I just finished a case where the state trooper put the client in front of the CLIENT’S car for the SFSTS. Huh??? The client was tall enough that you could see some of the movement of the head and torso. Otherwise, you might as well have turned the camera off. The...
Tough Times Call For Tough Representation
Year: 2011
Interlock update
A repeat offender with breath test of .08-.14 who has a prior .08-.14 in the last 5 years is now interlock eligible without a Hearing. That is because the offender is no longer eligible for a restricted driver’s license. That does not mean that the ALJs are going to...
2nd State Trooper whose videos do not match his reports
Yesterday I was in court where the tape and printed word did not match. But for the fact my client did poorly on 1 of the SFSTS, it would have been a trial. The tape supported a plea to the lesser offense as there was a medical issue surrounding the breath test. A...
Harford County Not Guilty
Harford County has the reputation of being a tough jurisdiction to try a DUI, especially in the District Court. I have obtained not guilty verdicts in jury trials because I don’t try many of these in the District Court. The last trial in the District Court took 2...
Motion to Suppress
Had an interesting Motion to Suppress yesterday that was granted. The issue involved the seizure of pills from the console of my client’s vehicle. We dealt with those drugs before we dealt with the arrest for possession of marihuana. That too was suppressed, but...
State trooper testimony that defied logic and the Manual
I will spare this trooper the embarrassment of mentioning his name. The lawyers who read this know who I am talking about. This trooper is the exception, not the Rule. He makes a DUI arrest every other day. He screws up the SFSTs every other day! In a...
Want to get drunk and sit in your car in your driveway with the engine on……
...Be prepared to be asked to take a breath test. Today the Court of Appeals eliminated the defense to the requirement for taking of a breath test, that you be found driving or in actual control of the vehicle on a highway or private property used by the public in...
CDL
Many lawyers are having problems figuring out the issues a driver charged with DUI who holds a CDL. AN INTERLOCK IS A SUSPENSION AND YOU LOSE YOUR CDL. A PBJ FOR DUI OR PER SE LOSES YOUR CDL. If you blow a .15 or above take the 90 day hit, and then you get your CDL...
“Not one of my better Field Sobriety Days”
Thus spoke the police officer at an MVA Hearing last week. I will have the tape of this admission for the jury trial in Baltimore City. He condensed the HGN exam, because he sometimes does that. He admitted he was not supposed to. Wrong instructions on the Walk and...
The Judge had the SFSTs performed on her, she passed, but the police officer failed
The judge today asked the police officer to perform the tests on her exactly as on the client. On the HGN he held the stimulus so high she had to crane her neck. I showed him the NHTSA Manual and he agreed it was held to high. On the one-leg stand he told to hold...