Intoxication in a Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Operating While Intoxicated criminal prosecution

by David A. Cmelik Law PLC 

 

In a prosecution for Operating While Intoxicated, or, OWI, in Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, or other Iowa community, intoxication is mostly what we know it to be. 

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If a motorist provides a bodily specimen positive for .08 g ETOH/210 L breath or greater, he or she is said to be presumptively intoxicated under Iowa's drunk driving criminal statute.

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The model criminal jury instruction on intoxication states that the breath, blood, or urine test result is "presumed to be the alcohol concentration at the time [he] [she] operated the motor vehicle." Model Criminal Jury Instruction 2500.4.

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The jury may, but is not required, to

"conclude that the alcohol concentration established by the analysis of the sample was the alcohol concentration at the time [he] [she] operated the motor vehicle." Model Criminal Jury Instruction 2500.4.

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Without a breath, blood, or urine sample, the prosecution must prove that someone is "under the influence," because there is no scientific test result. 

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However, the lack of a presumptive test result does not rule out intoxication. It merely requires the State to prove intoxication through the "under the influence" standard. 

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This includes by proof of excited emotions, loss of judgment, loss of reasoning ability, or the loss of any bodily function. 

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If you or a loved one have been arrested for Operating While Intoxicated, or, OWI, Iowa's criminal law prohibition on DUI, contact us for a free an initial consultation. 

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