OWI/PAC .11/Inattentive Driving - Amended to Reckless Driving

Client was involved in an accident in the City of Madison at about 1:00 a.m.  Other party involved in the accident called the police stating our client, "asked him to hold his weed and bong.” When the police arrived, client admitted that he wanted the other party to hold his drugs for him. 

Client told police that he "took a nap" and that was the reason for the accident.  Breath test taken at station showed a breath test result of .11.  

Client was desperate to attempt to avoid the OWI conviction so, we got to work.  Client had one issue in the case, there was a question of whether or not an alternative test was requested.  If it was and law enforcement failed to comply, the test result would be excluded from evidence.

The day before the trial was scheduled, the prosecution moved to amend the charge to reckless driving.  No OWI, no revocation of license and no stigma.  Client was thrilled.

Party To A Crime Possession of 72 Grams of Cocaine - Charges Dismissed (Dane County)

The first case involves a client who was a passenger in a vehicle stopped for a traffic violation.  In the course of that stop, officers located 72 grams of cocaine in the vehicle and $3,800 in cash in the clients purse.  

Now, to be fair, the driver of the vehicle said that the cocaine belonged to him, which is helpful.  The client told the police that the driver asked her to hold $4,000 in cash which was located in her purse, which is not helpful.  The State then made a decision to run DNA tests on the baggy in which the drugs were located and the scale located in the vehicle.  The portions of the scale had a positive DNA match for only one person in the vehicle, our client.

So, now we had a client as a passenger in a vehicle with 72 grams of cocaine, holding $4000.00 for the driver and her DNA on the scale used to weigh the drugs.  Seems like a good party to the crime case for the state.  

The State moved to dismiss the case against the client.  No cooperation, no amendment.  Just a straight dismissal.

DRUG CHARGES DISMISSED COLUMBIA COUNTY

The Columbia County District Attorney's Office recently agreed to dismiss criminal charges against our client for possessing THC and drug paraphernalia.  The client was charged for possession after medical personnel was dispatched to his home.  The prosecutor voluntarily dismissed the charge after our attorneys raised a defense under section 961.443 of the Wisconsin Statutes, which provides immunity for individuals who contact law enforcement or emergency technicians in the event of a drug overdose.

Drug Case Reduced, Columbia County

After a traffic stop in Columbia County, authorities searched the vehicle and found marijuana and various drug paraphernalia. Our client was charged with misdemeanor offenses. After negotiations with prosecutors, our attorneys reached an agreement by which the criminal charges were reduced to non-criminal ordinance violations. Our client agreed to pay a small fine on the ordinance violations. Most importantly, our client was spared from having a criminal conviction, which was the most important outcome in the case for him.

Felony Drug Arrest but No Criminal Conviction in Dane County

As a 19-year old, soon-to-be college student, our client's arrest on felony charges for possession with intent to deliver marijuana cast her future in doubt.  Law enforcement contacted our client in the early morning hours after a resident reported a suspicious vehicle in their neighborhood.  Our client and a passenger admitted to smoking marijuana in the vehicle minutes before police arrived on scene.  Upon searching the car, police found marijuana, smoking devices, paraphernalia, and various packaging materials.  They also found one ecstasy pill. The client was arrested and taken to jail on felony charges of possession with intent to deliver THC.  She immediately hired Chirafisi & Verhoff to help.  Our lawyers contacted the District Attorney's Office.  Attorney Verhoff was able present information to the lawyer tasked with making a charging decision.  He explained why what was located in the vehicle was consistent with someone who used marijuana, but did not sell it.  Convinced, the prosecutor agreed not to charge a felony for dealing.  Instead, the prosecutor filed a misdemeanor charges of possession of THC, possession of a controlled substance for the ecstasy, and possession of drug paraphernalia.  But Attorney Verhoff was not done.  The case was then assigned to a different prosecutor to handle in court.  After several meetings between the lawyers, the assigned prosecutor conceded he could not prove it was our client's ecstasy versus the passenger's ecstasy.  Still, the prosecutor wanted the client to plead to the marijuana and paraphernalia charges.  Attorney Verhoff pressed on and argued the case was worth no more than a non-criminal citation for casual possession of marijuana.  Finally, the prosecutor gave up and agreed to amend the charges to a non-criminal violation with a penalty of only court costs, not even a fine.

Drug-Related Charge Re-Opened and Dismissed After Original Conviction

This case is an example of why it is never too late to contact a lawyer.  Our client was charged with an ordinance violation for possessing drug paraphernalia.  The client, a young college student without a record, failed to appear at the initial court appearance in the case.  As such, she was convicted by default and ordered to pay a fine.  She and her family were concerned about how the conviction, even though not a criminal violation, would impact her future.  A few months after the conviction, she contacted our lawyers to see if anything could be done.  Attorney Verhoff spoke with the client and learned that she had voluntarily engaged in an AODA and participated in treatment after the conviction.  He then contacted the District Attorney's Office and explained the situation. After discussing the case with Attorney Verhoff, prosecutors then agreed to sign off on a motion to reopen and dismiss the charge against our client.  Once again, the client is able to honestly report, if ever asked, that she has no prior convictions.

No Charges in Drug Case

The Wisconsin State Patrol stopped our client for speeding.  During the course of the stop, the trooper located containers with a variety of prescription medications, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia in the vehicle.  At the conclusion of the investigation, our client was arrested on criminal charges for possession of an illegally obtained prescription, possession of THC, and possession of drug paraphernalia.  The trooper also cited the client for OWI, speeding, open intoxicants, and refusing to submit to a blood test.  The case was forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for review.  Attorney Verhoff spoke with prosecutors before charges were formally filed.  They agreed to only file the traffic citations, and to not pursue the criminal drug charges.  Chirafisi & Verhoff continued representing the client in the traffic matters and later brokered a deal in which the client agreed to be convicted of OWI, but the remaining citations were dismissed.  As part of the deal, the prosecution agreed not to require an ignition interlock device as part of any sentence, an unusual outcome when a refusal is involved.   

Drugged Driving, Domestic Violence and OWI/Posession paraphernalia cases all thrown out

DODGE COUNTY:  DRUGGED DRIVING CASE DISMISSED

Prosecutors originally charged our client with driving after smoking marijuana.  After reviewing the lab reports, our lawyers convinced the prosecution they could not win the case because the client had only metabolites of THC, but no delta-9 THC in his system.  Case dismissed prior to trial.

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CASE DISMISSED

Our client was charged in Dane County with multiple felony and misdemeanor counts after breaking into his estranged wife’s home and allegedly assaulting her.  One the felony charges and all of the misdemeanor charges were dismissed outright.  The client entered into a deferred prosecution agreement on the remaining felony charge, which will be dismissed upon completion of the agreement.

CITY OF REEDSBURG – EVIDENCE SUPPRESSED, OWI CASE AND POSSESSION of DRUG PARAPHERNALIA THROWN OUT

Police stopped our client for failure to properly yield to a pedestrian in a cross walk.  As a result of the stop, our client was charged with OWI, PAC and possessing a pot pipe.  Police tested our client’s blood, which revealed an alcohol level of 0.187 percent.  Our lawyers filed a motion to suppress the evidence, arguing the officer lacked a basis to stop the client.  The judge agreed and threw out all of the evidence against our client, and the case was dismissed.

Iowa County-Possession of THC and drug paraphernalia, all charges dismissed

Our client was charged with possession of THC and possession of drug paraphernalia resulting from a traffic stop of his vehicle.  Chirafisi and Verhoff reviewed all the evidence in the case and believed that the officer in this case did not have probable cause to search our client's vehicle based on the reason for the stop.  

Chirafisi and Verhoff filed a motion challenging the evidence located as a result of the search and the government agreed without having a hearing that the evidence was obtained as the result of an unlawful search.  The charges against our client were dismissed!