Thursday, December 17, 2015

OWI-1st/Refusal of Chemical Test Reduced to Reckless Driving for Attorney Matt Murray's Client

LG was in a very difficult spot when he picked up his first-ever OWI charge. He was so worried about the certain job-loss it would cause that he didn't know what to do when the officer asked him to submit to a blood test. He thought the safest thing to do would be to refuse the test, not knowing that such a refusal would lead to a separate charge with penalties that are worse than the OWI itself. To save his job, LG would now have to avoid both the OWI and Refusal charges. Fortunately, LG's boss is a former client of our firm and he told LG to give us a call right away. As the attorney responsible for LG's case, Attorney Matt Murray knew he would have to get creative. After pouring over every detail, Matt was able to find just enough ammunition to craft a defense. Although initially reluctant to plea bargain, the prosecutor ultimately relented as Matt pushed the case closer to trial. Matt was able to convince the prosecutor to drop the OWI and Refusal charges in exchange for a no contest plea to the non-alcohol-related traffic offense of Reckless Driving. On top of that, the prosecutor also agreed to dismiss two additional citations LG had been issued for Operating Left of Center and Failure to Dim Headlamps. Aside from paying a fine for the Reckless Driving ticket, LG suffered no consequences. He avoided any loss of license and was completely spared of a drunk driving conviction. Another fantastic result and another job saved.