Charge: OUI Refusal
Maximum Penalty: 364 days jail; 14 month loss of license (includes 275 day BMV suspension) & $2,000.00 fine
Mandatory Minimum Penalty: 4 days jail; 5 month loss of license; $600.00 fine
Summary: Client was driving drunk and spotted by the local sheriff’s department. Client appeared to be intoxicated and a bag of “empties” was visible in the bed of client’s truck. We’d represented client previously for an OUI and gotten that charge dismissed. Due to client’s profession, a loss of license would result in the loss of client’s job. No acceptable offers were made by the DA so we took the case to jury trial. During the course of the trial, the deputy admitted that client repeatedly requested a blood test. The deputy also admitted that there was a “line of people” waiting to take a breath test and that it would have ultimately been quicker to give client a blood test rather than wait around for the breath test. Deputy had conducted a fairly shoddy investigation, which we exposed through cross-examination.
Result: Not Guilty at trial!
