Charles K. Kenyon Jr.

I was especially happy with the result in this case even though the client was convicted of the DUI. He kept his livelihood and was able to get licensed in Wisconsin.

This client hired another law firm who hired me. I worked hard with him and moved to suppress the evidence against him. I did not negotiate the fee with him nor did he hire me directly. This case has lasted more than a year and involved numerous court appearances. He and his friend told police they were smoking pot earlier in the day/evening. They were in a parking lot and tried to pull out when police came. They said that the police indicated that they were to stay there while the officer went inside to serve papers and that client got out of his closed car to inquire as to the reason. They testified to this in court. Had his been the only evidence, the case would have been dismissed. The officer testified that when he went there to serve papers on a third party, the client got out of his car and approached him, at which time he smelled marijuana. At that time, he told client to return to his vehicle and later was told about the smoking marijuana by client and friend, following which he arrested client for operating under the influence of a controlled substance and discovered paraphernalia in the vehicle. The officer testified that he did not attempt to stop client's vehicle from leaving until after that contact where he smelled marijuana. The police report did not mention anything before the officer was approached by the client. The officer had a dash video which started when he pulled up to conduct the work with client, but was not running when he originally stopped on the street to serve papers. This is understandable, since the dash video is activated by turning on the emergency lights. On the video, officer goes over the circumstances of the initial encounter with client. He does not dispute this on the video. In meeting with the client, I emphasized to him that if the police officer denied having stopped him prior to smelling the marijuana, the judge would likely believe the officer. She did. I am sorry that the client is upset. I do not think any other attorney could have gotten a better result in this case. He now has had three lawyers on his case. He was offered reduction of the criminal charge to non-criminal in return for a plea to the civil charge. As of my last contact with the prosecutor, the offer was still on the table. This case is still pending. The officer did attempt an administrative suspension of his license. Because of my actions in requesting a hearing, that suspension did not happen. He still has his license as of this writing, I believe. Update, September. Client accepted the plea offer that I had advised prior to discharge.