Wednesday, June 20, 2012

June 14, 2012: OWI-1st (with .183 Blood Test Result) Reduced to Two Minor Traffic Tickets

When SRS slid off of an icy country road and into a ditch full of snow shortly after bar time, he thought the worst of his problems was having to shovel himself out in frigid temperatures. That is, until a sheriff's deputy pulled up to ask him what happened. Things quickly went from bad to worse for SRS. After smelling alcohol and making some observations the deputy thought were signs of intoxication, SRS was arrested and taken to the hospital for a blood test. The result showed a .183 alcohol level, more than twice the legal limit of .08. SRS was devastated. He knew what a drunk driving conviction would due to his career, as his job required a valid driver's license. He had to do something, but with a .183 test result, how could anything possibly be done?

Fortunately, a friend of SRS's parents is a former client of Dennis Melowski's. This former client had an even tougher set of circumstances than SRS, with an even higher test result, and Dennis was still able to obtain a remarkable result, getting the client completely out of his drunk driving charge. The client assured SRS that with Dennis Melowski on the case, there was always hope. SRS took this former client's advice and called Dennis. After carefully listening to SRS's version of events, Dennis found an issue that would have been overlooked by most attorneys. No one knows the intricate legal requirements of DUI cases better than Dennis and there was one he didn't think could be met in SRS's case. After thorough questioning of the arresting deputy at SRS's administrative suspension hearing, Dennis pinned down the defect in the County's case against SRS. At the right time, Dennis disclosed this defect to the prosecutor, someone with whom Dennis had dealt with many times. This prosecutor knew full well what Dennis would be able to do with the ammunition he had. The prosecutor's entire case was in jeopardy. A fantastic deal was reached. The drunk driving charges were completely dropped. Instead, SRS pled no contest to two minor traffic tickets that were completely non-alcohol-related: Inattentive Driving and Failure to Stop at Stop Sign. SRS paid a fine, but would not lose his license for a single day and he completely avoided the shame and embarrassment of installing an ignition interlock device in his car. Most importantly, though, SRS's job was saved because he was not a convicted drunk driver. He couldn't be happier.