Charge: OUI (.16%)
Summary: Client had driven all the way to Maine from Pennsylvania with little to no sleep and was physically exhausted. Client stopped at a rest area in southern Maine where the client cracked open to Bud Lite beers in order to hydrate while he / she had a quick bite to eat. On the way to client’s ultimate destination, a “concerned citizen” called 911 and reported that the client was driving in an erratic. The “concerned citizen” followed my client to his / her hotel and gave local law enforcement a complete description of my client’s car. The police showed up shortly thereafter and began an OUI investigation that resulted in my client being arrested for OUI. Client was brought back to the PD for a breath test where he / she registered a .17% BrAC result.
Mandatory Minimum Penalty: 48 hours jail; $500.00 fine; 150 day loss of license
Maximum Penalty: 364 days jail; $2,000.00 fine; 7 month loss of license
Result: Prior to the dispositional conference we’d been asking for discovery that was missing from the file. We never received the missing discovery, which included the 911 tapes. I successfully leveraged that failure to provide us with discovery into a dismissal of the OUI charge and a plea of guilty to Driving to Endanger for a 30 day loss of license and $575.00 fine. Pennsylvania doesn’t have a DTE statute so the client’s PA DL was never suspended.
