How Police Officers Prepare to Testify in a NH DWI Case

Not all people who are charged with driving under the influence, or DUI, decide to go to trial. However, since each person charged with any crime in New Hampshire, including drunk driving, has the right to a trial, police officers who arrest drivers on suspicion of DUI must prepare to testify in court in each case.

When preparing to testify in court on New Hampshire drunk driving cases, police are trained to pay close attention to drivers that they stop on suspicion of drunk driving, as well as to take thorough notes. Officers then use their recollections from a particular shift, as well as their notes, to prepare a police report describing the events they recall happening that led to their decision to arrest a particular driver.

Since most police officers deal with several traffic stops in one shift and several dozen stops in one week, they cannot usually recall any one traffic stop with perfect clarity. They may review their notes before trial and recite that information instead, including any errors the officer made in taking the notes in the first place.

The experienced New Hampshire DUI lawyers at Tenn And Tenn, P.A. know how to handle an officer who recites information from notes instead of from memory, and how to use that information to fight for the best possible outcome in a client’s case. To learn more about how Tenn And Tenn, P.A. can help you fight your NH DUI charge, call (603) 614-5055 for a confidential consultation.