She was driving a Jeep Wrangler on Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd in Savannah, Georgia and was pulled over by the Georgia State Patrol. She didn’t know why. The police officer later wrote in his report that she failed to maintain her lane by traveling over the center line twice with her left side tires. The officer got her out of the Jeep. He said he noticed a strong odor of alcoholic beverage coming from her breath and person. The cop asked her how much she drank, and she told him two drinks. The officer asked her to do field sobriety tests. She did them. She was arrested. She agreed to take the blood test. She took it and later got her results and she was under the limit. But they found drugs in her blood from the test.

In the State Court of Chatham County Georgia, they charged her with O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(4) DUI less safe (alcohol and drugs); O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(2) DUI less safe (drugs); O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(1) DUI less safe (alcohol); O.C.G.A. § 40-6-48 Failure to maintain lane; and O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(5) Driving with unlawful blood alcohol level. After saving her driver’s license we focused on her criminal case. About a year later we negotiated a good deal with the District Attorney’s Office and she plead guilty to Failure to maintain lane, and Reckless Driving.

Judgment: DUI charges changed to reckless driving for actress

 

A Deputy for the Effingham County Sheriff’s Office was told to be on the lookout (BOLO) for a gray van who is a possible drunk driver (my client). The deputy got behind a grey minivan just north of McCall Road South on Highway 21 South. The Deputy wrote in his report that the van crossed a lane and then he pulled the van over. My client stopped at the deputy’s direction.

The Deputy wrote in his police report that at the window my client was difficult to understand. She said she had two beers that night, and she was also taking a prescribed medication. The Deputy asked my client to come outside and do some field sobriety tests. My client did as instructed. They did the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the Walk and Turn, and the One Leg Stand on my client. She failed these exercises with flying colors according to the police officer’s report. They asked her to take a blood test and she consented. The Effingham County Sheriff’s Office arrested my client and charged her with DUI, DUI less safe, and Improper Display of License Plates.

In the State Court of Effingham County my client got a great plea. She plead guilty to Driver to use due care O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241. The charges for DUI, DUI less safe, and Improper Display of License Plates were dismissed by the Solicitor General.

Judgment: Effingham DUI blood test down to Driver to use due care

Mr. Anderson was arrested on I-16 by the Georgia Department of Public Safety (a.k.a. Georgia State Patrol). He was charged with DUI – Any combination of alcohol/drugs/toxic vapor/less safe – 40-6-391(a)(4); Speeding in excess of maximum limits 40-6-181; and Failure to maintain lane – 40-6-48. He took a blood test and the results showed an alcohol concentration of 0.089.

DUI Police Report

The DUI Nighthawk Police Officer was operating stationary radar on Interstate 16 when he observed a gold Lexus traveling at a high rate of speed. He pulled over Mr. Anderson for going 75 m.p.h. in a 55 m.p.h. zone. He noted in his report that he immediately noticed an odor of alcoholic beverage coming from my client’s breath. The officer also wrote in his report that Mr. Anderson had glassy bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, and was unsteady on his feet while walking. My client told the cop he had one beer to drink that night. My client agreed to try out the Field Sobriety Tests. On the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) eye test my client exhibited four of six clues. On the Walk and turn test he showed five of eight clues. On the One Leg Stand test he exhibited zero clues. The officer had my client blow into a preliminary breath test on the side of the road. (This is not the real breath test at the station.) The preliminary breath test showed positive for the presence of alcohol. At this point he arrested my client. After my client was placed into the back of the police car, the police officer read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice for Suspects 21 and Over. Mr. Anderson agreed to take a blood test. At the jail, he took a blood test and the results three weeks later showed an alcohol concentration of 0.089.

Recorder’s Court DUI Plea Bargain

In the Recorder’s Court of Savannah, Georgia Chatham County my client plead his DUI charge down to Reckless Driving. The charge for Failure to maintain lane was merged into Reckless Driving. And he plead guilty to Speeding.

Judgment: Recorder’s Court DUI plead down to Reckless Driving

Pooler DUI Arrest

Tony crashed and flipped his truck at the intersection of Benton Boulevard and Mulberry Boulevard in Pooler, Georgia. Tony was arrested by the Georgia State Patrol in Pooler, Georgia. He took a blood test which came back at .208. Tony was arrested for the following four crimes:

1. DUI Alcohol less safe – 40-6-391(a)(1)
2. DUI Blood test 40-6-391
3. Possession of open container in vehicle passenger area – 40-6-253
4. Failure to stop at a stop sign – 40-6-72(b)

Tony was facing a possible 4 years in jail if he was convicted of these misdemeanor charges. There was no DUI arrest report ever made by the police officer. They prepared an accident report, but no DUI report.

Final Outcome in Pooler Municipal Court

The Georgia State trooper allowed Tony’s DUI charges to be plead down to Reckless driving at the Preliminary Hearing in the Pooler Municipal Court of Chatham County Georgia. The charge for DUI less safe was dismissed. The charge for DUI blood test was reduced to reckless driving.  The charge for Possession of open container in vehicle passenger area was dismissed. The charge for Failure to stop at a stop sign was dismissed. Anything is possible if you fight your DUI blood test or breath test or any DUI charges.

Judgment: Pooler DUI Blood Test Reduced

 

Amy was afraid.  If she were to be convicted of DUI, she could have been discharged from the U.S. Army. She could have lost her security clearance, and she could have lost her high ranking position. So, she gave me something to fight for.  And along the way came the opportunity to take reckless driving instead of DUI.  She took it.

Amy was arrested by the Pooler Police Department and charged with DUI/alcohol 40-6-391(a)(5), DUI less safe 40-6-391(a)(1) and Speeding 40-6-181. In the Municipal Court of Pooler in Chatham County, Georgia, I helped her get rid of the DUI.  She plead guilty to reckless driving and speeding. The DUI was dismissed.

She’d never been in any real trouble before. Just a couple of speeding tickets. And on this night she was driving home. The video that I finally got from the police officer proved she was pulled over for speeding (86 m.p.h. in a 65 m.p.h. zone). She didn’t swerve or do any other thing wrong. She got her license out and waited on the police officer to come. He came. “You been drinking,” he asked. “No,” she said. He told her to get out of her car and asked her to do a preliminary breath test on the side of the road. (This should always be given last, after the three standardized field sobriety tests: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, Walk and Turn, and One leg stand.) The police officer deviated from his training and didn’t do any of the three field sobriety tests. Not a one.

Amy cooperated with the cop and took the preliminary breath test. The police officer wrote in his report that the preliminary breath test showed the presence of alcohol at .175. So he arrested her. Amy got to the station and tried to take a breath test but the police officer said that she gave an insufficient sample (.139). Amy requested to have a blood test. So they drew her blood and she went home. She called me. She hired me. I worked. First, I got her license suspension case dismissed so she was able to keep driving. Then at the Preliminary Hearing in the Municipal Court of Pooler the police officer and the judge agreed to allow her to plead the DUI down to reckless driving.  So the DUI is gone. Amy wins. Case closed.

Judgment: DUI blood test dismissed in Chatham County