What Types of Evidence Can Prosecutors Use in an SC DUI Case?

When facing a driving under the influence (DUI) charge in South Carolina, making informed decisions about your defense starts with identifying the evidence prosecutors intend to use against you. While some of the evidence against you may be obvious (i.e., if you “failed” the field sobriety tests or blew over the legal limit), obtaining additional evidence may involve submitting requests to the prosecutor’s office during the discovery phase of your DUI case.

7 Common Types of Evidence in SC DUI Cases

Evidence in DUI cases can take many different forms. To ensure that you are making informed decisions about whether to seek a plea bargain or take your case to trial, you need to know all of the evidence that is in the prosecution’s possession. With this in mind, here are seven types of evidence that prosecutors frequently use to secure convictions in SC DUI cases:

1. Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) Test Results

If you took the breathalyzer during your DUI stop and blew over the legal limit (which is a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 percent for adults over age 21), you can expect prosecutors to try to use you BAC against you. Under South Carolina’s DUI statute, if your BAC is over the legal limit, this is enough to warrant a conviction. Prosecutors do not need to prove that you were actually impaired.

But, while a high BAC can be strong evidence of guilt, there are several potential ways to keep your BAC reading out of court. If your BAC reading is unreliable (or even might be unreliable), or if it is inadmissible for other reasons, then prosecutors should not be able to use it against you.

2. Field Sobriety Test (FST) Results

If you took the field sobriety tests (FSTs) during your DUI stop and “failed” the tests, you can expect prosecutors to use this against you as well. We put “failure” in quotes because the FSTs are highly subjective, and there can be various explanations for performing poorly on the FSTs.

As a result, similar to challenging the admissibility of your BAC reading, there are several potential grounds to challenge the admissibility of your FST results as well. Even if the judge lets prosecutors introduce your FST results in court, your DUI lawyer should still be able to raise questions about their reliability and relevance on various grounds.

3. Police Dash Camera or Body-Worn Camera Footage

South Carolina law requires police officers to record all DUI stops. As a result, your DUI stop should have been captured on video—either by a police dash camera, a body-worn camera, or both. If police camera footage shows you driving erratically, stumbling on the side of the road, or exhibiting any other signs of impairment, you can expect prosecutors to try to use this footage against you as well.

But, here too, you may have a variety of defenses available. For example, while alcohol impairment might be one possible explanation for your driving behavior, it could have various other explanations as well. Alternatively, the footage might contradict the arresting officer’s testimony, which could raise reasonable doubt in the jury’s minds. If the police stopped you without reasonable suspicion, this could render the footage of your DUI arrest—and the prosecution’s other evidence against you—inadmissible in court due to a violation of your Fourth Amendment rights.

4. Police Officer Testimony

Prosecutors often rely heavily on police officers’ testimony in SC DUI cases as well. For example, prosecutors will frequently call on the arresting officer in a DUI case to testify regarding:

• The defendant’s driving behavior
• The defendant’s appearance and speech on the side of the road
• The defendant’s performance on the FSTs
• The procedures followed when administering the breathalyzer
• The other procedures followed during and after the DUI stop

While police officer testimony can seem like reliable evidence (and, in some cases, it is), it is not unusual for officers to incorrectly recall key facts or misrepresent the truth knowingly or unknowingly. As a result, in many cases, contrasting the arresting officer’s testimony with the footage from the officer’s dash camera or body-worn camera will often be a key defense strategy.

5. Testimony from Lab Technicians and Other Expert Witnesses

Along with testimony from the arresting officer, prosecutors often rely on testimony from lab technicians, drug recognition experts (in marijuana DUI cases), and other expert witnesses. Here, too, while these expert witnesses’ testimony may initially seem reliable, there will often be several ways to call its reliability into question. Since defendants in SC DUI cases only need to prevent the prosecution from proving their guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, this can also be an effective defense strategy in many cases.

6. Confessions and Other Statements to the Police

If you confessed on the side of the road or after you were taken into custody, you can expect prosecutors to try to use your own words against you. Even if you did not explicitly confess to drinking and driving, if you made any statements that suggest you knew you were drunk behind the wheel, prosecutors will almost certainly attempt to introduce these statements in court.

As with the other forms of evidence discussed above, there are various ways to challenge both the relevance and admissibility of any statements you made to the police. With that said, asserting these challenges successfully requires experienced legal representation.

7. Posts on Social Media

Finally, if you post anything on social media that is relevant to your SC DUI case, prosecutors can use this against you as well. This includes photos from your night out before you were arrested, statements you make after your arrest, and anything else that suggests you are guilty of DUI. With this in mind, it is best to stay off of social media altogether after a DUI arrest—and to keep the details of your case strictly between you and your DUI lawyer.

Discuss Your Case with North Charleston, SC DUI Lawyer Rad Deaton for Free

Are you facing a DUI in SC? If so, North Charleston, SC DUI lawyer Rad Deaton can help protect you by all means available. To schedule a free and confidential consultation, call us at 843-225-5723 or tell us how we can reach you online today.