Authorities contacted our client after he was alleged to have pulled a fire alarm at the UW-Madison Memorial Union. Police reviewed a surveillance video and spoke with witnesses who identified our client. Before making a statement to law enforcement, the client contacted Chirafisi & Verhoff. Our lawyers worked with the police to make sure they did not physically arrest our client. The client, a recent college graduate, was concerned about how the case would impact his future if convicted of a crime. Although prosecutors initially filed a misdemeanor criminal charge Attorney Verhoff brokered a deal with prosecutors by which the charge was amended to a non-criminal violation with the legal equivalency of a parking ticket. Yet another example of a Chirafisi & Verhoff client who avoided a criminal conviction after being charged.
Child Abuse Case Declined
In this case, the client contacted Chirafisi & Verhoff after receiving a referral to our office from a different criminal defense lawyer in the Madison area. Detectives wanted to speak with the client about a potential child abuse case after authorities became aware of bruising on a toddler. Rather than speaking with law enforcement and representatives from human services, the client took our advice and invoked his constitutional right to remain silent. Having obtained statements from other family members, who reported that if anything happened to the child it was accidental, law enforcement still referred the case to the District Attorney's office for prosecution. Our lawyers then met with the prosecutor tasked with reviewing the case. Our lawyers pointed out what we believed were problems with the case for the prosecution. After listening to our lawyers, the District Attorney agreed and declined to file criminal charges in the matter.
OWI with 0.26 BAC Amended to Reckless Driving
Our firm secured a recent victory in Madison Municipal Court. The facts of the case were somewhat unusual. The client, who had been drinking, called a family member from an apartment complex and sounded in distress. The family member believed the client had been unknowingly drugged and contacted police to investigate. When police arrived on the scene, they interviewed witnesses, including our client. She was clearly impaired and admitted to driving to the apartment complex earlier in the evening. However police were unable to determine exactly when she drove there. Authorities took her to the hospital for an evaluation. Medical personnel drew her blood, which showed an alcohol concentration of 0.26 percent. Several hours later, after placing her under arrest for OWI, law enforcement performed a legal blood draw, which had a reported value of 0.169 percent. Throughout negotiations, the prosecutor insisted on a conviction for OWI, reasoning the client was clearly drunk when police arrived at the scene and was in an elimination phase. Attorney Verhoff filed several motions in the case and sought to have the test result deemed inadmissible for trial. Although Attorney Verhoff did not dispute the client was intoxicated when police arrived, he told the prosecutor he did not believe the government could establish that she was impaired when she drove to the complex. Attorney Verhoff knew he was on solid legal ground to have the test result stripped of its presumption of admissibility. Moreover, he knew an expert would have difficulty estimating the client's alcohol concentration at some vague point earlier in the evening. After six months of litigation and just days before the motions were to be heard by the judge, the prosecutor threw in the towel, offering to amend the case to a reckless driving for a small fine. The client agreed to accept the amendment, saving her an OWI conviction, large fines, a significant license revocation, and an ignition interlock device order.
Domestic Disorderly Conduct and Intimidation of Victim Charges Dismissed
The Madison Police Department arrested our client for a domestic disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim after he was in a dispute with his landlord. Before our firm became involved, the Dane County District Attorney's Office filed criminal charges against our client. The landlord also filed a domestic abuse injunction against our client. After a hearing on the injunction, the judge denied the injunction petition. Attorney Verhoff then used the dismissal of the injunction to our client's advantage in the criminal case. Before trial, Attorney Verhoff met with the prosecutor to discuss the criminal case. He outlined the proof problems anticipated with the government's case. He also shared the judge's decision regarding the injunction with the prosecutor, suggesting that if a judge refused to issue an injunction on the same facts (and a lower standard of proof), the prosecutor may have a hard time convincing twelve jurors our client was guilty of the crimes alleged. The prosecutor agreed and dismissed the case, much to the delight of our client and his family.
Theft Charges Dismissed
Sometimes people find themselves in difficult points in life and make bad choices that lead to legal woes. Our client was facing significant stresses her life and had stopped taking prescribed medication. Things became much worse. Madison Police arrested her after she was caught stealing merchandise at a local store. Our client, who had no prior involvement with the criminal justice system hired the lawyers at Chirafisi & Verhoff. Our lawyers discussed the situation with the prosecution and explained our client’s situation and why we believed she ended up in trouble. The District Attorney’s Office agreed not to charge our client with a criminal offense, but instead agreed to issue a non-criminal ordinance violation. At first, the prosecutor insisted the client enter a plea to the reduced charge. Undeterred, our lawyers continued negotiations with the prosecution until we were able to secure an agreement by which the charge would be dismissed. Months later, with the client’s life back on track, the case is now dismissed.
Disorderly Conduct Case Dismissed - Domestic Injunction Dismissed
Our client struck up a relationship with a woman and moved to Madison to live with her. Unfortunately, after several months, things were not working out. On a recent weekend, our client, his girlfriend and some friends attended a festival. He and his girlfriend got into a verbal argument at the festival. When they got home, she told him the relationship was finished and he needed to move out. Several days passed as our client searched for a new place to live. Fed up, the girlfriend called the police and reported that the client had threatened to harm her at the festival several days before. Police arrested our client for disorderly conduct and prosecutors filed charges against him. That same day, his girlfriend petitioned for a domestic abuse injunction. He moved out and immediately contacted Chirafisi & Verhoff. Our lawyers met with the girlfriend prior to the injunction hearing. After our lawyers discussed the situation with her, she agreed to voluntarily dismiss the injunction. Our lawyers then discussed the disorderly conduct charges with the prosecution. Our lawyers told the prosecutor that if the case went to trial, we would argue that the girlfriend’s decision to seek an injunction and call the police was not because she was disturbed by the client’s behavior at the festival. Rather, she was simply using the system as a mechanism to get him out of the residence. After meeting with our lawyers, the prosecutor agreed he could not go forward and dismissed the disorderly conduct charge.
Obstructing Charge Dismissed
Madison Police arrested our client during a beer party. He refused to identify himself, and was arrested for obstructing. Our attorneys argued the client’s refusal to identify himself did not constitute obstructing because he had not actually lied and had a right not to speak to the police--the charge was dismissed.
OWI Amended to Reckless Driving
Attorney Tim Verhoff was able to secure an amendment from an OWI-1st offense to a citation for reckless driving in Madison Municipal Court. In addition, Attorney Verhoff was able to convince the prosecution to dismiss a companion citation for imprudent speed. Our client hired Chirafisi & Verhoff after he was involved in a traffic accident that led to his arrest for OWI-1st. Our client admitted to having consumed wine and a couple of beers earlier in the day. He performed poorly on the field-sobriety tests and exhibited some of the tell-tale signs of impairment including glassy eyes and slow speech. He submitted to a breath test which produced samples at 0.08 and 0.79. Attorney Verhoff was able to convince the prosecution that poor weather conditions contributed to the accident and explained that the performance on the field sobriety tests was due, in part, to several knee and leg surgeries. Attorney Verhoff obtained the client’s medical records to document this fact. Based on this information, the prosecution agreed to amend the citation from OWI to a reckless driving, rather than go to trial. This saved the client an OWI conviction, several hundreds of dollars in fines and a lengthy driver’s license revocation.
Battery and Drug Charges to be Dismissed
Our client, a student at UW-Madison, was arrested after a night of drinking in which he got into a fight outside of a bar. Madison police took our client into custody because the person with whom he fought ended up with a broken nose (a potential felony charge). While processing him at the jail, authorities discovered a small amount of cocaine in our client’s pocket. Our lawyers spoke with prosecutors before formal charges were filed, and they agreed not to charge a felony assault. Instead, our client was charged with misdemeanor battery and possession of cocaine. Our lawyers then worked out an agreement in which our client will participate in a deferred prosecution program. Once he completes the program, the case will be dismissed.