There are plenty of reasons why people drive drunk. However, most excuses hold little ground or validity when it comes to police. But, what if it’s an emergency? What if your wife unexpectedly went into labor, but you recently consumed a six pack while watching football with friends? Or, what if a loved one appears to have a heart attack, but you just drank a bottle of champagne? Sure, these situations don’t happen too often. But, what if they do? Is there such thing as justified drunk driving? And will an emergency strengthen my case?
Emergency as DUI Defense: Will Necessity Help my Case?
The quick answer to that question is “no.” However, plenty of attorneys have used emergency as a defense before. The most common type of emergency cited is medical. Like the examples from above, medical emergencies are unpredictable. They also require immediate attention to avoid physical harm or death.
However, courts will often deny, regardless of medical emergency. They will claim that someone should have just called 911 because it would have been more reasonable for the EMT’s to drive to the location rather than someone drunk to immediately drive. For example, if someone were to go into labor, it would be much safer for an EMT to come deliver the baby rather than risk having the wife deliver the baby in the car with a drunk driver. So, in short, there are not many exceptions made.
What About a Non-Medical Emergency DUI?
Non-medical reasons almost always fail. The most common reasons cited are being late for a flight, driving to see a dying relative, and being late for work. No matter how “legitimate” the scenario may seem, courts do not look favorably on these defenses.
Still, this defense relies on the facts of the scenario. Therefore, a scenario could exist where a court may reduce the punishment or drop the charge, although this is uncommon. One example could be a person that is fleeing from a criminal with a deadly weapon. Once again, courts hardly ever drop the charge, but they may lessen the penalty if the facts are significant enough to merit the reduction of an emergency DUI.
If you’ve recently faced a DUI which you feel has extenuating circumstances, speak with a lawyer. You never know what might hold weight in court. So, any defense is better than none.