Nebraska DUI laws provide that there are two ways where someone can be convicted of drunk driving in Nebraska. The first type of Nebraska DUI charge relates to the condition of the driver, and applies where the driver is mentally or physically impaired by consuming alcohol and/or drugs. There is no particular alcohol level that needs to be reached for a common-law Nebraska DUI conviction. It is simply a question of whether or not the driver’s impairment can be proved by driving pattern, field sobriety test performance, the physical appearance of the driver, or chemical test results when they are available.
Nebraska DUI laws also allow for conviction where there is a violation of Nebraska’s “per se” DUI laws. These Nebraska DUI laws criminalize driving above Nebraska’s legal limit of .08% BAC. Nebraska DUI prosecutions on the per se laws have nothing to do with impairment of the driver; they are based purely on body chemistry, meaning that one can be convicted of a Nebraska DUI even if that person’s driving skills are unaffected by the consumption of alcohol.
Nebraska DUI arrests do trigger give rise to the right to a jury trial. Nebraska DUI juries are comprised of six people from the community; in order to obtain a guilty verdict in a drunk driving case, the prosecutor must convince all six of the jurors in the defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. This means that if even one juror does not believe the accused violated Nebraska DUI laws, there is a hung jury. This will possibly result in the dismissal of the Nebraska DUI.
Surrounding Communities
- Bellevue
- Blair
- Council Bluffs
- La Vista
- Papilion
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