The Defendant was stopped for speeding and failing to stop at a traffic control device. Once stopped the Officer in the case observed an odor of marijuana and asked the Client to step out of the car. Once out of the vehicle the Officer asked the Client if he was in possession of marijuana. The Client stated no. At this point the Officer noticed that the Client had a joint tucked into his ear. The Officer pointed out the joint to the Client who then threw the joint into the street and acted like he never had anything. This was all captured on the Officer’s dashcam. In addition, the Officer believed that the Client was impaired by alcohol and had the Client do sobriety exercises. After the exercises the Client was arrested and transported to jail where he refused to give a breath sample. The Firm investigated the case and discovered that while the marijuana part of the case was not strong, the DUI portion of the case was actually good for the client. The Firm moved to sever the marijuana charge from the DUI trial. The State objected but the Firm introduced case law that mandated the marijuana and all other evidence relating to said charge be stricken from the DUI trial where there was no allegation of impairment of marijuana. The Court agreed with the Firm and severed the marijuana case from the DUI case. After the severance, the Firm set the case for jury trial. Before trial the State agreed to dismiss the DUI and the Possession of Marijuana charge.
DUI & Criminal Division
