Calibration records are among the first things we subpoena — and they are wrong more often than most people realize. Breathalyzer machines must be calibrated on a strict schedule, maintained by a certified operator, and the calibration logs must be preserved. If any link in that chain breaks, the result may be inadmissible. We have had cases where the machine had not been calibrated in over six months, and the prosecution had no choice but to drop the chemical evidence entirely. A BAC reading is not a verdict — it is a number that has to survive cross-examination.

Refusing a field sobriety test — the walk-and-turn, the one-leg-stand, the eye-tracking test — carries no automatic legal penalty in most states, and frankly, those tests are designed to be failed. They are graded subjectively by an officer who has already decided you are impaired. Refusing the roadside breath test (the portable device before arrest) is also typically not a crime, though refusing the official chemical test at the station after arrest triggers implied-consent penalties in most states. The distinction matters enormously, and the officer may not have explained it clearly. We will go through exactly what happened, in sequence, and identify every procedural gap.

A conviction might create a reporting obligation — but an arrest alone almost never does, and a dismissal or reduction typically does not trigger licensing board action. We work with a significant number of clients who hold medical, teaching, commercial driving, or financial licenses, and the strategy in those cases is different from a standard defense: we are simultaneously managing the criminal matter and the regulatory exposure. The goal is not just to minimize criminal consequences — it is to produce an outcome that your licensing board will not act on. We have helped nurses keep their RN licenses, teachers keep their certifications, and CDL holders keep their commercial driving privileges.

A second DUI is a different animal — mandatory minimums apply in most states, license revocation periods are longer, and prosecutors push harder. But "harder" does not mean "hopeless." The same defenses apply: procedural violations, calibration issues, chain-of-custody problems with blood draws, improper stop. We also look closely at the prior conviction — if it was in a different county or state, or if the prior plea was entered without proper advisement of rights, there may be grounds to challenge its use as an enhancement. We have resolved second-offense cases as first-offense equivalents more times than we can count.