Oregon DUI Probable Cause

Oregon DUI probable cause is an important factual and legal issue to examine when charged with a DUI. If the investigating officer did not have probable cause to stop you or arrest you for DUI, you may be able to have your case dismissed.

In Oregon, a police officer must have probable cause in order to procure a warrant, stop you for a traffic violation, or arrest you. The officer must be able to name specific articulable facts which allowed him to believe that you committed a traffic violation.

Common articulable facts which may give rise to an officer believing that you committed a traffic violation are speeding, running a red light, not signaling, crossing the median, not wearing a seat belt, driving in the shoulder, and/or reckless driving. Additionally, an officer may have probable cause to pull someone over for a traffic violation if the driver is driving an automobile with a defunct headlight, taillight, or license plate light.

A police officer must have probable cause to arrest you. Probable cause is not based on suspicions or hunches but rather it is based on factual evidence and circumstantial evidence. Factual evidence of an Oregon DUI may includes testimony from an eye-witness who saw the driver swerving or driving erratically. Circumstantial evidence from an Oregon DUI may include a wrecked car with a pile of opened beer bottles in it.

Probable cause does not mean that the officer has absolute certainty that a crime is taking place. What it means is that when looking at the time leading up to officer pulling you over for an Oregon DUI, the officer had more than a mere suspicion that you were driving intoxicated.

If an officer has probable cause that you are committing a traffic violation then he has the right to pull you over and detain you for a brief investigation. If during the brief investigation the officer smells alcohol on your breath, or notices slurred words or unsteady movements he may detain you, search you, and/or place you under arrest for an Oregon DUI.

Hire An Experienced DUI Attorney

If you’ve been stopped, arrested, and charged with DUI in Oregon, don’t go it alone. Hire an experienced DUI attorney to fully examine the circumstances of your stop and arrest to see if you have any factual or legal defenses. Call or message our office today.