I had a DUI today with another new prosecutor. She called me last week about a postponement and I asked her to watch the video. She did so over the weekend, and this morning she agreed that if she was not brand new, she would drop the DUI. She needed her supervisor to view it, so we both asked and the supervisor who took the DVD out to watch it. Afterwards she agreed that there was not enough evidence and we agreed to the Negligent Driving charge, for which my client got a PBJ and an Expungement of the DUI and DWI. Without the video, this would have been a war. The police report was not bad, but ambiguous. My client was induced not to take a test because of an out-of-state license. We have not had the MVA Hearing on this yet.
Generally the videos are helpful, but not always. I had two last week. One was horrendous and the written description was flattering. The other was accurate and made a DWI instead of a DUI, and the case resolved itself that way. In all three cases the prosecutors were interested in if my client was in treatment. Today and Friday both had completed treatment. It goes a long way in helping to resolve what might be a close case.