OWI-3rd Completely Dismissed
NK had driven off the road, crashed his vehicle into a ditch and suffered very serious injuries. He was airlifted to the hospital where blood was drawn several hours later, returning a borderline result. The prosecution decided they were still going to prosecute, believing they could use a process called retrograde extrapolation to prove that NK's blood was even higher at the time of driving. However, retrograde extrapolation has many inherent flaws, which our firm is well versed in. Upon realizing the difficulties he was facing, the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the OWI-3rd completely if NK pled to the two other minor traffic tickets that were issued: Failure to Maintain Control of Vehicle and Operating Left of Center. While NK is still healing from his injuries, he can now rest easier knowing he will not be facing a lengthy jail sentence, years of license revocation, and all of the other very serious consequences of an OWI-3rd.
Boating While Intoxicated Amended to Minor Boating Violations for Commercial Pilot Client
SL, a commercial pilot, was arrested for Boating While Intoxicated when the DNR stopped his boat for a lighting violation. After the breath test returned a result of .12, SL was issued another charge of Operating a Boat with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration. As you can imagine, any alcohol related offense to a commercial pilot could mean the end of his career. With so much at stake, SL hired Melowski & Associates and Attorney Matt Murray went to work raising various legal issues on SL's behalf, including a novel legal challenge to the implied consent procedure used in Boating While Intoxicated cases. This challenge was particularly helpful as it had the potential to change the process for all Boating While Intoxicated cases in Wisconsin. As the motion hearing approached, Attorney Murray successfully negotiated a resolution wherein SL pled to two minor boating citations: Failure to Yield - Boating Violation and Lighting Equipment Violation. SL could not be happier.
OWI-3rd and Criminal Paraphernalia Charge Amended to Reckless Driving and Inattentive Driving Tickets
This case involved the use of synthetic marijuana, or "spice" as it is sometimes referred to. SK was arrested after someone called in his vehicle for weaving all over the road. When the officers found SK's vehicle, it was parked in a turning lane and it was alleged that SK started driving away once he saw the officers. After failing the field sobriety tests, SK was arrested and officers found a pipe used to smoke the drug in SK's vehicle. However, one problem that law enforcement have with synthetic marijuana is that the chemical structure is constantly changing. That is, once the legislature makes one chemical structure illegal, a new version of spice is created with a different chemical structure. This is the reason SK was charged with OWI and not Operating with a Detectable Amount of a Restricted Controlled Substance. This created a problem for the prosecution with regards to the Drug Paraphernalia charge also.
The problem for the prosecution with the OWI charge was that the lab where SK's blood was sent could only say whether or not SK's blood was positive for spice and not what level of the substance was in SK's blood. However, the prosecution persisted because of the bad driving and the performance on the field sobriety tests. Motions were filed and the case was headed to trial. Two weeks before trial, the prosecution came around. They agreed to amend the OWI-3rd to a charge of Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, but agreed to dismiss this charge if SK committed no new crimes for a period of two years and completed some drug counseling. The Drug Paraphernalia charge was amended to a ticket for Inattentive Driving and SK also agreed to plead to a ticket for Reckless Driving. Thus, SK has the opportunity to walk away from this with no jail, no license revocation, no criminal conviction and only two traffic tickets. Another very happy client.
