OWI/PAC 2nd .15 - Evidence Suppressed (Dane County)

Client was charged with OWI 2nd for crashing his vehicle under the interstate and having it come to rest next to a cement wall. Client was located walking without shoes, admitting that he drove his vehicle.

How we got the evidence suppressed in this situation was that law enforcement decided that based on the client being "shoeless" that they were going to move him to another location to conduct field sobriety tests. That doesn't work. The location of field sobriety tests must be within "the vicinity" of the stop. In this case, the court found that the officer moved the client a distance too far from the scene for that to be within the vicinity. Therefore, the court suppressed the test result. Case isn't concluded, however, good start.

OWI 3rd/PAC-Minor Passenger-Case Dismissed (Juneau County)

This client was charged in Juneau County with felony OWI (3rd offense with minor passenger is felony level OWI). The case appeared to have good facts to work with from the start. The police didn't see the client driving which helps substantially with the OWI portion of the case. Corey Chirafisi filed motions challenging both the basis to conduct field sobriety tests as well as a motion challenging whether the test result was admissible because the state did not have a time of operation.

After numerous delays, on the morning of the motion hearing, the state indicated that they opposed the motion, however, were not going to present evidence in the matter. Attorney Chirafisi moved for the court to grant the motion and suppress all evidence, the court agreed and suppressed all the evidence. At that point, the state dismissed all charges.

OWI 4th/PAC- Felony Charge Amended

Although courts are not operating as usual because of the COVID pandemic, Chirafisi & Verhoff are still getting outstanding results for clients. 

The client was over the legal limit for him, which is a .02, but under the legal limit of .08.  After back and forth with the DA on the case, the prosecution agreed to amend the charge to misdemeanor Negligent Operation Off Roadway.  The big get for the client in this case was he saved his license for life.  A conviction on the OWI would have led to a lifetime revocation with the possibility of an occupational after 10 years, that is no longer a concern.  No felony conviction, no jail time and no loss of license.

OWI 2nd-THC and .09- Amended to Reckless Driving

Although courts are not operating as usual because of the COVID pandemic, Chirafisi & Verhoff are still getting outstanding results for clients. 

Client was called in by a bartender who was leaving after close and noticed the vehicle running in the parking lot.  The client was behind the wheel, sleeping.  Bartender couldn't wake the client so she called the police.  Officers watched the video showing the client entering the parking lot and parking truck, never getting out and going inside the bar.  The worst fact of the case was it appeared that the client had urinated in his pants while sleeping in the truck.

There was an alleged refusal and a search warrant was issued for the client's blood.  The first challenge to the case was the warrant.  It was woefully lacking in probable cause.  Corey Chirafisi challenged the warrant and to his surprise, the government conceded the warrant was invalid.  They never raised the issue of the "good faith exception" so the court suppressed the test result.

That led to the government amending the case to reckless driving.  Client avoid jail, AODA and license revocation.

Criminal OWI-2nd, RSC-2nd Amended to Civil Citation

In this Dane County case, our client was charged with OWI-2nd Offense and Operating with a Restricted Controlled Substance-2nd Offense after the Madison Police Department arrested him following a traffic accident.  Police were called to the report of a driver stuck in a snowbank.  Upon arrival, officers located the client and smelled the odor of marijuana, though the client denied smoking.  He agreed to submit to standardized field sobriety tests, after which authorities arrested him and transported him to the hospital for a blood draw.  The blood test results showed the presence of delta-9 THC in the client's system.  Although the narrative police reports stated the client agreed to take a blood test, Attorney Tim Verhoff watched the video evidence, which revealed the client had actually agreed to a urine test, not a blood test.  Our attorney then filed a motion to exclude the test results, arguing the test results were unlawfully obtained because the client never actually consented to a blood draw.  Attorney Verhoff also told the prosecutor that even if the judge allowed the evidence, the District Attorney would have difficulty proving the client smoked marijuana before driving, rather than smoking it after he got stuck in the snowbank and while he was waiting for a friend to come assist him.  The judge scheduled a hearing on our motion.  Prior to the hearing, the prosecutor agreed that he had trouble with the case and offered to resolve the matter by amending the OWI to a non-criminal traffic ticket for reckless driving and dismissing the RCS charge.  

NEW YEAR STARTS WITH OWI WIN

Our office marked the start of 2020 with another great win for a Chirafisi & Verhoff client.  The Brooklyn Police Department arrested our client and charged her with OWI and PAC violations.  Prior to trial, Attorney Tim Verhoff met with the prosecutor.  He pointed out multiple problems she would have at trial, as well as a possible suppression issue.  Despite a 0.10 blood result for the client, our lawyer was able to get the prosecutor to dismiss the OWI citation outright and amend the PAC charge to a citation for reckless driving.  

OWI 1st (PAC .15) - Amended to Reckless Driving

As the year comes to an end, 2 more outstanding results for clients. The first case involves a Dane County OWI/PAC charge with a breath test result of .15.  Client was stopped because the officer believed she was sleeping at a stop light.  As the officer turned around to make contact with the client, she moved her vehicle.  The officer stopped her, smelled the order of intoxicants and he was off and running.  

Officer reported that the client failed the three field sobriety tests offered to her and ultimately submitted to a breath test which registered a .15.  The prosecution certainly believed they had a strong case.  

However, the video of the incident showed a completely different story then told by the officer.  Although the video was lengthy, it contained information which ultimately lead to the amendment of the charge.  During the interaction, the client had a question about the alternative test, the officer then provided her incorrect information regarding that test.  Once that was discovered, it was the beginning of the end.  We filed a motion to suppress the test result based on the improper information provided to the client.  Before the motion hearing even began, the prosecutor offered to amend the ticket for costs, no fine was included.

Honestly, one of the happiest clients we can remember.

Dane County Boating OWI, PAC at 0.21 Amended

In this case, our client's neighbor, a longtime member of area law enforcement, recommended he hire Attorney Tim Verhoff to assist him. The client originally was not planning on contesting his case due to his high test level, but decided to do so after he learned a conviction for boating OWI could pose problems for his travels to Canada. Attorney Verhoff reviewed the police reports and saw that law enforcement contacted the client after he had docked his boat. Although the client admitted to authorities that he had consumed alcohol and operated a boat, they failed to determine exactly when he had been out on the lake. Prior to trial, Attorney Verhoff met with the prosecution. He explained that they could likely show the client was impaired when law enforcement contacted him; however, proving the client was impaired when he operated the boat was a different story. Recognizing this problem, the prosecution agreed to dismiss the PAC outright and amend the OWI to a non-alcohol related boating offense for a minimal forfeiture.

August ends with three complete acquittals at trial and one dismissal before trial

August was a busy trial month for Corey Chirafisi. He tried 3 OWI cases to verdict. Each client was acquitted of their charges here are some facts of each:

August 1st- OWI1st/Refusal- Monroe County

This client was a Florida resident who was in Wisconsin working for her company. She is a heavy equipment operator and could not have a OWI conviction on her record. She had initially hired another lawyer to assist her, but when things weren't going the way she hoped, she contacted Chirafisi & Verhoff who took over the case.

The stop was for failing to have her headlights on and making an illegal U-Turn. She told the police she was "the least drunk" in the vehicle and ultimately refused to submit to a chemical test of her breath.

The case proceeded to trial with Attorney Corey Chirafisi representing the client. Because there was a refusal attached to the case, the Court decided the refusal with the jury deciding the OWI charge. The officer testified and had some difficulty on cross examination regarding field sobriety tests. He also mentioned that he was incorrect in his suspicions of impaired drivers more than he was correct. That didn't help them either. The client testified wonderfully explaining her thought process on the refusal and why she did what she did.

The jury was out around 50 minutes before finding the client not guilty of the OWI charge. In reference to the refusal, the government elected not to proceed on the refusal after the verdict.

Client was able to keep her job. We are very happy for her.

August 6th- OWI 2nd/ Grant County

Five days after the first acquittal of the month, Corey Chirafisi was back in trial on an OWI 2nd. The best part of this case was the court had earlier made a determination that the test result (.14) was to be suppressed based on a violation of the Informing the Accused form. The State made a decision to move forward with the case, even though they were doing so without a test result.

The driving was good. The basis of the stop was a burnt out taillight. The state tried to make out their case based on the client's performance on the field sobriety tests. It didn't work.

Jury was out 10 minutes and returned a not guilty verdict.

August 23rd-OWI/PAC (.14) Dane County

The third and final trial was a OWI with a .14 test result. Corey Chirafisi also tried this case. The client was pulled off the road, her drivers side tires were on the fog line, the car was running and the client was sleeping. When the officer made contact with her she immediately put the car in drive, then reverse and had some difficulty explaining where she was coming from. The case proceeded to trial with Corey Chirafisi initially getting the Court to throw the test result out because there was no indication as to time the client was on the roadway. The Court reversed its decision and allowed the jury to hear the test result of .14.

Attorney Chirafisi was able to argue that the client had made the right decision to get off the road. That her good decision was going to be punished by the state and that was contrary to what we expect our drivers to do. The client had a CDL which made the case that much more important for the client.

The jury was out for 45 minutes and found the client not guilty of both citations. Her job was saved.

Attorney Chirafisi also handled an OWI 1st with a test result of .08 this month. After some discussion of the matter, the prosecution agreed to dismiss the case outright. No amendment, no classes, nothing. Just a straight dismissal.

Not every month ends with three jury acquittals, but we are very happy that the clients had the confidence in our firm to handle these important cases for them. They are all good people who are able to get back to their lives with no problems from these cases.

OWI/PAC (.14) - Not Guilty (Dane County)

The third and final trial of August was a OWI with a .14 test result. Corey Chirafisi also tried this case. The client was pulled off the road, her drivers side tires were on the fog line, the car was running and the client was sleeping. When the officer made contact with her she immediately put the car in drive, then reverse and had some difficulty explaining where she was coming from. The case proceeded to trial with Corey Chirafisi initially getting the Court to throw the test result out because there was no indication as to time the client was on the roadway. The Court reversed its decision and allowed the jury to hear the test result of .14.

Attorney Chirafisi was able to argue that the client had made the right decision to get off the road. That her good decision was going to be punished by the state and that was contrary to what we expect our drivers to do. The client had a CDL which made the case that much more important for the client.

The jury was out for 45 minutes and found the client not guilty of both citations. Her job was saved.

OWI 2nd - Not Guilty Verdict (Grant County)

Five days after the first acquittal of the month, Corey Chirafisi was back in trial on an OWI 2nd. The best part of this case was the court had earlier made a determination that the test result (.14) was to be suppressed based on a violation of the Informing the Accused form. The State made a decision to move forward with the case, even though they were doing so without a test result.

The driving was good. The basis of the stop was a burnt out taillight. The state tried to make out their case based on the client's performance on the field sobriety tests. It didn't work.

Jury was out 10 minutes and returned a not guilty verdict.

OWI 1st / Refusal - Not Guilty (Monroe County)

This client was a Florida resident who was in Wisconsin working for her company. She is a heavy equipment operator and could not have a OWI conviction on her record. She had initially hired another lawyer to assist her, but when things weren't going the way she hoped, she contacted Chirafisi & Verhoff who took over the case.

The stop was for failing to have her headlights on and making an illegal U-Turn. She told the police she was "the least drunk" in the vehicle and ultimately refused to submit to a chemical test of her breath.

The case proceeded to trial with Attorney Corey Chirafisi representing the client. Because there was a refusal attached to the case, the Court decided the refusal with the jury deciding the OWI charge. The officer testified and had some difficulty on cross examination regarding field sobriety tests. He also mentioned that he was incorrect in his suspicions of impaired drivers more than he was correct. That didn't help them either. The client testified wonderfully explaining her thought process on the refusal and why she did what she did.

The jury was out around 50 minutes before finding the client not guilty of the OWI charge. In reference to the refusal, the government elected not to proceed on the refusal after the verdict.

Client was able to keep her job. We are very happy for her.

OWI/PAC (.11) amended to Reckless Driving

This case stems from a stop in Price County. The officer was following our client's vehicle and initially witnessed the vehicle make a "wide turn" which the officer deemed suspicious. The officer continued to follow the vehicle and observed the vehicle driving down the center of the road, clearly over where the center line would have been.

The officer stopped the vehicle and made contact with the client. The client admitted to consuming alcohol earlier in the evening.

Where the challenge was mounted in this case was on the officer's decision to have the client perform field sobriety tests.

The video in the case was the killer for the officer. On tape, the officer stated that "he doesn't believe the client was impaired" before having him perform field tests.

We did the motion hearing and at the conclusion the court had requested that the parties file briefs on the issue. The prosecutor then offered to amend the OWI to reckless driving. The client who was a local business person was thrilled. Avoiding the OWI charge was the goal from the beginning.

OWI, PAC with 0.125 Blood Test Dismissed

In this Dane County case, the client was stopped by the Wisconsin State Patrol for speeding.  He was clearly disoriented but had several visible injuries, including a head wound.  After being arrested for OWI, the client agreed to take a blood test, which resulted in a reported value of 0.125 alcohol concentration. By all appearances, it seemed the client had been physically assaulted prior to the OWI.  Our office obtained medical records that documented the fact that the client suffered from a traumatic brain injury. Our firm's licensed private investigator also gathered physical evidence to support the belief that he had been assaulted within the hours before he drove his vehicle.  After nearly one year of negotiations, Attorney Tim Verhoff was able to convince the District Attorney's Office that the case should be dismissed because the client never intended to drive while impaired, but was suffering from the impact of an assault when he decided to drive.  The prosecutor agreed to dismiss the case prior to jury trial in the interest of justice.     

Sauk County Judge Throws Out Evidence, OWI at 0.179 Dismissed

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on recent weekend, our client was driving in downtown Baraboo.  She was waiting at a stop light with her turn signal activated.  Unfortunately, she failed to drive forward for approximately 11 seconds after the light turned green.  A police officer traveling behind her conducted a traffic stop.  Based on his interactions with the client, the officer asked her to do field sobriety tests.  She was ultimately arrested and submitted to a breath test, which lead to a reported value of 0.179.  Attorney Tim Verhoff filed a suppression motion, arguing that the client had not committed any driving infractions prior to the stop, and the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop her for driving under the influence.  After our attorney cross examined the police officer at an evidentiary hearing, the judge agreed and ruled in favor of our client, forcing the prosecutor to dismiss both the OWI charge and the PAC charge.  Once again, our attorney received one of the highest compliments a defense attorney can receive.  At the conclusion of the case, the arresting officer approached Attorney Verhoff and told him what a fantastic job he had done, as well as how much he learned by being cross-examined by our lawyer. 

OWI-Restricted Controlled Substance, Amended to Reckless Driving (Dane County)

This case involved a client initially stopped for speeding.  That speeding stop then turned into much more.  THC was found on her person and in the vehicle.  The client also admitted to smoking THC approximately 1 hour prior to the stop and her blood did contain Delta-9, the active ingredient in THC.  Our approach initially involved filing motions challenging probable cause for the arrest for OWI, based upon the client passing all of the field sobriety tests.  The real problem was the fact that the client admitted to recently smoking THC and the fact it was present in her blood.We litigated the case in municipal court, winning the restricted controlled substance charge, which was huge for the case.  We lost the OWI, but knew that on appeal, the prosecution would never be able to prove that charge. As the matter got closer to trial, the prosecutor offered to dismiss all the other tickets still remaining and amend the OWI to a charge of reckless driving.  The client was shocked a little, but realized how great of the result this was for her.

OWI/PAC .10 to Reckless (Dane County)

Case #2 - OWI/PAC .10 (Dane County)

This case came to us from another lawyer in town.  As normal practice, we did the Administrative Review hearing and got the information we needed for a motion to challenge the test result.  We have said over and over again that the administrative review hearing is a great way to learn information about your case.  That was true here.  We were able to challenge the stop of the vehicle as well as the basis to conduct field sobriety tests.  Once the prosecutor saw the motions, he made a decision to offer a reckless driving.  Client never lost her license and never had to explain to her employer about her case.

3 More Outstanding Results- 2 OWI charges amended to finish the year

Case #1- OWI/Refusal-Amended to Reckless Driving (Dane County) 

When people call us and tell us that their case is "hopeless", most of the time the facts of the case are not as bad as they say.  Except here.  In this case, most of the facts were against the client.  Poor driving, excessive speed, failed field sobriety tests and a refusal to submit to a breath test.  Worst of all, our client had a license from a state (IL) where he would be facing a lengthy revocation if he was convicted of the OWI.  The great news for the client was, Chirafisi & Verhoff has been extremely successful against this particular prosecutor in multiple cases in the past and there has been a hesitation to litigate issues against us.

We believe that most of the time, the refusal drives the OWI charge, meaning if there is a way around the refusal, the OWI will fall as well.

So, we went after the refusal first.  It wasn't that difficult when we started.  We questioned whether the information provided to the client on the Informing the Accused form was correct.  The prosecutor agreed that a problem existed and quickly agreed to amend the OWI to reckless driving and to dismiss the refusal.  The client's license was saved.  

Stay tuned for our two other awesome end of 2018 results on Monday!

Boating OWI/PAC Dismissed at 0.09

Our client was boating with friends on Lake Mendota during the July 4th holiday.  While attending a local fireworks display, authorities stopped him for using an unauthorized sound device.  Upon contact, law enforcement smelled the odor of intoxicants coming from our client, who admitted to consuming alcohol over several hours.  The client agreed to submit to field sobriety tests.  Although law enforcement observed sufficient clues to arrest him, he performed pretty well, particularly on the horizontal gaze nystagmus (eye) test.  He then agreed to take a chemical test of his breath, which produced a 0.09 result.  In meeting with the prosecution, Attorney Verhoff argued that there was no bad boating operation and the offense for which police made contact with our client was questionable.  Our lawyer said the client was acting like any other good American when sounding a horn during the fireworks display.  Coupled with the low test result and good performance on the field sobriety tests, our attorney suggested this case might be a hard one for the prosecution to prove at trial.  Ultimately, the prosecution agreed with his assessment.  Although our client was asked to complete a boater safety course, the District Attorney's Office agreed to dismiss both the boating OWI and PAC citations if the client agreed to be convicted of using an unnecessary boat whistle.  He did and was thrilled with the outcome we achieved.

OWI Dismissed in Dane County

This case is an example of the huge difference a lawyer can make.  Our client, who is an Illinois resident, was stopped and arrested for an OWI-1st Offense.  He refused to take field sobriety tests and refused to take the chemical test of his breath.  He was also given a citation for improper refusal.  Unfortunately, the client did not realize he had to file a request for a hearing on the refusal within ten days, and he defaulted on that charge before our office got involved.  

The client did appear without a lawyer for a court date on the OWI charge.   By happenstance, Attorney Verhoff was present at this hearing and overheard the conversation the client was having with a representative from the District Attorney's Office.  The person from the DA's Office told the client there was nothing they could do about the OWI and he could either plead to it or have a trial.  The client was on the verge of pleading to the OWI when Attorney Verhoff intervened.  Our attorney informed the (now) client that entering a plea to the OWI would have catastrophic consequences on his Illinois license.  Our attorney advised him to fight the OWI.  Taking our advice, the client decided to hire our firm to help.  Attorney Verhoff immediately had the case set for  trial.  In speaking with the prosecutor assigned to the case prior to trial, Attorney Verhoff explained to him the significant consequences for an OWI conviction in Illinois.  He argued this was unduly punitive and unnecessary given the conviction that previously occurred in the refusal.  He also pointed out some of the proof problems the prosecutor might have in the OWI case.  On the day of trial, the prosecutor finally gave up on the OWI case and agreed to dismiss it.  Although the client must still deal with the impact of the refusal conviction, he was spared years worth licensing headaches in Illinois due to the OWI dismissal.