Our client was involved in a single car accident in the city limits of Atlanta within the borders of DeKalb County. He snapped a telephone pole and the vehicle then went through a fence, ended up resting next to a retaining wall of a house. Fire, EMS, and Atlanta Police showed up on the scene. The Atlanta police conducted a DUI investigation while EMT’s were working on our client. Our client was transported to the hospital where he was placed under arrest and read the Georgia Implied Consent notice. He agreed to take a blood test which showed a combination of alcohol, Ambien, and marijuana in his system. The DUI case started in Atlanta Municipal Court. Mr. Sullivan was not able to negotiate a non-DUI plea in Atlanta, so he requested a jury trial in DeKalb County State Court. Mr. Sullivan filed various motions attacking the DeKalb State Court prosecutor’s DUI case. At the hearing, Mr. Sullivan successfully cross-examined the Atlanta DUI officers to the point that after the hearing, he was then able to convince the prosecutor that a jury wasn’t going to like his officers and we stood a good chance of getting a not guilty verdict at trial (even with the blood test result). The Atlanta DUI charge was dismissed in exchange for a negotiated plea to Reckless Driving.
Tagged: DUI Blood Test
DeKalb DUI .291 Blood Test (dismissed)
Mr. Sullivan represented a client that was involved in a significant single car accident in Decatur Georgia. Our client went off the road and struck a utility pole. A Decatur DUI officer arrived on scene and conducted a DUI investigation. Our client had a significant cut to the lip and was transported to the hospital for treatment. While at the hospital, the Decatur DUI officer read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice to our client, who agreed to a blood test. The blood test result was .291. The legal limit in Georgia is .08. Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the DeKalb State Court prosecutor that the blood test was inadmissible because client was not under arrest at the time the notice was read. The prosecutor agreed to dismiss the DUI charges in exchange for a plea to a lesser traffic charge of Reckless Driving.
DeKalb County DUI Accident, .094 Blood Test: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our non-native English speaking client wrecked his car head-first into a brick sign, and his car came to a rest on its side in a ditch. Numerous witnesses stopped or called 911. The DeKalb County Police investigated the DUI, arrested out client, and had our client’s blood drawn at the hospital. The GBI tested the blood which revealed a BAC of 0.094. We pushed for trial, and when the State’s toxicologist couldn’t be available to appear in court—again, and again—the DeKalb DUI case was reduced to reckless driving.