Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Attorney Murray Comes Up Big in Two Cases

1) November 25, 2014: Operating with a Restricted Controlled Substance Reduced to Minor City Ordinance Ticket: When BF was involved in an accident she knew she was going to be in a bit of trouble because she did not have a license.  However, she thought she would be fine when the officer asked her to perform field sobriety tests because she was sober.  Yet, even completely sober people can fail these challenging tests, which BF had the misfortune of learning....right there on the side of the road. She was arrested on the spot and taken to the hospital for a blood draw.  As is commonly done, the officer requested a drug test if BF's blood-alcohol concentration turned out to be below the legal limit for alcohol. While BF's blood-alcohol concentration did come back below .08, THC (marijuana) was found in her system, even though she had not used any for several weeks. Illegal drug cases like BF's can be extremely difficult to defend. Unlike a drunk driving case where the prosecutor has to prove a certain level (.08 or more) of alcohol consumption, in an illegal drug case the prosecutor merely has to show the drug was present in the person's system, even if it is just a trace amount from days or weeks before. Undaunted,  Attorney Murray scoured the discovery materials, including the blood test records, and prepared for trial.  On the morning of trial, the prosecutor offered to reduce the charge to a city ordinance ticket that would not even show up on BF's driving record.  The charge of Driving Without a License was also dismissed. This was about the best possible result BF could have hoped for. She avoided the awful stigma of a drug-related driving conviction and also avoided any loss of license. Another extremely happy client.

2) November 12, 2014: Client Escapes OWI-3rd Conviction for the Second Time with Our Firm: RG had previously retained our firm to represent him in an OWI-3rd several years ago. We delivered by getting those charges reduced to a non-alcohol related offense.  Unfortunately, RG picked up another OWI-3rd earlier this year and naturally came to us again.  Things initially seemed grim.  There was an accident, a high test result, and poor field sobriety tests.  But by focusing on the improper procedure used by the hospital staff in drawing RG's blood, Attorney Murray was able to convince the prosecutor to reduce the charge again to a non-alcohol related misdemeanor offense, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle.  This reduced offense carries no license loss, no ignition interlock device and will not even appear on RG's driver record. Given that this was the second OWI-third charge RG had escaped, however, the prosecutor did want some jail time.  This was problematic for RG given his work schedule.  Ultimately, Attorney Murray convinced the judge to allow RG to serve his sentence at the rate of just five days a month.  RG once again had a huge load off his chest and kept his job. Not many people are able to avoid even one offense as significant as an OWI-3rd, let alone two. These are the types of outcomes for our clients that separate us from the rest. 

Monday, November 17, 2014

November 3, 2014: OWI-1st/PAC-1st Reduced to Two Minor Traffic Tickets for Delivery Driver Client

MB is employed as a delivery driver for a very well-known package delivery corporation. It's an excellent job, with great pay and benefits, and one that MB couldn't imagine life without. Unfortunately, in this field, any disruption to valid driving privileges, especially when alcohol-related, is nothing short of a professional death sentence. So when MB was arrested for her first-ever drunk driving charge, she was looking at far more than just the court-imposed penalties. She was staring down the end of her career. She had to do something, but what could be done? She knew she had struggled on the field sobriety tests and she also had a breath test over the legal limit. Not knowing where to turn, MB sought the advice of a local attorney, who was pessimistic about her chances if she chose to fight the case. The attorney bluntly told MB that her only shot was to hire Dennis Melowski. Convinced Dennis was the only one who could help, MB put her future in Dennis' hands. The decision is one MB will never regret. Despite having to contend with some very difficult facts, Dennis was able to find an issue which seriously called into question the validity of how the breath test was administered to MB at the police station. By scouring the maintenance records of the breath test machine, Dennis identified an issue that most lawyers would have missed. Just a few days before MB's jury trial, Dennis was able to leverage his ammunition regarding the breath test into a fantastic result for MB. Dennis convinced the prosecutor to reduce the OWI charge to the minor traffic offense of Inattentive Driving. The remaining PAC charge was reduced to the equally minor offense of Deviation from Designated Lane. Aside from paying some fines, MB suffered no consequences from her arrest. She never lost her license for a single day and avoided the career-ending stigma of a drunk driving conviction. She is still driving for the same well-known company...and she couldn't be happier. (To read MB's thoughts of Dennis' work on her case and just how thrilled she really was, please read the review she posted on the independent lawyer-rating website Avvo. It's entitled, "Go with the Best!" and can be read here: http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/53081-wi-dennis-melowski-1523763/reviews.html).

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

October 27, 2014: Complete Dismissal of OWI-2nd/PAC-2nd Case in Milwaukee County

The Milwaukee County District Attorney's Office was not particularly happy the first time Dennis Melowski got the charges against his client, WK, dismissed in this case, so they tried issuing the charges a second time...almost one year later. Unfortunately for them, their second attempt to get a conviction was no more successful than their first. The reason? The cop who arrested WK was no longer with the force and he refused to come back to face Dennis in court, despite having been personally subpoenaed by the prosecutor. On the morning of WK's scheduled jury trial, Dennis successfully persuaded the judge to dismiss all charges against WK, this time for good. Needless to say, WK was thrilled when the heavy weight that had been hanging over her head for more than two years was finally gone. To read WK's review of Dennis' work on her case on the independent attorney rating website Avvo.com, click here (the review is titled "An Excellent Attorney"):  http://www.avvo.com/attorneys/53081-wi-dennis-melowski-1523763/reviews.html