loss of professional license due to dui

Strategies To Help Overcome Professional License Issues Caused By DUI

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The legal consequences of a DUI conviction in Alabama can be serious and long-lasting. It’s not just the legal penalties you may have to face, including suspension of your driver’s license for a certain time period. When you have a criminal conviction on record, it can have lifelong reputational challenges and create hurdles in obtaining a job or continuing professional practice.

The loss of a professional license may hurt your career and future income-generation opportunities. An experienced DUI attorney in Alabama can help you overcome these potential issues with the right defense strategy.

Types of Professional Licenses that may be affected by a DUI Conviction

Professional agencies or organizations that find the basis for their licensure on trust, good character, and moral judgment are more likely to revoke or suspend your license as a result of DUI convictions. These professions include:

  • Physician
  • Educator
  • Nurse
  • Insurance agent
  • Real estate agent
  • Defense contractor or military personnel

Every professional organization has its own particular position on dealing with the criminal conviction of a member and how the conviction may affect licensure. You may face any of the following:

  • License suspension for a certain time period
  • Complete revocation of license
  • Denial of license

The board may allow a hearing to understand more about the conviction. This is the perfect opportunity to defend yourself. You should speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney for understanding your legal options and fighting the most severe consequences impacting your professional career.

Steps to Improve Your Chances of Keeping Your License

The days following a DUI conviction can be full of anxiety and uncertainty. However, there are a few steps that can help you improve your chances of not having your professional license suspended:

  • Talk to an attorney right away
  • Report the DUI conviction to the professional board and any other appropriate entity
  • Follow restrictions, including suspension of driving privileges to avoid further penalties
  • Demonstrate good character by taking steps to rehabilitation and building a good moral standing

It’s a serious and difficult situation to lose your professional license. There are several challenges to moving forward in your career and leaving the stigma of a criminal conviction behind.

How Can a Skilled DUI Attorney Defend You Against DUI Charges?

Question the accuracy of the field sobriety test

There is nothing scientific about a field sobriety test. Experienced DUI attorneys will always examine the location of the field sobriety test. There are several factors that come into play that can result in a poor test result. These may have nothing to do with your sobriety. For instance, lighting conditions, weather, and terrain may play a role in a positive sobriety test.

The arresting officer is not a medical professional and doesn’t know that your watery or bloodshot eyes are because of allergies or being drunk. You may have a flushed face because of being distressed at being pulled over instead of alcohol consumption. Your attorney will use these and other strategies to make a convincing case before the jury.

There can be inaccuracies in the field sobriety test because the arresting officer failed to properly administer the test. They may not be well prepared or trained well for completing the task. Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show that a large percentage of DUI suspects are wrongfully convicted even when the tests are administered without any mistake.

Question the positive breath test results

Breath test devices can easily produce a false positive by detecting nonalcoholic chemicals. These include acetonitrile, toluene, nitrous oxide, diethyl ether, ethylene, and isopropanol among others.

Smokers are likely to develop exaggeratedly high BAC readings in breath tests. Mouth alcohol has been known to produce false positives as well. Cold medicine, cough syrup, mouthwash, and a variety of other things can contaminate test results.

BAC levels increase

Alcohol takes time to get absorbed in the bloodstream. Increased blood alcohol levels at a later time may not reflect BAC when you were arrested. Your BAC could be below the 0.08 legal limit when you were pulled over. It may have increased when you were tested at the police station or the hospital. Skilled attorneys defend their clients by stating that blood alcohol content at the time of arrest is what matters.

Breath test due diligence

Alabama law requires the arresting officer to observe anyone they pull over for at least 20 minutes before giving a breath test. The officer is supposed to ensure that you don’t do anything that may cause alcohol to travel to your mouth during this period, such as throwing up or burping. This can dramatically increase the levels shown in the breath test.

Unfortunately, most officers forget about being vigilant during this period. This leaves room for reasonable doubt. In some cases, the test may get thrown out completely as evidence as well. The accuracy of these tests is on the assumption that the blood-breath partition ratio is 2100-to-1 for everyone. There are several studies that prove this is not always the case.

Experienced Auburn, AL DUI Attorneys can Fight for Your Rights

The reputable DUI attorneys at Alsobrook Law Group can build a robust defense strategy to get your charges dismissed or reduced. We will work hard to ensure that you can maintain your security clearance or professional license as far as possible in a DUI case. For your free and confidential case evaluation, call us at 334-360-9534 or reach us online.