Brooklyn Center DUI Case Study

4th Degree DUI, over .08 (169A.20 (1 )(5)

In January of 2015 my client was charged with a 4th Degree Misdemeanor DUI and 4th Degree Over .08 in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota. She was approached by police when her vehicle was stopped on the side of the road and she was vomiting. The officers believed she was drinking and asked her to do field sobriety tests.

Facts

Client was approached by police after he was stopped on the side of the road and she was vomiting. The officer responded to see if she needed assistance and when the officer smelled alcohol and admitted to drinking they asked her to do field testing. The officer had her perform some field sobriety tests and after failing the portable breath test she was arrested and transported to jail. At the station the officers read her the implied consent advisory and he complied and tested over .08 with an actual test of .13. She was transported downtown and held overnight and then released on her own recognizance since this was her first DUI offense and she had been cooperative with the officers. Client was charged with a 4th Degree Misdemeanor DUI and 4th Degree Over .08 offenses which are punishable by a maximum penalty of 90 days in jail and/or a $1000 fine.

Case Review

After reviewing all of the reports it was determined that she was driving his vehicle, she had been read the implied consent advisory, consented to a breath test and provided a sample of .13 which is over the legal limit of .08. It was determined that she did not have a defense that warranted challenging the implied consent revocation of his license since attention was drawn to her vehicle when she was vomiting which gives the officer a reasonable suspicion to approach the vehicle to make sure that it is not a medical emergency and once engaged in the situation the officer believed she had been drinking and driving. Based on the facts it was clear that the officer had a reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle and to request alcohol testing and his test result was over .08.

My client has two children and needed to have her license reinstated as soon as possible. It was imperative to work out a resolution that allowed her to get her license back and not serve jail time and reduce the fines.

Resolution

After careful review of the situation and my persistence I was able to move the court date forward in time in an attempt to get her license back quickly. I was also able to resolve the case with no jail time and no community service or sentence to service and her fine was reduced to her financial situation, having children she solely supported and having her job impacted by the loss of license. Getting her license back was critical because it allowed her to get her life with her children and job back to normal as quickly as possible because she didn’t want her mistake to impact her children.

Impact

My client was extremely satisfied and appreciative and relieved to have the case resolved and her license back much quicker than she anticipated. This resolution allowed a young woman to continue with her employment and meet the obligations to her children while dramatically reducing the length of time her license was revoked. It is imperative to get to know your clients in order to satisfy their needs.

Caveat

Retaining a lawyer in DUI cases is critical. A good attorney can help in many different ways. Each case is like a snow flake and must be analyzed on it’s own accord. When defenses present themselves it is important to bring them forward but when there aren’t defenses a lot can still be done to make the situation better and more manageable. DUI law is complicated and an experienced attorney is required to get the best possible outcome and reduce the anxiety and stress level of the client. I always take the time to get to know my client and their life in an effort to help them get through this difficult process since everyone is affected uniquely by a DUI.

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