The Defendant was seen driving on Congress Avenue and was clocked going 53 in a 40 mph zone. The defendant was seen by the officer collide with a curb and then weave in and out of his lane. When the officer stopped the defendant he smelled an odor of alcohol on his breath, his eyes were bloodshot and glassy and his speech was slow and slurred. He fumbled through his documents to get his license and handed the officer a registration to a motorcycle instead of the GMC truck he was driving. After being requested out of his vehicle, he was asked to perform roadside exercises. During the walk and turn exercise, the officer testified that the defendant could not maintain his balance in the starting position and paused “several” times (2 or 3) to regain his balance. He testified that the defendant never walked heel to toe and took 10 steps up on the first set and never counted out loud. The Firm pointed out that the video showed the defendant stand perfectly still for the entire starting position, took 9 steps up and 9 steps back as instructed, never paused for even a second to maintain his balance and was actually NEVER even instructed to count out loud. The officer testified that during the one leg stand, the defendant never even got to 30 and did not count out loud. The Firm pointed out that the defendant, on the video, counted all the way to thirty seconds with his foot up and was NEVER even instructed to count out loud. After these two exercises, the defendant was asked to sit back in the driver seat of his truck where the officer then shut off the audio portion of the roadsides. After 2 minutes, the defendant was arrested for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and taken to the Breath Alcohol Testing Facility. The officer requested a breath sample and the defendant refused. He told the officer that he had been drinking with his neighbor and he had a couple beers earlier in the evening. The Jury returned a verdict in 5 minutes of not guilty.
DUI & Criminal Division
