Defendant was stopped for speeding by Officer Gann of the lilburn PD. He had made a ton of DUI arrests in his career. Defendant did the field sobriety tests. The video showed that the officer did no...t follow his training in administering the tests. Further, Defendant never agreed to take the breath test at the scene, but was told to blow at the station. The judge in Gwinnett State Court suppressed the breath test result. Defendant accepted aplea to a reckless driving charge instead of having a jury trial. Defendant was extremely happy because he was able to keep a DUI off of his record.
DUI and DWI
Dekalb County .088 Dismissed based on an illegal traffic stop
N/A
OUTCOME: DUI Dismissed
Defendant was stopped on I-285 by a DUI task force officer. Defendant was stopped for allegedly having blue lights coming from his vehicle. It is illegal in Georgia to have blue lights in a passenger... car unless you are a police officer. There was no video of the traffic stop The officer testified at a motion to suppress hearing that there was no other traffic violation that he noticed other than the blue lights from the car. I put my client on the stand. My client testified that he worked at Circuit City and was the lead installation technician for people who want to make their car cool. He installs all the tv's, radios, and yes, funky lights. He testified that the lights were clearly white and not blue. He tesitifed that he was awre of the law and that there was no way the lights could be perceived as blue. The judge stated that he either had to determine that the officer was mistaken or my client was lying. He determined that the officer was mistaken and believed my client's testimony over the officer. The judge granted the motion to suppress. The state was left with no evidence to prosecute Defendant and all charges were dismissed. He got his bond money returned and left court without a criminal record.
DUI and DWI
Henry County .120 DUI South Carolina Licensee
N/A
OUTCOME: DUI Dismissed Plea to Speeding
Defendant was pulled over by a DUI task force officer for speeding. The officer told Defendant that if he did not take the field sobriety that he would take him right to the jail. Judge Studdard in H...enry County is one of the smartest judges in the State. He is the author of the case law update that all Judges read. He know s the case law backward and forward. Thus,in order to win in his court, all of the legal arguments must be correct and supported by very good case authority. After my client failed the field tests, he was taken to the jail and given the breath test. At the motion hearing, the judge determined that the officer's testimony was not clear on what he told my client regarding the consequences of a breath test and denied my motion. I was stunned. However, in order to clear up any of the testimony, I approached the prosecutor on the morning of trial and told him my client was going to testify since the officer was not clear on what took place. I then approached Judge Studdard and told him exactly what my client was going to testify to, and that he would be required to suppress the breath test. The judge had already suppressed the field sobriety tests, and based upon the proposed testimony he agreed with me, and stated that if that was going be the testimony, the breath test would be excluded. We all determined that a trial would not be needed. Thus, the State had no evidence to prosecute a DUI case and the Defendant paid a fine to a speeding ticket and went back to South Carolina a happy man.
DUI and DWI
Fulton County State Court Refusal with Field Sobriety Tests
N/A
OUTCOME: Not Guilty
Defendant was stopped for failure to maintain lane by a Georgia State Patrol Officer. There was no video of the traffic stop. Defendant was given field sobriety by the officer and was arrested for DU...I. Defendant refused the State breath test at the station. The officer added all kinds of manifestations of impairment. He testified that my client had slurred sppech, was unsteady, and swayed. Without some kind of rebuttal evidence, I figured the case was a loser. However, my client was dating/hangin out with a great witness. That evening, my client had come in from Tennessee and was drinking champagne at a Rockdale County police officer's house. The police officer was no longer in the field, but drove the homicide van and worked at the jail. In addition, the officer was certified to give breath tests. The officer came in and stole the show. The testimony provided by our witness established that the State Patrol officer was clearly exaggerating. Defendant was found not guilty of the DUI. This case would not have been a victory, but for the Defendant's witness.
DUI and DWI
College Park Case Moved to Fulton County .115 and Possession of Marijuana
N/A
OUTCOME: Not Guilty DUI, Marijuana Charge Dismissed
Defendant was stopped for crossing the gore in College Park. When the officers approached the car, there was a lot of marijuana smoke coming from inside the vehicle. The officers arrested both my cli...ent and the passenger once the observed marijuana on the floorboard. Defendant was also read the implied consent and agreed to a breath test. Defendant was taken to the station and blew a .115. Defendant was a commerical truck driver and also had a prior marijuana charge. The officer would not agree to reduce the case to a reckless driving and it was bound over for trial. At trial, there was no evidence that the substance found in the car was tested and came back as marijuana, thus the pot charge was dismissed. Further, the Defendant was found not guilty of the DUI since the Judge excluded the breath test during the trial and there was no evidence of Defendant being too impaired to drive.
DUI and DWI
Hall County .198 blood test
N/A
OUTCOME: Reckless Driving $400 fine and DUI School
Defendant was involved in a single motorcycle accident. He was life flighted to a hospital following the accident. A state patrol officer was called to investigate the wreck. When he arrived the Def...endant was not on the scene. He radioed to another State patrol officer who met Defendant at the hospital read him the implied consent and drew blood. The results came back well above the legal limit. At the motion to suppress hearing, the State could not establish a time of driving, or probable cause to ask Defendant to take a blood test. The judge excluded the test result and without it, the State would have had a difficult if not impossible time prosecuting Defendant for a dui. Thus, the State offered a reckless driving, and defendant accepted the offer. Defendant does a decent amount of travelling and the reckless driving will allow him to continue driving in other states without any problems. This was a great result given a very tough set of facts.
