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Statutes
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Full Read: 2 minutes
Statutes
Connecticut DUI law information can be found here.
1. Common Law Offense
- a. Elements. § 14-227a. Operation while under the influence of liquor or drug or while having an elevated blood alcohol content
- (a) No person shall operate a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both. A person commits the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both if such person operates a motor vehicle (1) while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both.
- b. Defenses – There are many defenses we can raise to this charge of DUI. Oftentimes, the state will attempt to use the alleged failure of field sobriety tests as evidence of guilt. These tests, however, we not designed to show that a person could not safely operate a motor vehicle, and relying on them for that is wrong. Many time a police officer may say that a person drove over a median or side line on the highway. Often, we find that the length that the person went over the line was less than 10% of the time they were driving, and many time the curves in the road make it impossible to drive within the lines in that area.
2. Per Se Offense
- a. Elements. A person commits the offense of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or any drug or both if such person operates a motor vehicle or while such person has an elevated blood alcohol content. For the purposes of this section, “elevated blood alcohol content” means a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person that is eight hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, except that if such person is operating a commercial motor vehicle, “elevated blood alcohol content” means a ratio of alcohol in the blood of such person that is four hundredths of one per cent or more of alcohol, by weight, and “motor vehicle” includes a snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle, as those terms are defined in section 14-379.
- b. Defense – There are many defenses we can raise to this charge of DUI, including machine or breath testing errors and errors on the part of police officers who misjudged the facts of your case. A full investigation is necessary to find a way to win.
