This case involved a client who pulled his truck and trailer into the front yard of someone who he never met. The home owner woke up in the morning, went outside and noticed the truck and trailer sitting in his front yard. Homeowner called the police who found the client sleeping in the truck. Client appeared to be under the influence after field sobriety tests and was arrested for OWI. Blood test showed the client was .10 at 8:00 am. Client admitted to driving to the location around 2:00 am and parking.
We filed a motion to exclude the test result without expert testimony, as the test was taken more than 3 hours after the driving. Because the test was taken outside the 3 hour window, the law indicates that the test is presumptively inadmissible without expert testimony.
The court indicates that it would take the motion up at the trial, if necessary, it wasn’t. Shortly before trial, the state offered to amend the charge to reckless driving. Client loved that outcome, since the client’s goals are our goals, so did we.