California Criminal DUI Trial: Should the Defendant Testify

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Prosecutors and criminal defense attorneys both call witnesses to testify in California DUI trials. In some cases, the defendant may testify. Whether or not the accused DUI driver should take the stand can be a dilemma for a criminal DUI defense lawyer. The correct decision depends on the facts of the case.

Sometimes it's useful to have a defendant testify to explain an illness or injury that affected performance on a chemical test. The defendant's testimony may explain a chemical test refusal or provide information about why the driver's blood alcohol content (BAC) reading was artificially high.

There may also be excellent reasons to keep the defendant off of the witness stand. It exposes the driver to cross-examination by the prosecution. Also, some defendants may be nervous, emotional, or less than truthful. This allows the prosecution a chance to score points against the defense's own witness.

In some California driving under the influence (DUI), or driving while intoxicated (DWI) cases it is extremely important to avoid having the defendant testify, because he or she was intoxicated at the time and does not remember details of the stop or the DUI arrest. Having such a defendant testify can unravel a defense attorney's work.

Jurors in a criminal DUI trial are specifically instructed not to interpret the fact that a defendant did not testify as a sign of guilt. However, jurors are sometimes unable to put aside personal feelings. They may conclude that the defendant didn't take the stand because of guilt. An experienced California criminal DUI defense lawyer will weigh this possibility against the risk of having the defendant testify.

An experienced California criminal DUI defense attorney will evaluate whether it's a good idea to have a defendant testify. If the defendant is to take the stand, the defense lawyer will prepare his or her testimony carefully to help the accused DUI driver foresee attacks from the prosecution on cross-examination.