Another Mardi Gras has come and gone. The annual celebration always delivers some of the best parties of the year. It is easy to get caught up in the spirit of the event. Whether you went to New Orleans or stayed in Baton Rouge to join in the festivities, you no doubt found ample opportunity to have a few drinks while enjoying the camaraderie.
If you did partake, hopefully you were able to make it home safely with a full load of beads. However, your celebratory mood may have been stifled if you were arrested on drunk driving charges after being pulled over by the police.
Partying is what Mardi Gras is all about. Louisiana law enforcement officials are very aware of this fact. To this end, the police made plans to lookout for drunk drivers traveling on routes between parades. The executive director for the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission stated that officers had been trained to recognize drunk drivers, so the best idea was to have a designated driver behind the wheel.
But given the chaotic nature of the events, it is possible for police officers to make mistakes when issuing DUI charges. If you were pulled over, they may not have had just cause. Also, it is possible that they may have failed to administer a breath test correctly. If either of these things happened to you and the result was a DUI charge, you are now looking at some potentially serious consequences. This is especially true if you have previous drunk driving charges on your record.
In such a situation, it is very important to do what you can to protect your driving privileges. The services offered by a Louisiana DUI attorney may help you retain your license. If it can be shown that there were questionable aspects of your arrest, you may even be able to have your charges dismissed.
Source: WAFB Channel 9, “Law enforcement preps for Mardi Gras,” Feb. 8, 2015