We’ve all been out with friends and taken a selfie or group photo, then instantly uploaded the photo to Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter. This is harmless fun, unless you get pulled over later for drinking and driving and there are posts on your social media showing you’ve been drinking. While smartphones are convenient and help us get a lot done, they can also be used against you in legal matters. It is common for parties going through a divorce to use text messages and other electronically stored data against their spouse, and that trend has made its way to the criminal law world as well.
In a recent case, a criminal defendant’s deleted text messages were recovered and used against him in a case claiming he had sent explicit texts to an underage girl. If you are facing a DUI charge, here are three ways your text messages can hurt your case:
- If you sent messages about where you were and those messages included information that alcohol was involved, the data might be used in your case to suggest you had been drinking just before driving. If this type of evidence makes its way into your case, it will be an uphill battle to prove your BAC was under the legal limit or that the test result was not accurate.
- If you sent messages while driving and mentioned leaving one establishment and going to another, again making references to drinking, that information could be used to show you had been drinking before taking the wheel. In that type of situation the timing of the message would also come into play because it would show the exact time sent and the activity you were engaged in when sending the text.
- If any photos were attached to a text message showing you drinking and/or driving that evidence could also be used against you in a DUI case.
The best advice is to be cautious about what you post online, when you send text messages, and the content of your messages. If you have been arrested for DUI, call us for help. Whatever your particular set of facts, we offer aggressive defense of the charges against you.
If you have questions about DUI defense, call our office for answers. Call an experienced criminal defense attorney in Stuart and the Treasure Coast. Your first visit is a free initial consultation.