You may have seen a camera mounted on the dashboard of your friend’s car (or possibly attached to a rearview mirror). These are becoming more and more popular for regular drivers and commercial drivers. The police, however, pretty much started it all with dashboard cameras mounted in their police cars. These serve any number of purposes from recording traffic violations to recording the actions of police and the public (provided they are within view of the camera).
Can dash cam footage affect your DUI case, should you be unfortunate enough to be pulled over after drinking? First of all, if you were recorded driving erratically, and that’s why you were pulled over, the dash cam recording may be used as a strike against you. If an officer asks you to get out of the car and submit to a field sobriety test, he or she will likely do so within view of the camera so the results are recorded. How you perform during that test will be a matter of record – not a matter of opinion.
Throwing the Red Flag for a Challenge
What the camera records will be the basis for either a lawsuit and/or conviction, or the basis for your lawyer throwing a challenge flag. This does, of course, refer to the NFL and the challenge flags they use to have a play or a call reviewed. Much the same way the referees check the sideline viewers for a recording of the play or call, the police, lawyers, jurors, and/or the court can review the dashboard camera footage to see exactly what happened.
Dashboard Cameras and Body Cameras
In addition to a dash cam, today’s police officers may be equipped with body cams as well. This way, as long as you’re in view of the officer, you’re probably being recorded, even if you’re not in view of the dashboard camera.
This recording could show you were slurring your words because it records sound as well as video. If you were performing a balance test and you stumbled, that would be recorded as well. Driving erratically? It’s probably on the dash cam footage. Then again, there is every possibility that no camera picked up what was happening at the time of your encounter.
Your Rights in California
In California, where DUI cases are concerned, you have a right to the following:
- Police evidence that might clear you of your charges
- Any existing evidence that will be used in a court of law against you
You can request evidence (that includes the dashboard camera recording) through an experienced DUI defense attorney. Your attorney can analyze it once it’s received and determine whether or not it will hurt or help your cause.
What Kind of Evidence Would Go in Your Favor?
If the following occurred, and it’s recorded by a police camera, your lawyer might be able to clear you of the charges:
- No probable cause was shown for the officer to pull you over
- You showed no signs of intoxication
- The field sobriety test was successfully passed by you
Contact Jackson-Bibby Awareness Group If You’re Facing Commercial DUI Charges
Do you need to enroll in one of our programs? Contact Jackson-Bibby Awareness Group today. We have offices in Barstow, Victorville, and Redlands, California. If you have been ordered by the court to take a DUI class or need to enroll to get your driver’s license back, we can help. We have both first-time offender programs and multiple offender programs.
If you have any questions, they may already have been answered on our FAQ page. If not, feel free to submit your question and we will do our best to answer you in a timely manner.
To get an idea of how our classes run, click here to view the First-Time Offender Programs we have available and any associated fees.
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