Thursday, March 7, 2013

Attorney Matt Murray Obtains Outstanding Results in 3 Separate Cases

Case #1: OWI -1st/PAC-1st (with .172 Blood Test) Reduced to Reckless Driving

When GG first came to us he was devastated by his recent drunk driving arrest. He was only a few months away from graduating as an electrical lineman, a well-paying field in which GG would work on power lines throughout Wisconsin. An OWI conviction would make it so GG would never be hired in the field that he had spent years studying. The facts of GG's case initially looked very bleak. He was stopped for a burnt out headlight as he was coming back from a downtown bar area at 2:25AM. The officer observed an open beer can in the car and then claimed GG failed the field sobriety tests. A blood test came back indicating that GG’s blood-alcohol concentration was .172.  GG contacted our firm to save his career and Attorney Matt Murray was tabbed for this very important assignment. Matt got to work right away laying the groundwork for what would become a very successful defense. After thoroughly questioning the arresting officer about the field sobriety tests at GG's administrative suspension hearing, Matt carefully planted the seeds for a legal challenge to whether the officer even had grounds to administer the tests to GG in the first place. Matt filed a motion to this effect, relying on the officer's testimony at the suspension hearing. As the motion hearing approached, the prosecution filed response briefs to the motions filed by Matt. The same day, Matt sent reply briefs of his own. This process happened multiple times in the days preceding the hearing, but Matt was determined to not let the prosecutor get the upper hand. The prosecutor never did. In fact, immediately before the motion hearing, Matt was able to negotiate an outstanding result. The prosecutor agreed to drop the drunk driving charges. In exchange, GG agreed to plead no contest to  Reckless Driving, a non-alcohol-related driving ticket carrying no loss of license. GG's career was saved. Another very real result, and another very happy client.

Case #2 : OWI-3rd (with .240 Blood-Alcohol Concentration) Reduced to OWI-1st with Minimum Penalties and Avoidance of Ignition Interlock Device

Not realizing that drunk driving cases can actually be fought and won, SE plead guilty to his second OWI years ago without the help of an attorney. When SE picked up a third offense, he knew he was going to need the help of a very skilled attorney. The stakes were just too high. SE contacted Attorney Matt Murray. Utilizing his in-depth knowledge of the intricacies of DUI defense, Matt was able to successfully attack SE's second offense OWI from years before. This was a huge victory because SE’s first offense was more than ten years ago, making it too old to count. As a result, SE's third offense suddenly became a first, with no possibility of jail time or any of the other extremely harsh consequences associated with a third offense.

Due to his very high alcohol concentration of .24, however, SE was still facing a long license revocation, ignition interlock device, and a stiff fine, even though the case was now just a first offense. But Matt wasn't finished. As it turns out, the blood draw was captured on video and it showed the phlebotomist not following proper procedure. Matt then challenged whether or not the blood test could be used at trial, along with some other motions, and a deal was struck with the prosecution to have SE plead to the absolute minimums for an OWI-1st. This meant that SE not only avoided the third offense penalties, he also avoided the ignition interlock device and received the absolute minimum license revocation and fine for a first offense. Highly specialized knowledge and relentless advocacy: The cornerstones of our practice.

Case #3: No Conviction Where Client Was Alleged To Have Resisted Arrest Causing An Officer To Suffer A Dislocated Hip, Fractured Femur, And A Torn Labrum

It is rare that our firm handles a case that is not drunk driving in nature. Occasionally, however, a former client or friend of the firm may have a friend or family member who could use our help in some other type of criminal case. This is how we came to represent ES, who was alleged to have struggled with three officers trying to arrest him for failing to submit to a preliminary breath test after he was suspected of underage drinking. During the struggle, one of the officers suffered serious injuries, including a dislocated hip, a fractured femur, and a torn labrum. The District Attorney’s Office charged ES with the crime of resisting an officer and took a very hard-line approach to the case, as they do whenever an officer is injured like this.
Attorney Matt Murray knew the District Attorney’s Office would be looking for a significant jail sentence, probation, and restitution. The insurance company that paid for the officer’s disability compensation and medical expenses was seeking $25,201.00 in restitution and could potentially sue ES in civil court for even more.
Matt knew full well that if there was restitution being requested that the District Attorney’s Office would do whatever it could to get a conviction so probation could be imposed. Probation would permit an agent to monitor ES and make sure he paid back the restitution to the insurance company.  But Matt negotiated a remarkable settlement with the insurance company for less than a fifth of what was requested, saving ES and his family more than $20,000.00 in the process.
 
With the restitution skillfully taken care of,  Matt next set his sights on the criminal case itself. He negotiated extensively with the prosecutor and was able to convince him to agree that if ES participated in counseling once a month for six months that the entire case would be dismissed, a result that would have been considered nearly impossible when the case began.  After months of extreme anxiety, ES and his family could not only stop worrying that ES would have to spend a significant period of time in jail, they could also breathe a sigh of relief that ES would not become a convicted criminal. A truly fantastic result.

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

February 4, 2013: OWI-1st (with .178 blood test result) Reduced to Minor Traffic Offenses

ALM is a skilled professional whose employment in her field requires her to have fully valid driving privileges. A law-abiding citizen her entire life, ALM never dreamed she would ever be arrested for anything, much less a potentially career-ending offense like drunk driving. After a night out with some friends, however, ALM learned that in this day and age just about anyone who drinks before they drive can be suspected of driving drunk if they have the misfortune of encountering the police. Shortly after leaving a bar, ALM quickly realized she shouldn't be driving, so she did what every responsible driver should do in such a situation. She stopped the car so that one of her friends could take over behind the wheel. Unfortunately, a sheriff's deputy witnessed ALM slow to a stop and pulled up behind her to see if everything was alright. One thing led to another and about 15 minutes later ALM was handcuffed in the back of a squad car, under arrest for driving drunk. The deputy took her to the local hospital for a blood draw and the alleged result was .178, more than twice the legal limit. Knowing she had to fight her case to save her career, ALM contacted a well-known law firm for help. She was immediately referred to Dennis Melowski, who had successfully represented a number of this firm's clients in the past.  After months of intense negotiations with the prosecutor, Dennis was able to obtain a fantastic resolution for ALM. The drunk driving charges were dropped. In exchange, ALM agreed to plead no contest to two minor traffic offenses: Inattentive Driving and Improper Satnding of Vehicle. Aside from paying a fine, ALM suffered no consequences from her arrest. She never lost her license for a single day; avoided the costly and embarrasing ignition interlock device; and, most importantly, avoided the awful black mark of being a convicted drunk driver. She couldn't be happier.