November 27, 2013: Another Headline-Making Victory in the Court of Appeals: Higher Court Upholds Dismissal of Client's Refusal Charge

Dennis Melowski's successful defense of former state senator Randy Hopper already made headlines locally and nationally when a jury found him NOT GUILTY of all charges back in March of 2012. But the County of Fond du Lac didn't take that loss too kindly. For the past 18 months, they have been doing everything in their power to convince the Court of Appeals to reinstate the charge of  Refusing a Chemical Test against Mr. Hopper, a charge that was dismissed by the trial court judge in the aftermath of the jury's not guilty verdicts. After slugging the case out in the appeal system for the last year and a half, justice finally prevailed (again). The Court of Appeals ruled against the County and upheld the trial judge's decision to dismiss the Refusal charge. Mr. Hopper remains completely exonerated.

The outcome in Mr. Hopper's case is yet another example of the lengths to which our attorneys will go to protect the interests of our clients. It's the only way we know.**

Media accounts of our victory in Mr. Hopper's case can be read here:

http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/233629391.html

http://www.fox11online.com/web/fox11online/news/local/fox-cities/appeals-court-rules-on-hopper-fond-du-lac-owi-case

http://www.startribune.com/politics/national/233613291.html

http://www.postcrescent.com/viewart/20131127/APC0104/311270262/

**A special thanks to Attorney Chad Lanning, West Bend, WI, for his invaluable assistance and insight during Mr. Hopper's appeal. It is truly appreciated.

Attorney Sarvan Singh Closes Out Year on an Extraordinary Streak

Attorney Sarvan Singh has been on a tear recently. Along with having several drunken driving charges amended to non-alcohol-related offenses , two of his clients completely avoided felony OWI convictions. Here is an overview of the remarkable outcomes he has obtained for his clients over the past several weeks:

1) OWI-5TH REDUCED TO OWI-1ST: Twelve years ago, MMM had four drunken driving convictions in less than two months. After that, he got clean and turned his life around. But when he picked up another one earlier this year, he was looking at a felony 5^th offense. With his world collapsing around him, MMM made preparations for prison. However, Attorney Singh refused to give in. He pulled MMM’s record and challenged his prior convictions. Going toe to toe with the prosecutor for nearly a year, the judge ruled that the prior convictions must be thrown out. This turned MMM’s felony 5^th offense into a civil first offense OWI. No jail, no probation, no prison, no ignition interlock device, and no more stress. MMM is now back on track thanks to Sarvan's relentless advocacy. It's what every client can expect with the attorneys at this firm.  

2) OWI-1ST REDUCED TO TWO NON-ALCOHOL-RELATED TRAFFIC OFFENSES: JMH is a young man who made a mistake. Legally, he should not have been drinking. He then displayed further poor judgment by driving. When he noticed red and blue flashing lights in his rear-view, JMH knew he was in trouble. The situation worsened when he blew over the legal limit. JMH’s family reached out to Attorney Singh because they knew what this conviction would mean to JMH and his promising future. Attorney Singh, in turn, reached out to the prosecutor and lobbied relentlessly on JMH's behalf. After highlighting the problems with JMH’s case, the prosecutor amended the OWI to two traffic citations. Attorney Singh was thrilled to see the wave of relief wash over the faces of JMH and his family. Instead of partying, JMH now focuses on his classes and graduate school applications. His future is as bright as ever. 

3) TWO CAREERS SAVED: TWO SETS OF DRUNK DRIVING CHARGES DROPPED: When you make your living behind the wheel, the one thing you can't be without is a driver’s license. That is the situation for both of Sarvan's clients, BBB and JAW. BBB traverses the Midwest for work and JAW is a commercial driver. Both support their families and a loss of license would be the loss of employment. JAW had a blood test of .147, but exhibited no poor driving and his performance on the field tests was not indicative of such a high alcohol level. BBB also showed no bad driving and while his blood test result was lower, his field tests were very poor. In BBB’s case, Attorney Singh was able to show the prosecutor that BBB’s alcohol content was much lower at the time of driving. The result was a reckless driving for BBB. For JAW, Attorney Singh heavily litigated a variety of legal issues which converted the drunken driving into a simple traffic ordinance.  Both JAW and BBB were overjoyed that Attorney Singh kept an OWI conviction from derailing their livelihoods. 

4) OWI-1ST (WITH .16 BREATH TEST) REDUCED TO RECKLESS DRIVING: ANOTHER COMMERCIAL DRIVER'S CAREER SAVED: JPK has his own business. This business requires a commercial license. Simply put, if he doesn’t have his commercial license, he doesn’t work. So when he was pulled over on his motorcycle and arrested for OWI, he stood to lose everything. Luckily, Attorney Singh had prior dealings with the prosecutor assigned to JPK's case. This prosecutor was keenly aware of the reputation developed by the lawyers at Melowski & Associates. Instead of digging his heels in for a drawn-out legal battle, the prosecutor simply amended the charge to a reckless driving, which in turn, saved JPK’s family business. This is the type of outcome that only attorneys with clout can achieve.  

 5) TRULY REMARKABLE: OWI-5TH REDUCED TO INATTENTIVE DRIVING: The following result is nearly unheard of. GOB was pulled over for a felony 5^th offense OWI while riding his motorcycle on Highway 10. An elderly gentleman, GOB was petrified at the prospect of prison, which is a near certainty in many fifth offense cases. Attorney Singh took one look at the case and told him not to worry. The arrest was riddled with errors and shoddy police work . Couple this with the fact that GOB’s prior convictions were also questionable, which left Attorney Singh confident he could truly help GOB. But even GOB could not foresee this type of resolution: The felony OWI 5^th offense was reduced all the way down to inattentive driving, which is a minor traffic offense. GOB is still in disbelief that this potential felony is now simply a traffic ticket.

If you are considering hiring another law firm to represent you in your drunk driving case, please ask them if they can document results like this over the course of the past year. It will not take long for you to figure out who the pretenders are. We promise.