Tuesday, August 21, 2012

OWI-3rd Reduced to Negligent Operation of Motor Vehicle

At Melowski & Associates, often our most important job is helping our clients keep theirs.  That's exactly why MAF contacted our office. MAF was facing a third offense drunk driving, and along with it, a lifetime ban of his commercial driving privileges.  Losing his CDL meant losing his job, which also meant losing his house, his car, and the life he and his family had taken so long to build. To save MAF, Attorney Singh had to get creative. He scoured the case and came up with an unconventional legal argument.  And much to MAF's happiness, it worked. The day before his jury trial, the prosecutor agreed to amend the drunk driving offense to Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. This reduced charge is a non-alcohol-related misdemeanor offense that would not even appear on MAF's driver record and would have no impact on his regular or commercial driving privileges. In fact, based on the deal reached by Attorney Singh, MAF would not lose his license for even a single day.  This meant that Attorney Singh was able to accomplish the most important thing to MAF-  save his commercial driving career. Because Attorney Singh was able to do that, MAF was able to keep the rest of his life intact and his family has been endlessly grateful.

OWI-3rd Reduced to OWI-1st

In the span of several weeks, SMG suffered a serious injury at work, his wife filed for divorce, and to really rub salt in the wound, he picked up his third drunk driving offense. To top it all off, SMG's blood test came back at .314, a result that is nearly four times the legal limit. SMG had pretty much hit rock bottom when he contacted our office. The first thing Attorney Sarvan Singh did was advise SMG that there was hope, something SMG hadn't heard in a long time. As with all of our clients, Sarvan took the case and dug deep, finding a flaw in SMG's prior conviction from years before. Sarvan also exposed some significant problems with the arrest. For months, Attorney Singh prepared the case for trial. But before getting to that point, the prosecutor agreed to amend the charge from an OWI-3rd offense all the way down to a first offense. This fantastic result meant that SMG completely avoided the several month jail sentence he was facing; his license revocation went from three years to six months; and his fine went from several thousand dollars down to eight hundred.  And if that weren't enough, Attorney Singh convinced the prosecutor to amend the blood alcohol level so SMG would avoid the ignition interlock device requirement. SMG's luck is finally turning around.

OWI-2nd Reduced to Negligent Operation of Motor Vehicle

A simple fact of life is that people need to drive.  In many circumstances, people do it for a living. Truck drivers,  sales people, or delivery persons simply don't have the luxury of being without a license for months or years on end. But that's exactly what our client, TMZ, was facing when she was arrested for her second DUI offense. With a new promotion at work that required frequent travel throughout the state, TMZ couldn't afford to lose her license. Not only was she looking at losing her new promotion, a drunk driving conviction could mean losing her job. She had to do something. She contacted Melowski & Associates and Attorney Sarvan Singh was tabbed for the assignment of saving TMZ's career. And he was up to the task. Attorney Singh poured over the police reports and video evidence and realized there was substantially conflicting information between the two. At the strategically right time, Attorney Singh pointed these conflicts out to the prosecutor, just days prior to TMZ's scheduled jury trial. The prosecutor was impressed by the lengths to which Attorney Singh had gone to expose the anomalies in the officer's version of events. The prosecutor knew that a conviction on the DUI charge was in jeopardy. An excellent outcome was reached.The original drunk driving charges were dropped. Instead, TMZ pled no contest to a reduced charge of Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, which is a non-alcohol-related, misdemeanor offense that will not even appear on TMZ's driver record. In addition to avoiding the costly and embarrassing ignition interlock device, TMZ would not have to spend even a single day in jail and her driving privileges were completely spared. She was simply placed on probation for one year. The promotion she worked so hard to attain remained and her career was saved. Mission accomplished. 

Thursday, August 9, 2012

July 31, 2012: OWI-1st with Minor Child in Vehicle Reduced to Non-Traffic Misdemeanor

Our client, BAO, had just started a very promising career as an apprentice lineman for a utilities company. It was a well-paying job with excellent benefits. Unfortunately, this job required a valid commercial driver's license, or CDL.  A conviction on a drunk driving charge results in immediate disqualification of CDL privileges, even if the incident occurs in your personal vehicle. So when BAO rolled his truck several times after sliding off an icy road at bar time, he was terrified. He couldn't bear the thought of losing the great job he had just begun. When the police arrived at the accident scene, BAO's fears became a reality. He was arrested for drunk driving. What's worse, although this was BAO's first offense, it would be prosecuted as a criminal charge due to the fact that the teenage sister of BAO's friend was inside the truck when it crashed. The presence of a minor under the age of 17 in a vehicle makes a first offense criminal, substantially increasing the seriousness of the charge and exposing BAO to a mandatory jail sentence if convicted. The charge became even more serious when BAO's blood test revealed an alcohol level of .13.

It was clear that BAO was in for a fight given the nature of the charges. Initially, BAO was represented by another attorney who spent several months getting nowhere with the case. BAO knew he needed a change. He knew he needed an attorney who would not be afraid of the prosecutor and judge, as BAO's arrest occurred in a county that is notorious for being very aggressive in pursuing DUI convictions. After speaking with several attorneys already, BAO called Dennis Melowski. After meeting with Dennis and hearing how he would approach the case, BAO knew he had found his man. Although it wasn't easy, Dennis obtained an incredible result for BAO. The very afternoon before BAO's scheduled jury trial Dennis negotiated an agreement with the prosecutor that would avoid a drunk driving conviction and would completely spare BAO's regular and commercial driving privileges. Dennis was able to convince the prosecutor to drop the original charges in exchange for BAO's plea to an amended charge of Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, a non-alcohol-related misdemeanor offense that will not even appear on BAO's driver record. BAO did not lose his license for even a single day and his job was saved. Often times, choosing the right attorney can make all the difference. Just ask BAO.   

Monday, August 6, 2012

July 19, 2011: OWI-1st Reduced to Minor Traffic Offense

As a heavy equipment operator, RVL knows just how important his commercial driving privileges are. He also knows full well how devastating a drunk driving conviction can be to a commercial driving career. He had heard plenty of stories over the years of commercial drivers never getting hired again with that awful stain on their record. RVL also never thought it would happen to him. At 51, he had gone years without even the slightest traffic violation. But a DUI charge can happen to just about anyone, even when you think you're being careful about how much you drink before driving. That was certainly the case with RVL. Out for a few beers after a hard week of work, RVL thought he was well in control when he left a tavern to drive home. A county sheriff's deputy thought differently. The deputy observed RVL speeding shortly after leaving the bar and pulled him over. He had RVL perform some field sobriety tests and a roadside breath test. RVL was arrested on the spot and taken to the local hospital for a blood test which produced a result over the legal limit. RVL couldn't believe it. How could this have happened to him?

Fortunately, a close family friend of RVL is a county prosecutor who has seen Dennis Melowski in action. This prosecutor urged RVL to give Dennis a call. He told RVL that if anyone could save his career, it was Dennis. RVL took his friend's advice and made the decision to hire Dennis. And things couldn't have turned out much better for RVL. Dennis was able to negotiate a fantastic resolution. The original drunk driving charges were dropped. Instead, RVL pled no contest to a drastically reduced charge of Inattentive Driving, which is a non-alcohol-related, minor traffic offense that involves no loss of license. RVL never lost his license for even a single day and was able to completely avoid the career-killing stigma of being a convicted drunk driver. He couldn't be happier.