Guy
Aug 23, 2013OUTCOME: Acquitted
Client left a party that the cops had visited twice earlier in the evening. He stopped with half of his car over the limit at a red light, drove through when it turned green, stopped in the middle of ... the road, then sharply cut across four lanes of traffic to get on a freeway ramp. There was a cop behind his car the entire time. He blew 0.11%/0.11% at the station. The Riverside DA filed Vehicle Code sections 23152(a&b) and refused to plea bargain the case at all since we had previously negotiated the same client's last DUI, that would have made this DUI a second offense, to a 'dry reckless'. Client went to trial because he had little to lose in light of the DA's non-offer to settle the case. After five days of trial, the jury returned verdicts of not guilty on both counts. Another case that any lawyer would have expected to be easily convicted, but was not. I am very proud of this win since we went into the trial having so little with which to work into a defense. Any case can be won at trial in the hands of a skilled and savvy attorney, even if it appears at the outset that there is no defense available. You never know what will happen at trial, especially in a DUI case.
