubious charges be dropped. For a chance to get a dismissal of your DUI charge in a Gwinnett County court, you must first retain a Gwinnett County DUI attorney to review the charges against you. In order to get a dismissal, an attorney must find the weak points of the prosecution's case. And there are undoubtedly vulnerabilities in every DUI case.

You are innocent until proven guilty, and the burden of proof rests with the prosecution. By probing deeper into their assertions and presumptions, your Gwinnett County DUI attorney may poke a hole that topples their entire argument. In doing so, your DUI case may potentially be dismissed. To learn more about how your case could get dropped with the help of an aggressive legal representative, contact a Gwinnett County DUI attorney for a free consultation.