Thoroughly and aggressively defending a DUI requires knowledge of the blood alcohol science behind a DUI case. If you submitted to chemical testing of your blood or breath, your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) will be a central issue in your case.

Your BAC is a measure of how much alcohol is in your system. The number of drinks you consumed alone is not a good measure of BAC. Your BAC will depend on a number of factors, including your gender, weight, how often you drink, and whether you have eaten. Alcohol consumption affects everyone differently.

The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were intoxicated at the time of driving. A DUI attorney who is well-versed in the complexities of blood science can sometimes make it very difficult for the prosecutor to do this.

For example, some cases may be won by implementing a “rising BAC defense”. Because it takes between 45 minutes and 3 hours for alcohol to actually be absorbed into your system, your BAC may continue to rise long after you are pulled over and arrested. If you get pulled over, a chemical test of your breath or blood usually will not be performed for at least an hour after the initial contact. Thus, you may actually have been below the legal limit when you were driving.

If you suffer from gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), you may test positive on a breath test machine regardless of whether you actually have consumed any alcohol. Individuals suffering from GERD have a constant flow of alcohol which travels from their stomach to their mouth in the form of a gas. If you have GERD and have consumed a small amount of alcohol, your BAC may register on the breath test machine as being higher than it actually is.