A Key To Success: Preventing Evidence From Being Presented At A Trial

I handled a great case recently where my client had been charged with a DWI and a 0.14 breath test reading. There was a complete disconnect between the observations that were made by the police officer and the breath test results. What I mean by that is the actual observations that were made by the officer really did not support the DWI allegation.

My client’s eyes were clear. His speech was clear. He walked okay. He stood just fine. The manner that he drove the car was really okay, aside from speeding. He pulled his car over fine. He parked his car in a correct manner. He was coherent and responsive. He gave his driving documentation to the officer without any problem.

All these issues that I just brought up were typical hallmarks of a person who’s not intoxicated. None of the indications of intoxication was present in my client. The allegations were that he failed to do the field sobriety tests properly and his breath test result indicated a high level of alcohol in his system.

I went to court four times asking for all the information concerning the breath test results. The State failed to get that information to me, despite the court giving two orders to them to provide it within a certain period of time. Eventually, the court refused to dismiss the case but agreed to throw out the breath test results.

They had nothing with which to prosecute my client. For some reason, they still wanted to take the case to trial. I was perfectly fine with that, because I thought they had loser for a case at trial. The only downside concerned the alleged results from field sobriety tests, but everything else in the case showed that my client was sober.

It was a three-day trial and eventually, the judge acquitted my client of the DWI by relying on my cross-examination of the police officer. In fact, the judge wouldn’t even let me make a closing argument, because he already made up his mind, without having to hear what I had to say. That’s one of those cases where, clearly, the client and I were extremely happy with the result.