Reader’s Question:

My cousin was charged with DUI in Palm Beach, Florida. I want to help him as much as I can because we were together when he got arrested. I’m doing online researches regarding defenses can be used in a DUI case. I was also told that a strong odor of alcohol does not really make a person driving under the influence. How true is this and can we used this as a defense?

Hannah

Palm Beach, FL

Yes, it’s true that an alcohol on the breath does not mean that a person is driving under the influence. In some DUI cases in Palm Beach, Florida, this can actually be used as a defense. Police officers always mention that they believe that a person is drunk driving because they smell “a strong odor of alcohol on the suspect’s breath.” But these officers look foolish on cross-examination when he admits that alcohol itself (ethanol) has no odor. It is actually the mixing agent or flavoring that produces the odor we associate with alcohol. A non-alcoholic beer tastes and smells just like beer, but it doesn’t contain alcohol.

Indeed, laboratory studies show that the perceptions of the police officers of how strongly a person’s breath smells of alcohol simply doesn’t correlate with his/her actual blood alcohol level. All that can be assumed from the “odor of alcohol on the breath” is that a DUI suspect probably consumed some alcohol recently. But it actually does not provide evidence that the person drank enough to be driving under the influence or to have a .08 percent BAC or higher.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI advice, DUI lawyer