What is Probable Cause?
I am often asked about the probable cause needed for a DWI arrest. If you’re pulled over in New York State and subsequently charged with DWI, there are certain things that a qualified, seasoned DWI attorney must assess to ensure that your charge is legitimate and legal. One thing that an attorney must look at is probable cause. Probable cause is a term of art that means different things to different people; however, that is one of the main elements for an arrest.
For instance, if you’re driving along and a police officer pulls somebody over, they have to have probable cause to pull that person over. They just can’t willy-nilly pick a person for no reason because they don’t like the color of the car or the neighborhood that they’re in. They have to have a reason. That reason is probable cause. A seasoned attorney would fight for you whether or not probable cause was there in that particular instance. A simple example would be whether or not the car was pulled over in a legitimate manner. A hearing that you would have would be an Ingle Hearing. It’s called “People versus Ingle,” and that’s a hearing that an attorney would run to determine if law enforcement had legitimate probable cause to pull a vehicle over.
Do you believe the police pulled you over for your DWI without probable cause? If so, contact our experienced DWI Attorney in Buffalo NY, John Dudziak.
This educational legal blog was brought to you by John Dudziak, an experienced Buffalo DWI Attorney.
