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If you have been charged with a DUI you need to carefully consider the following common defenses, among others, with an experienced DUI attorney:

Were you  actually "driving"?

Before you can be charged with a DUI you must first be in "actual physical control of a motor vehicle" upon a "public roadway" and the motor running.  Typically this means police must prove that you were in the driver's seat with the keys in the ignition on somewhere other than private property that is generally closed to the public.

Did the police have a right to stop you?

Even while driving, you have a fundamental constitutional right to be free from a warrantless stop of your person.  What does this mean? The police cannot pull you over without reasonable suspicion that a crime has been committed. In other words, the police cannot generally stop you just because they see you driving out of the bar parking lot.  They must observe some sort of indication of driving impairment or some other traffic violation or they must have some other reasonable information that you may be under the influence (e.g. your bartender or someone else calling you in as a possible drunk driver).  Otherwise they cannot stop you.

If the police stopped you without reasonable suspicion or if they arrested you without probable cause then your breath results or any statement you may have made to them may be thrown out of court.

Do they have a breath alcohol result?

You've probably heard that old saying "if you didn't blow then they don't know". The truth is that If you did not blow in a machine or give a blood sample your DUI case probably became a whole lot easier to defend.  Even though your license will likely be suspended, it is much more difficult for the state to prove you were "impaired" without a blood alcohol result.  The state will often have to rely on things like erratic driving and/or the odor of or admission to drinking alcohol.  Thus while not impossible to prove, the state's case is more difficult without a breath result.  That is why a DUI charge without a breath result is often reduced down to a "reckless" or "inattentive" driving charge. 

Were the proper breath test procedures used?

Prior to having you blow in the breath machine for an alcohol related DUI the police must first "substantially inform" you of the consequences of refusing to blow or of blowing above the legal limit.  This means they must read you the ALS suspension form BEFORE they ask you to blow.  If they waited until after your blow the result doesn't count.

Once you are informed the police must "observe" you for at least a full fifteen minutes before you blow.  They are required to be certain that you do not "belch, burp, or vomit" during that time so as to avoid the false elevation that occurs with mouth alcohol. If they fail to do this then your result doesn't count.

The police must only use a breath machine that has been properly calibrated with a proper solution before taking your breath sample.  For Intoxylizer's, the most common machine, it must be calibrated every 100 uses or every 30 days whichever comes first.  A handheld Lifeloc must be calibrated either twenty four hours before or after your blow.  If the machine was not calibrated properly your breath test may be invalid. 

A good DUI attorney will request more than just the police report to review these issues.  The State is required to turn over a copy of the blow slip from the machine, the calibration log, and any maintenance records for your machine, but only if your lawyer requests these items.  Likewise your attorney should recieve a copy of the officer's certification to perform the breath test and a certificate of analysis for your breath machine.