DUI Wins

Jul 2, 2024	Case: 24-CF-002498	Judge Rice
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for having an expired tag. Officers noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and slurred speech. He also made conflicting statements about where he was coming from and also wore a wrist band from a bar. He then performed various field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .134 and .131 in the breath machine. After his arrest, officer found methamphetamine and he was also charged with a Felony possession.
Defense:	After several negotiations regarding the evidence and the defendant, the State Dropped the DUI. He also received no felony conviction on the felony charge and no penalties other than court costs.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 28, 2024	Case: 24-CT-014152	Judge Silverman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding and weaving. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, watery/glassy eyes, slurred speech, and he appeared unsteady. The defendant stated he had drank a "few" at the bar. The defendant then performed the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand exercises. He was arrested for DUI and later refused a breath test.
Defense:	On tape, his speech was not slurred and he was not unsteady. In fact, on the walk and turn, he never even stepped off the line for 9 steps up the line or 9 steps back and never raised his arms for balance. On the one leg stand, he never put his foot down during the entire 30 seconds.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 28, 2024	Case: 24-CT-016037	Judge Silverman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped after being observed crossing over the solid white line in the bike lane and crossing back over the double yellow line. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot/watery eyes, and slow/slurred speech. The defendant stated he had consumed 3 mixed vodka drinks. The defendant was slow to exit the car, slow walking, and swayed while he stood. He then performed various field sobriety tests such as HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and the one leg stand. He was arrested for DUI and later refused a breath test.
Defense:	After negotiations with the State regarding the defendant and the evidence, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 28, 2024	Case: 24-CT-015913	Judge Silverman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for driving off the road and crossing over the white dotted line several times. The officer noticed and odor of alcohol, glassy/watery eyes, and her speech was slurred and thick tongued. There was vomit on the door jam and the defendant denied having anything to drink. She then performed various roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. She later refused a breath test.
Defense:	After conversation with the State regarding the defendant and the evidence, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 25, 2024	Case: 24-MM-060106	Judge T. Brown
Facts:	The defendant was stopped by police for having an obstructed/expired tag. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred/stuttered speech, and watery/glassy eyes. The defendant admitted to having consumed a "High Noon" and a Tito's vodka. Once out of the car, the defendant appeared unsteady and refused to perform any roadside tests. Multiple open alcoholic containers were later found inside the car. The defendant was arrested for DUI and later refused a breath test.
Defense:	After conversations with the State regarding the contradictions between the video tape and the police reports, they Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 20, 2024	Case: 24-CT-002234	Judge Gutman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving. Officers observed an odor of alcohol, glassy eyes, and she appeared unsteady. The defendant admitted to having drank a beer. After performing the HGN (eye test), one leg stand, and walk and turn exercises, she was arrested for DUI. She later refused a breath test.
Defense:	On tape, the defendant was not unsteady and her speech was normal. She performed better on the field sobriety tests on video than as described in the police reports. After conversations with the State, they Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 19, 2024	Case: 22-16194-MM	Judge Hessinger
Facts:	Police boarded the defendant's boat for a safety inspection. They then noticed an odor of alcohol, slow movements, and bloodshot eyes. He then performed various field sobriety tests on the boat, such as the finger to nose, palm pat, hand coordination, and HGN (eye test). He was arrested for Boating Under the Influence and later refused a breath test. He was also charged with Second Refusal as he had a prior refusal and also a prior DUI that was reduced to reckless two years earlier.
Defense:	The firm announced ready for trial on both charges. We pointed out that on the body worn cameras, not one of the defendant's normal faculties were impaired. In addition, the officer administering the field sobriety tests was reading off an instructional card, while another officer was off to the side was demonstrating. This made them very confusing to follow. In addition, after the four field sobriety tests were done on the boat, the officer still wanted to do more on the dock. The defendant stated he had done enough. It was only then that he was arrested. We pointed out to the State this clearly showed the officer wasn't even sure whether to arrest him after the four exercises. The day before trial, the State Dropped the Boating Under the Influence (BUI) and the defendant received time served (i.e., no penalties) on the refusal charge. It should be noted, the firm got this defendant's last DUI Dropped as well.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 13, 2024	Case: 24-CT-017750	Judge Farr
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving. Officer observed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot/glassy eyes, and slurred speech. After performing field sobriety tests such as the HGN (eye test), the walk and turn, and the one leg stand, he was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .088 and .085 in the breath machine.
Defense:	After pointing out that with the .02 margin of error in the machine, the defendant's breath alcohol results could have been under the legal limit. In addition, many written observations in the police reports were contradicted by the body worn camera.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 13, 2024	Case: 24-CT-004319	Judge Booras
Facts:	The defendant was found passed out behind the wheel of his car. The keys were in the ignition. Officers observed an odor of alcohol, vomit on his pants and face, and slurred speech. He stated that he drank some "Long Islands" and swayed while he stood. He performed very poorly on roadside tests such as the one leg stand and walk and turn, then was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .172 and .162 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Officers need reasonable suspicion of a crime in order to lawfully order someone out of the car when there is no traffic infraction. Here, there was no evidence of any crime (i.e., DUI) since all observations were made once he was outside of the car. For all the cops knew, he could have been just innocently sleeping. After conversations with the State, they Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 13, 2024	Case: 24-CT-003795	Judge Booras
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer observed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and she had glassy/red eyes. The defendant was unsteady exiting her car and swayed while she stood. She agreed to perform the HGN (eye test) and then refused to do any other roadside tests. She was arrested for DUI and later blew a .102 and .099 in the breath machine.
Defense:	After negotiations with the State regarding the evidence and the defendant, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 11, 2024	Case: 23-CT-004447	Judge Doyle
Facts:	A BOLO went out for police that the defendant was unable to maintain his lane of travel. Officers located the defendant in a parking lot and approached his car. They observed an odor of alcohol, thick/slurred speech, and glassy eyes. He appeared disoriented, had a drunk like appearance, and stated he should not be driving due to some mental health issues. The defendant performed very poorly on field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused a breath test.
Defense:	After several negotiations with the State regarding the evidence and the defendant, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 11, 2024	Case: AI9MOYE	Judge Lawhorne
Facts:	A call went out over police dispatch about a fight at a strip club. Call notes advised that a Hispanic male, wearing a grey jacket, was leaving the location in a Gray SUV and a tag number was provided. Police then stopped the defendant who was driving the vehicle in question. Officers noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant also stated that he had consumed two drinks. He refused to perform roadside tests other than the HGN (eye test) and was arrested for DUI. He later blew a .163 and .163 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Conversations were had with the State regarding the lawfulness of the traffic stop. Here, there wasn't even a call note that the defendant was the aggressor, victim, or what his involvement was at the very least. The description of the defendant was vague at best (i.e., Hispanic male with grey jacket). It wasn't even known how the initial callers were from the club.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 6, 2024	Case: 24-CT-000186	Judge Scott
Facts:	The defendant was found slouched over motionless on the handlebars of his motorcycle on the side of the road. Officers noticed an odor of alcohol, extremely slurred speech, and watery/glassy eyes. The defendant was off balance and admitted to drinking alcohol. He refused to perform field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused a breath test. This was the defendant's Fifth DUI.
Defense:	After conversations with the State about the evidence, we pointed out that the defendant was trying to do the right thing by not driving and pulling over to sleep it off. The State Dropped the defendant's Fifth DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

Jun 5, 2024	Case: 24-CT-014287	Judge Silverman
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for speeding. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, slurred speech, and glassy/bloodshot eyes. The defendant stated he had one drink, exited the car slowly, and also appeared unsteady. He then performed the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand exercises. He was arrested for DUI and later blew a .157 and .151 in the breath machine.
Defense:	After conversations with the State regarding the evidence and the defendant, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

May 30, 2024	Case: A6MGSQE	Judge Lawhorne
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for weaving over the lanes and having a tag not assigned to the specific vehicle. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, mumbled speech, a flushed face, she fumbled through her documents, and had glassy eyes. She then performed numerous roadside tests such as the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand. She was arrested for DUI and later blew a .155 and .147 in the breath machine.
Defense:	After negotiations with the State regarding the evidence and the defendant, they Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

May 30, 2024	Case: AITZMKE	Judge Croff
Facts:	The defendant was stopped after he was observed drifting side to side in his lane and speeding. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot/watery eyes, and his pupils were dilated. The defendant admitted to having one beer and having smoked marijuana. He performed various roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. Post arrest, a marijuana cigarette was found in his possession. After his arrest, he provided a urine sample which came back from the lab positive for marijuana.
Defense:	On video, the defendant performed very well on the roadside tests. We pointed out to the State that there was a lack of probable cause to arrest him. After several conversations with the State, they Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

May 30, 2024	Case: 23-CT-002901	Judge Gould
Facts:	The defendant was the at fault driver in a rear end crash. The first officer on scene noticed the defendant to have slow movements and constricted pupils. She stated he seemed "off", groggy, and confused. Another officer was called to the scene to perform field sobriety tests. The defendant then performed various field sobriety tests such as the walk and turn, one leg stand, finger to nose, and HGN (eye test). He was then arrested for DUI. Two vodka bottles were found in the defendant’s trunk. He later refused a breath test. This was the defendant's Third DUI.
Defense:	Parks & Braxton took pretrial depositions of the officers involved in the case. At depositions, not one officer could state that they smelled any alcohol on the defendant and none could state by what specific drug they thought was impairing the defendant. Thus, there was no reasonable suspicion of a crime to even justify legally requesting roadside tests. In addition, the officer administering the roadside tests came from another jurisdiction. That was in violation of a mutual aid agreement which did not specifically mention that officers from other jurisdictions can do DUI investigations. After conversations with State, they Dropped the defendant's Third DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

May 20, 2024	Case: 24-CT-500165	Judge Gill
Facts:	The defendant was stopped for having no visible taillights and swerving erratically. The officer noticed an odor of alcohol, bloodshot eyes, and heavy tongued/slurred speech. He also fumbled with his wallet and stated he had consumed two beers. He then performed various roadside tests such as the HGN (eye test), walk and turn, and one leg stand. He was arrested for DUI and later blew a .090 and .088 in the breath machine.
Defense:	Many of the observations written in the police reports were contradicted by the video tape. In addition, due to a .02 margin of error in the breath machine, we were able to take the defendant's breath alcohol results below the legal limit. After negotiations, the State Dropped the DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.

May 14, 2024	Case: 24-CT-000174	Judge Bell
Facts:	Callers dialed 911 stating that the defendant was driving all over the roadway and that he was going to cause an accident. An officer was waiting on the median and saw the defendant drive by his position. He then pulled out and observed the defendant weaving and conducted a traffic stop. He observed an odor of alcohol, extremely slurred speech, and bloodshot eyes. The defendant was very unsteady and unable to follow simple instructions. He refused to perform any roadside tests and was arrested for DUI. He later refused a breath test. This was the defendant's Second DUI.
Defense:	After conversations with the State regarding the case, the State agreed to Drop the defendant Second DUI.
Result:	The State dropped the DUI.