Offense: OUI .13%
Maximum Sentence: 364 days jail, 1 year loss of license, $2,000.00 fine
Mandatory Minimum Sentence: 90 day loss of license, $500 fine
Synopsis: Client was at a McDonald’s drive through placing an order. A McDonald’s employee who had a brief opportunity to observe the client’s mannerisms called the police as she suspected the client was impaired. The police arrived prior to the client exiting the parking lot and confronted the client. Client admitted to consuming alcohol and performed poorly on the field sobriety tests. Client was placed under arrest and brought to the county jail for a breath test and blew a .13%.
Result: Client elected to have a jury trial. Client had a host of medical issues including COPD, GERD, asthma and chronic neck and back pain. Client suffered from a severe disability as he was dyslexic. We retained a physiologist and GERD/COPD expert on the case who provided the state with a report that showed beyond a shadow of a doubt that the breath test was completely unreliable and that his true BrAC was well under the legal limit. As a result, the State decided to go forward with trial based solely on impairment and chose not to mention that a breath test was administered, which precluded the defense from arguing that the test was invalid. The jury heard the evidence and returned a verdict of NOT GUILTY!
