Whenever a person is arrested and the charges are made public, simply being charged may impact a person's career, reputation and finances, regardless of whether one is ever convicted. Recently in Tennessee, a county official was arrested. He now faces DUI charges after a traffic stop.
The 59-year-old Roane County Commissioner was behind the wheel of a pickup truck on one of the county's highways. A law enforcement officer pulled the man over for a possible seat belt violation. Once he made contact with the commissioner, it was noted that there was the smell of alcohol. The man told the officer that he had consumed one beer before getting into the vehicle to drive.
The man completed a field sobriety test. However, according to the state trooper who administered it, the commissioner failed the test. He was then arrested for driving under the influence.
When a person faces DUI charges, there may be certain pieces of evidence the prosecution intends on using to support the charges. That evidence may include a field sobriety test, a blood or breath test, or physical evidence, such as open containers. Anyone arrested and facing DUI charges in Tennessee may want to be aware of how evidence may be gathered and used to build a case for the prosecution. Also, an accused person may want to be aware of how a criminal defense attorney may be able to challenge the evidence or work to have it deemed inadmissible as part of a defense strategy that has the goal of minimizing the impact of the charges or having them dismissed altogether.
Source: wbir.com, "Roane commissioner charged with DUI", March 4, 2015
