The Deputy observed our client swerving in and out of his lane on more than three occassions, nearly striking other vehicles. The Deputy approached our client and as a result of the interaction noted that our client had red, glassy eyes and difficulty with his fine motor skills. This caused the Deputy to intiate FSE’s. Our client admitted to drinking three beers and did not perform well on the FSE’s. As a result, our client was arrested and charged with DUI.
In this case, the argument was that the Deputy lacked the reasonable suspicion necessary to initiate the FSE’s. Also, the credibility of the Deputy and the validity of the interaction were all questioned, due to the refusal of the Deputy to call for a Spanish speaking officer when one was repeatedly requested by our Spanish speaking client.
After his initial stop, the Deputy indicates in his initial observation that Mrj has glassy bloodshot eyes and had difficulty retrieving requested items. This would fall short of comprising the reasonable suspicion necessary to initiate FSE’s (important that there is no mention of the smell of alcohol, nor slurred speech, etc) In addition, our client indicated that he repeatedly requested a Spanish translator and was not provided one. Our client speaks very broken English and required a translator during my meeting with him.
As a result of the above-mentioned actions, the DUI was reduced to a reckless.