Our Results

The Chestney Law Firm has defended several hundred DUI cases over the past few years, and we certainly do not win 100% of the time. However, over two-thirds of our clients have avoided a DUI conviction, one way or another. Here are just a very few examples of those success stories. To read a specific selection, simply click on the link below.

JUVENILE COURT - 0.111 BREATH TEST - NO HEADLIGHTS

Our client, age 16, was stopped in Sandy Springs after midnight for driving without headlights. After submitting to a breath test and blowing a .0111, the police arrested our client for DUI. (The blood alcohol content limit in Georgia for drivers under 21 years old is .020.) Two motion hearings were held in Juvenile Court, after which the breath test result was ruled admissible. Prior to trial, our firm filed one additional motion claiming that the Georgia implied consent law violates a child’s rights under the Juvenile Code. After 18 months of fierce litigation, the District Attorney agreed to drop the DUI charge, and our client admitted to reckless driving.
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HALL COUNTY - 0.134 BREATH TEST - ILLEGAL U-TURN

Our client, a non-Georgia resident, was working in Atlanta. On her way back to the Chateau Elan resort after work, she was stopped for making an illegal U-turn. After blowing a .134 on the Intoxilyzer, our client was arrested and charged with DUI. At a pre-trial hearing, we successfully argued that the location and manner of the U-turn was not unlawful, making all evidence gathered during the stop inadmissible. The court ruled the breath test could not be used during the trial, and the case was dismissed.
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DEKALB COUNTY - .160 BREATH TEST - SPEEDING STOP
State v. B. M.

Defendant was stopped by Avondale Police at 3:30 AM for speeding, given SFST's and arrested for DUI. Subsequent breath test registered 0.162 / 0.160. No legal grounds for suppression of breath test existed, so Defendant hired Bob Zettl from Colorado to testify that although the Intox 5000 is an excellent instrument, there can be several reasons why its results might be inaccurate. In particular, Zettl testified that Georgia's protocol was deficient in that a calibration check was not performed at the time of each test, despite the ability of the instrument to perform such a check along with each test. He also opined that a burp or belch prior to the test could produce an artificially high result, and the state's witnesses could not exclude such a possibility.

The jury acquitted Mr. M. of both "less safe" and "per se" DUI charges, and Judge Purdom fined him $100.00 for speeding.
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ROSWELL / FULTON COUNTY - .132 BREATH TEST - WEAVING / SPEEDING STOP
State v. L.B.

Defendant was stopped by Roswell Police for weaving out of his lane and speeding. After performing field tests, he was arrested for DUI and blew a .132 on the Intox 5000. The officer failed to read the implied consent notice in a proper and timely manner, so the breath test results were suppressed. Since Mr. B. had a prior DUI conviction, the State insisted on going to trial and introduced evidence of the prior conviction to the jury. We argued to the jury that Mr. B. was being prosecuted not so much for the present case, but simply because he had a prior DUI, and the jury found him Not Guilty.
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FULTON COUNTY - .23 BLOOD - WEAVING STOP
State v. J.S.

Defendant was stopped in Fulton County after he was observed crossing the centerline, nearly causing a head-on collision with a truck. Field sobriety evaluations, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus (eye test), 9-step Walk & Turn, and One-Leg Stand tests were administered. The defendant was arrested and asked to submit to a blood test, which resulted in a .23 blood alcohol level. At a pretrial hearing, the State could not lay the foundation for the blood test to be admitted, and the results were excluded from evidence. At a bench trial, the prosecution failed to explain the meaning of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test and the judge was not persuaded that the remaining evidence proved that the defendant was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. The defendant was found Not Guilty of DUI and Guilty of Failure to Maintain Lane.
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CITY OF ATLANTA - .106 BREATH - UNLAWFUL TURN
State v. D.M.

Defendant was stopped by a City of Atlanta DUI Task Force officer after he made an unlawful left turn at the intersection of Piedmont and Cheshire Bridge roads. Field sobriety evaluations, including horizontal gaze nystagmus (eye test), 9-step Walk & Turn, and One-Leg Stand tests were administered. When asked to submit to a portable Alco sensor breath test, Defendant asked if he could have a blood test instead. The officer would not give him a blood test, but advised him that if he did not take the State administered breath test, his license would be suspended for one year. Defendant took the breath test, which resulted in a .106. At a pretrial hearing, the judge excluded the breath test results from evidence because the officer violated Defendant's right to additional tests of his own choosing. The jury found Defendant Not Guilty of DUI and Guilty of Failing to Obey a No Turn sign.
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CITY OF ATLANTA - REFUSAL - ROADBLOCK
State v. W.C.

Defendant was stopped at roadblock in the City of Atlanta. The officer accused him of not stopping properly and ordered him out of the vehicle. The field sobriety evaluations were videotaped, showing that Defendant did not look nearly as impaired as the police officer described in his report. Defendant was arrested and asked to submit to a breath test. Feeling that he was not properly arrested, he refused to blow and the officer filed a Notice of Suspension for one year. At trial, the jury saw the videotape. After deliberating for less than 20 minutes, the Jury found Defendant Not Guilty of DUI.
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COBB COUNTY - .17O BREATH - ACCIDENT
State v. A.G.

Defendant was involved in an accident when he rear-ended the car in front of him at an intersection in Cobb County. He was questioned by the police about where he had been and how much he had to drink. According to the arresting officer, he was unable to successfully complete field sobriety evaluations. The officer read the implied consent warning asking for a breath test. A wrecker was called to tow Defendant's car, and the officer attended to other duties associated with the accident. Some time later, Defendant was advised he was under arrest for DUI. The breath test resulted in a .17. The judge ruled at a pretrial motions hearing that implied consent warning had not been read at the time of arrest, which is required, and excluded the breath test from evidence. The prosecutor reduced the charge to Reckless Driving and dismissed the DUI charge prior to trial.
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DEKALB COUNTY - .12 BLOOD - ACCIDENT
State v. S.J.

Defendant stuck a DeKalb County police car which had parked on the shoulder of the ramp from I-285 East to I-85 South. The officer was investigating a previous one-car wreck that occurred on the wet roadway. According to the officer, when asked why he hit the car, Defendant responded, "because I've had too much to drink." Several officers became involved with the arrest of Defendant and he was asked to submit to a blood test, which resulted in a .12 blood alcohol level. At a pretrial motions hearing, the State failed to produce any officer to testify that Defendant was read his implied consent rights prior to taking the blood test. The judge excluded the blood test result from evidence. The jury acquitted Defendant of all charges.
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GWINNETT COUNTY - REFUSAL - SPEEDING
State v. S.A.

Defendant was stopped for speeding 72 in a 55 MPH zone. The officer testified that he smelled alcohol when he spoke to Defendant. Field sobriety evaluations, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus (eye test), 9-step Walk & Turn, and One-Leg Stand tests were administered. The defendant was arrested and asked to submit to a breath test. Defendant asked to speak with a lawyer before deciding whether to submit to the test. The arresting officer advised Defendant that he did not have the right to a lawyer at that time and Defendant "refused" to take the test. Defendant testified at trial that he would have taken the test if he had been able to speak with a lawyer to find out what his rights were. On questioning by the prosecutor, Defendant admitted he had four beers at a sports bar earlier that night. The jury found the Defendant Not Guilty of DUI and Guilty of Speeding.
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COBB COUNTY - .14 BREATH - WIDE TURN
State v. J.P.

Defendant was stopped by Georgia State Patrol for making a wide left turn, given field sobriety tests, and arrested for DUI. Subsequent breath test registered .14. At the motions hearing, no evidence was suppressed, but it became clear to the prosecutor that the arresting officer was very inexperienced and would not be a strong witness at trial. The State dismissed the DUI charges, and J.P. pled guilty to reckless driving.
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GWINNETTCOUNTY - .15 BREATH - FAILURE TO MAINTAIN LANE
State v. P.B.

Defendant was stopped by a Lilburn police officer for weaving out of his lane of travel. Field sobriety tests were administered and defendant was arrested for DUI. Defendant submitted to the state breath test which resulted in a .15. Background investigations of the arresting officer revealed that he had an internal affairs file that raised serious doubts about this officer's credibility and integrity. Upon learning of this information, the state dismissed the DUI charge and P.B. pled guilty to reckless driving.
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CLAYTON COUNTY - .093 - ACCIDENT
State v. L.B.

Defendant was involved in a traffic accident in the parking lot of a bar at 1:00 a.m. She submitted to field sobriety tests and an Alco sensor. Based on her performance she was arrested by a member of the DUI Task Force. She agreed to a breath test and blew a .093 and was charged with being over the legal limit as well as being a less safe driver.

We argued at trial that based on her lack of manifestations that Defendant was not impaired. In addition, we argued that the margin of error on the breath machine placed Defendant under the legal limit. A jury found Defendant Not Guilty of all counts.
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CITY OF ATLANTA - .14 BREATH - FAILURE TO SIGNAL AND WEAVING
State v. A.G.

Early New Year's morning, Defendant was stopped for weaving and failure to use his signal when turning into a gas station. After submitting to field sobriety evaluations, he was arrested by a member of the DUI Task Force. Defendant was taken to a nearby roadblock where a Batmobile was located and blew a .14. The entire incident was recorded on a video camera in the officer's police car.
Defendant brought Dr. Francis Gengo, a pharmacologist from New York, to testify that based on the video he was not impaired and that his performance on the field tests, his speech, behavior, and conversation were inconsistent with a person with a blood alcohol level of .0 or higher. In addition, the defense was able to provide evidence to the jury that the breath machine had not been properly inspected under the law. The jury found Defendant Not Guilty of DUI and Weaving. He was found Guilty of Failure to Use Signal and given a fine.
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CARROLL COUNTY - .09 BREATH - SPEEDING
State v. R.S.

Defendant was stopped by Georgia State Patrol for speeding, given field sobriety tests, and arrested for DUI. Subsequent breath test registered .09. At the motions hearing, no evidence was suppressed, but it became clear to the prosecutor that the arresting officer was very inexperienced and would not be a strong witness at trial. The State dismissed the DUI charges, and R.S. pled Guilty to speeding.
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DEKALB COUNTY - REFUSAL - IMPROPER LANE CHANGE
State v. H.S.

Defendant was stopped for crossing five lanes of traffic without using a signal. While the officer was trying to explain the field sobriety tests, Defendant became verbally abusive with the officer and used profanity. Defendant was arrested for DUI. On the way to the police station, Defendant urinated in the backseat of the patrol car. Defendant refused to submit to a breath test. Although the jury felt that the Defendant's behavior may have shown he was impaired, they felt the State had not proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt. He was found Not Guilty.

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