Bucks County DUI Lawyers

Bucks County DUI Attorney - Bucks County DUI Lawyer - Pennsylvania DUI Attorney

Zachary B. Cooper, Attorney at Law, P.C. is a Pennsylvania DUI law firm of four PA DUI defense attorneys, representing drivers charged with DUI in Bucks County, PA. Our cases are almost 100% DUI, including Refusal to Submit to Blood or Breath testing, and related license suspension charges. We are the only four lawyer law firm in the Bucks County, Pennsylvania area whose practice is almost strictly limited to DUI defense. Collectively between us, we have over 40 years of experience defending DUI, DWI, and drunk driving cases.

We are all trained in the road-side field sobriety tests by the same agency that trains the local and state police. We took the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Standardized Field Sobriety Testing (SFST) course because we want to know how to challenge the field sobriety exercises that may have had a large part in your arrest. Two of our lawyers have gone one step further and are actually Qualified Instructors in the field testing, with the other three pending qualification. As a result of our training, we know how the officer is supposed to give the instructions for the testing to you. If he or she does not give them exactly according to the NHTSA SFST protocol, then the validity and reliability of the testing is compromised.

These field sobriety tests are only 68% reliable for the Walk and Turn exercise, and 65% reliable for the One Leg Stand exercise, at best, in predicting someone to be over the legal limit. The third standardized test, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) is not admissible in court to prove the DUI. Any other "test" administered to you, according to NHTSA and to the government, is of unknown weight and merit. If other exercises, such as a sway test (bend over, hands down toward your feet - to see if you sway in that position) or a "Rhomberg" test (head back, eyes closed, count to 30 - to see if you sway), or some other test that will cause you to sway and "fail" must be challenged as not being fair or representative of an alleged Pennsylvania DUI.

These "tests" are not proper indicators of driving behavior, according to NHTSA. While they may be used to establish the probable cause for arrest, or the officer's legal reason for arrest, the officer must then follow up with a blood or a breath test to confirm whether the motorist is under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Call us to discuss how the tests were administered to you, how you performed on them, and what they may mean for your Pennsylvania DUI case. We aggressively challenge these tests, and seek to demonstrate that they should not be used to convict you of a PA DUI charge.

In addition to advancing our knowledge of blood and urine testing issues through the cases we handle and the experts that we use to evaluate our cases, we have also undergone advanced training in blood and urine testing issues. We have studied with the foremost experts in the forensic sciences to continue to learn all that we can to assess the issues in each PA DUI case to effectively challenge the Commonwealth's allegations and proofs in your case. We have attended advanced seminars across the country on numerous occasions, addressing collection, storage and testing of the blood and urine samples. We use all of our knowledge to help you defend your Pennsylvania DUI charge.

Some of the issues that may be present in your PA DUI case may include collection of the blood or urine sample. We assess who took the sample, and what his or her qualifications are. We review the documents or "discovery" to establish how the sample was taken, and specifically what instruments were used to draw the blood or contain the urine. If any of the containers do not contain the necessary chemicals, or if incorrect containers are used, that is a significant issue, as that may lead to the formation of bacteria in your sample. Bacteria can cause formation of sugars, which can then ferment into alcohol. There are many different things to look for regarding blood testing in your Pennsylvania DUI case. Please call us to discuss your situation.

Other issues involve storage and testing of the sample. If the Commonwealth cannot establish a proper "chain of custody" for the sample, showing who collected it, transferred it, stored it, and tested it, that may cause the evidence to be inadmissible in your case. If the sample was stored improperly, or if the lab or lab technicians did not follow proper procedures, we will try to suppress or keep the blood or urine sample out of your case. Without the test results, the Commonwealth might not be able to prove the case against you.

Every case is very fact sensitive and specific. Please call a skilled PA DUI attorney at Zachary B. Cooper, Attorney at Law, P.C. us to discuss your Pennsylvania DUI facts.

With over 40 years experience in defending DUI cases, we know breath testing. We know the different types of breath testing machines, how they work, and the problems and issues that exist with the specific machines and their alleged results.

We attend DUI seminars several times a year, and breath testing is always one of the main topics in the lectures and workshops. We are constantly seeking information on how to assess and challenge breath testing results.

Breath testing machines and the results from the machines may be affected by several different sources. The machines are premised and programmed for an "average person", which none of us are. Statistics show that most breath testing machines are programmed or set for about 10% of the population. Breath testing, while accepted by the Pennsylvania courts as being accurate, are subject to challenge.

Your specific physiology is important in assessing the alleged results of the machine. Exposure to chemicals may have affected your physiology. If you work with alcohol based solvents that you inhaled or that splashed on your skin, call us to discuss whether that may have affected the reading in your Pennsylvania DUI case. In blood, urine and breath testing cases, we will ask you questions about your medical and employment history to determine what, if anything, may have contributed to the alleged results in your PA DUI case.

Procedural issues may invalidate the results in your case. If you were not observed for a twenty minute period by the breath testing officer, the results of your breath test may be excluded from the evidence against you. If you burped, belched, or regurgitated in some way within that twenty minute observation period, that regurgitation may have affected the test results. If you have acid reflux, gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD), hiatal hernia or other physical circumstance that causes or allows gas from your stomach to enter into the mouth mixing with the lung air entering into the breath testing machine, your breath test results may have been affected. Please call us to discuss your physical situation.

Three of our attorneys have undergone the Drug Recognition Evaluation or D.R.E. protocol that local and state police officers use to attempt to evaluate whether a motorist is under the influence of drugs, and the other two lawyers are pending qualification in the protocol. This DRE protocol may sometimes be used by the Commonwealth to attempt to demonstrate that you were under the influence of drugs while driving. This protocol is undertaken just after your arrest, back at the testing station, by a "DRE officer" or "DRE trooper". It consists of twelve steps of an evaluation that includes administration of physical exercises, medical evaluation including blood pressure, temperature, and eye evaluation, and a blood or urine sample.

Blood and urine tests are challengeable.

The Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFSTs) were not designed for drug evaluation. They were validated for alcohol use only. Since the SFST's are a major part of the DRE protocol, and since they are subject to challenge regarding administration of the tests, and more importantly the limited reliability of the field exercises in general, the DRE protocol has very questionable application to DUI cases.

We are committed to doing the best job that can be done for our clients. Being members of the National College for DUI Defense helps further our knowledge base by attending continuing legal education through the College, as well as being able to consult with the most pre-eminent DUI lawyers across the country.

Contact us now for a Free Pennsylvania DUI Case Evaluation and to speak directly with a PA DUI defense attorney:

Zachary B. Cooper, Attorney at Law, P.C. represents clients charged with PA DUI in all Bucks county towns including: Belford, Bensalem, Bristol, Bridgeton, Buckingham, Doylestown, Durham, Fallsington, Feasterville, Falls, Haycock, Hulmeville, Hilltown, Ivyland Borough, Jamison, Langhorne, Langhorne Manor, Levittown, Lower Makefiled, Upper Makefileld, Middletown, Milford, Morrisville, New Britain, New Hope, Newtown, Nockamixon, Ottsville, Penndel, Perkasie, Plustead, Quakertown, Richboro, Richland, Richlandtown, East Rockhill, West Rockhill, Sellersville, Lower Southampton, Upper Southampton, Silverdale, Trumbauersville, Tullytown, Warminster, Warrington, Warwick, Yardley Pennsylvania.