Breath Test

David is an Aerospace Project Engineer. His job title doesn’t go well with a DUI. He was willing to fight his DUI charges at all costs. I was happy to help him. The best thing that he had going for him was that when he was arrested for DUI, he was cooperative and treated the DUI officer well. The police officer even wrote in his DUI arrest report that David, “remained very cooperative and respectful throughout the entire investigation.” So, we had that going for us, which was nice.

David was driving home and was lost in Rincon, Georgia. He was new to town and lived in Port Wentworth, Georgia. The Rincon Police Officer was behind David on South Columbia Avenue. The police officer saw David fail to maintain his lane twice and pulled him over in the Walmart parking lot. The police officer asked for his license and David already had it in his hand for him. The cop wrote in his report that he noticed a “strong odor of alcohol emitting from the vehicle, observed a thick mumbled speech, and glassy bloodshot eyes.” The Rincon Police Officer asked David where he was coming from. David said, “Silverado’s,” a bar and grill in Port Wentworth, Georgia. The officer asked David to get out of his truck. David complied.

The officer asked David if he would do some field sobriety tests to make sure he was safe to drive. David said, “Yes,” and told him he used to be a police Officer for the Department of Defense. David was trained on how to give the Field Sobriety tests, which he was now asked to perform by the Rincon police officer. Another cop pulled up. The police officer gave David all three standardized field sobriety tests: the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, the One Leg Stand, and the Walk and Turn. David failed all three, naturally. The officer saw six of six clues on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test. He found two of eight clues on the Walk and Turn and three of four clues on the One Leg Stand.

These field sobriety tests are a bad joke. You should never do them because you will fail and most likely the police officer will think you failed even when you did not. If the police officer asks you to do these exercises he already believes that you are under the influence of alcohol. So it is no surprise that he subjectively feels that you showed signs of being under the influence during your roadside agility tryouts.

The Rincon Police officer arrested David and took him to the Effingham Sheriff’s Office and gave him the breath tests on the Intoxilyzer 9000. David blew a .113 and was charged with O.C.G.A. § 40-6-391(a)(5) DUI – Alcohol 0.08 grams or more; and O.C.G.A. § 40-6-48 Failure to maintain lane. David called me the next day. About six months later we were in the Rincon Municipal Court in Bryan County and David got his DUI charge reduced to O.C.G.A. § 40-6-241 Failure to exercise due care. David is still working in the airline industry, and has no DUI on his record.

Judgment: Rincon DUI Breath Test Reduced for Aerospace Project Engineer

I was in Italy when I got the call. She was a nice woman and a Captain in the U.S. Army. She felt remorseful, and stressed. She was rather concerned and wanted to get rid of her DUI charges. I helped her by preparing her letter to request a license suspension hearing and save her driver’s license. I did it on the train from Venice to Cinque Terre.

The Pooler Police Officer wrote in his police report that she failed to maintain her lane and then she parked her 2015 white Mercedes Benz on the side walk. She smelled of alcohol and the cop asked her to do some Field Sobriety Tests. Naturally she failed those and was arrested. The Pooler Police arrested her for DUI/Alcohol – 40-6-391(a)(5); DUI less safe – 40-6-391(a)(1); Failure to maintain lane – 40-6-48; and Open container – 40-6-253. She was crying, and hyperventilating (like woman do when they are arrested for DUI) and then she took a breath test. She blew a .170 on the Intoxilyzer 9000.

Eventually, she plead both of her DUI charges down to Failure to use due care. The charge for open container was changed to driving too fast for conditions. The Pooler Police officer is the real reason for her success. He is an admirable man and he was willing to work with me on this case for this woman.

Judgment: High DUI Breath Test Reduced to Failure to exercise due care

My client, (I will call him Kevin) was arrested by the Pooler Police Department in Pooler, a municipality of Savannah, Georgia, Chatham County. He was charged with four DUI related traffic offenses. The police officer wrote in his report that Kevin drove in the left hand lane going 50 m.p.h. for several miles and there were no cars in the right lane. The officer pulled Kevin over and when he was at the window he smelled alcohol. He asked Kevin where he was coming from. Kevin replied, “Bahama Bob’s.” The cop asked Kevin if he drank. Kevin said he had drank his last drink about an hour ago. The officer said Kevin’s face was flushed and his speech was slow and slurred, and that Kevin struggled to remove his license from his wallet.

Arrested for DUI in Pooler

The officer asked Kevin to get out of his car and do some Field Sobriety Tests. Kevin did as asked. He took the three required DUI field tests: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test, Walk and Turn, and One Leg Stand. He then took the Preliminary breath test. This showed the presence of alcohol. The officer concluded that Kevin failed all three of the tests and arrested him for DUI less safe. The cop then read Kevin the Implied Consent Rights and asked if he would take a breath test. Kevin said, “Yes.” He took the test and blew a .128 into the Intoxilyzer 5000 police breath test at the Pooler Police Station.

Eventually, Kevin was given the opportunity to plead his DUI down to Failure to use due care, and all other charges would be dismissed. He took it.

Here is the deal

Original Charges

1. DUI alcohol (breath test) – 40-6-391(a)(5)
2. DUI less safe (alcohol) – 40-6-391(a)(1)
3. Must apply for new license within 60 days of moving to a new address – 40-5-33
4. Impeding the flow of traffic – 40-6-184

Final Result

1. Reduced to Failure to use due care
2. Dismissed
3. Dismissed
4. Dismissed

Final Judgment: DUI Dismissed in Pooler, Georgia

He was arrested for DUI under the limit (.062), and plead his DUI charge down to Reckless Driving. John and his wife went to Applebee’s for dinner. He drank two beers with his wings. On his way home he was pulled over by the Savannah Metropolitan Police for Failure to move over. There was traffic behind him and coming at him in the other lane. He couldn’t safely move over even if he tried. He was arrested and charged with DUI, Less Safe (Alcohol) 40-6-391(a)(1); Driving with unlawful blood alcohol level – 40-6-391(a)(5); Failure to obey move over law – 40-6-16; and Reckless Driving – 40-6-390. John took a state-administered test at the police station and the result was .062. That is under the legal limit of .08.

We worked out a good deal with the Assistant District Attorney, and in the State Court of Chatham County Georgia, John plead guilty to Reckless driving. The three other charges went away. The first charge for DUI, Less Safe (Alcohol) 40-6-391(a)(1) was changed to Reckless Driving – 40-6-390. The second charge to Driving with unlawful blood alcohol level – 40-6-391(a)(5) was dismissed. The third charge for Failure to obey move over law – 40-6-16 was merged into the charge for Reckless driving.

Judgment: DUI under the limit reduced

Elena was arrested for Driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) with .02 grams or more under 21 years of age – 40-6-391(k)(1); Underage possession of alcohol – 7-3-24(b); and Speeding – 40-6-181 by the Richmond Hill Police Department. The police officer claimed that he “detected an odor consistent with that of an intoxicating beverage,” coming from Elena. The police officer wrote in his arrest report that he asked Elena if she had been drinking, and she said she had consumed a “little bit” of alcohol. The cop asked where it was, and she said in the trunk. The cop opened the trunk and found a bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila Silver, a bottle of Smirnoff Vodka Green Apple, a bottle of Malibu Red, a bottle of Stella Artois Cider, and a bottle of Firestone Vineyard. The officer asked Elena to do a Preliminary Breath Test (PBT) on the street. She did and the PBT result showed the presence of alcohol. The officer then arrested Elena and read her the Implied Consent Rights.  Later, she gave two breath tests at the police station and the results were .099 and .094.

The biggest problem with this DUI arrest was that the officer failed to do any of the three field sobriety tests before he arrested my client. The field sobriety tests should have been done first. And then if he wanted to confirm the results of his field sobriety tests he may do a preliminary breath test (PBT). According to the DUI Field Sobriety Training Manual, “Many experienced DUI officers rely on the PBT less as their confidence in DUI Detection increases.”

In the Bryan County Municipal Court of Richmond Hill, Georgia Elena plead guilty to Reckless Driving. The Speeding charge was merged, and so was the Underage posssession of alcohol.

Judgment: Model Arrested for DUI Plead to Reckless Driving