State of Texas v. RG
Jan 24, 2013OUTCOME: Not Guilty
RG was arrested after having a minor fender-bender. RG was at fault for the accident, and admitted so from the beginning. RG was sitting at a traffic light and messing with his CD player. When RG glanc ... ed up and saw the light had turned green, he let off the brake and slowly started to accelerate, assuming the vehicle in front of him would do the same at a green light. RG, still messing with his CD player, didn’t realize the car in front of him was not moving, and he tapped the rear of the vehicle. While most can understand a minor accident like this as exactly that, an ACCIDENT, the San Antonio police officers saw a crime. Multiple police officers arrived to scene of the accident, but no one talked to or questioned the two men in the other vehicle. Their attention focused entirely on RG. RG was polite and cooperative with the officers. After two different officers evaluated RG and could not determine that he was intoxicated, they called a “more persistent” officer to investigate. RG performed standard field sobriety tests, and this “more persistent” officer determined he had failed. None of the officers had or used a video camera at the scene of the accident. They did not give RG the chance to perform the field sobriety tests at the jail where they do have a camera. RG even asked one of the officers if he could perform the test on camera. He was told, “Nope, it is my word against yours.” Finally, 14 months after this accident, RG was given the chance to fight for and prove his innocence. After five witnesses and two grueling days of trial, six members of Bexar county agreed with me that the state could not prove their case and that RG was not guilty of driving while intoxicated.
