Our client had an all-or-nothing proposition in front of him: he was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated and he had a CDL which he used daily for his job. A conviction would have resulted in him be fired from a job that he had for many years.
The case was a little odd in that the client wasn’t stopped by law enforcement. The police were called because a person who knew the defendant said that he was likely impaired and had driven to a local gym. When the police showed up they made contact with the client and ultimately arrested him for OWI. When the client agreed to perform a breath test, that result came back at 0.15.
The client knew that his career was on the line and made a decision to hire Chirafisi & Verhoff in an effort to deal with the case. Interestingly enough, after much discussion with the prosecutor discussing various motions, the prosecutor agreed that his case may be in trouble and he agreed to amend the charge to reckless driving. That deal went away when shortly before the agreement was given to the Court, as the client was stopped on a different incident date and had open intoxicants in his vehicle. The prosecutor was not very happy and pulled the deal. The matter was set for trial.
On the morning of trial, Attorney Corey Chirafisi did something he rarely ever does: he told the prosecutor about a problem with the Intoximeter which the prosecutor would otherwise not have been aware of. Attorney Chirafisi had obtained the data of all the tests performed by the machine which tested the client’s breath and found a problem with the maintenance of the machine. After much review and conversation with the police, the prosecutor put the offer for a reckless driving back on the table. That meant no suspension or revocation and no conviction of an alcohol related offense for the client. He was able to keep his job and only received a fine.