A former client of ours had been stopped for an OWI 2nd and called our firm for assistance right away.  The client tested at a 0.12 so when he came to meet with us, he was pretty concerned about the consequences he might be facing.  Like many people in his situation, he believed that because he was over the legal limit, there was very little that could be done for him.

Once Attorney Corey Chirafisi reviewed the police reports, he found the soft spot to attack.  The client had been stopped for a valid reason (rolling through a stop sign), had admitted to drinking and there was an odor of intoxicants coming from the vehicle. The defense focused on whether or not there was a basis to believe the defendant was, in fact, intoxicated and whether the officer had a basis to have him step out of the vehicle to perform Field Sobriety Tests. 

Attorney Chirafisi filed a Motion to Suppress evidence, challenging the unlawful detention.  A hearing was held and at the conclusion, the Court found that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to believe the client was intoxicated.  The Court suppressed all evidence obtained as a result of the unlawful detention, which included the client’s breath test results.  At the conclusion of the hearing the prosecution dismissed the case. Our client was thrilled, as he ended up with no jail time, no fines and no revocation of his license.