The defendant was seen by a citizen witness swerving all over the road. The citizen informed a police officer who was assisting a disabled vehicle. That officer then followed the defendant as he swerved all over the road and into the bike lane. The officer activated her emergency lights and the defendant pulled into a McDonalds parking lot and ran a stop sign before stopping the vehicle. The officer approached the car and noticed an odor of alcohol coming from the defendant\’s breath, red bloodshot and glassy eyes as well as his speech being slurred. She asked where he was going and he stated \”she was singing\”. A DUI officer arrived on scene and asked the defendant to exit his vehicle. The defendant had to use the door for support and held on the car as he staggered and prevented himself from falling over. The defendant was asked to perform roadside exercises. During the walk and turn he never walked heel to toe, did not walk on the line at all, made an improper turn and used his arms for balance the whole time. During the one leg stand he could not keep his leg up for more than four seconds and could not complete the task. During the finger to nose task, the defendant touched his lip instead of his nose, used the wrong hands when called (used the right when the left was called and use the left when the right was called) and swayed back and forth. During the alphabet task, the defendant sang it even though he was told not to. After being arrested the defendant stated in the patrol car that he \”should not have been driving and it was a slip\”. At the breath alcohol testing facility, the defendant admitted on video to having one beer at home and then changed his story to having two beers. He continued to tell the officer that he had very low blood sugar and needed his medicine and food to get his blood sugar up. Our firm argued to a jury that the State could not prove the defendant was under the influence of alcohol but rather that his performance and demeanor related to his medical condition. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty for Driving Under the Influence.
DUI & Criminal Division
