Cherokee DUI Breath Test Refusal, Blood Search Warrant: Not Guilty Verdict

James “Skip” Sullivan defended his client in a Cherokee County DUI case through a jury trial.  Our client was found Not Guilty of all charges by a Cherokee County jury.  A Cherokee County Sheriff’s Deputy was parked at the entrance of an elementary school in Cherokee County monitoring traffic at an intersection.  Our client approached the intersection and made a wide right turn – crossing the double yellow line.  She also failed to maintain her lane a few times.  A traffic stop was conducted by the Cherokee County DUI officer and a DUI investigation began.  Our client admitted to drinking alcohol and even admitted to not being safe to drive.  She was also in a state of emotional distress and did not perform well on field sobriety evaluations.  She was arrested and agreed to a breath test, but changed her mind when she got to the jail.  The deputy obtained a search warrant for blood and two emergency medical technicians drew her blood at the jail.  When the blood samples arrived at the Georgia Bureau of Investigation’s Division of Forensic Sciences, there was an insufficient amount of blood to test.  Mr. Sullivan took the case to a jury trial for his client and obtained a not guilty verdict on all charges – including the wide right turn and failure to maintain lane charges (that were on the video). 

Our experienced DUI trial attorneys at Chestney & Sullivan  can discuss your Cherokee DUI today.  Call us at 404.816.8777

Atlanta DUI Driver Passed Out Behind Running Vehicle: Not Guilty

James “Skip” Sullivan represented a Georgia CDL driver that was arrested for a DUI in Atlanta.  Atlanta officers responded to a 911 call about a person passed out behind the wheel of a car in a residential neighborhood.  When Atlanta Police arrived, they found our client passed out behind the wheel while the engine was still running.  Our client’s speech was slurred and he thought he was in a different state when asked.  Our client also almost fell over during field sobriety evaluations and refused a roadside portable breath test.  Mr. Sullivan need to with this case as this was his client’s second DUI arrest and if convicted, his client would lose his commercial driver’s license for life.  A “special teams” defense was deployed, including filing a speedy trial demand in Atlanta Municipal Court before the case was sent to Fulton County State Court for trial.  Mr. Sullivan also set up a constitutional due process issue as our client was not read the Georgia Implied Consent Notice at the time of his arrest that would have informed him, among other things, of his right to an independent test.  After an almost two year delay in the filing of this case in Fulton County, Mr. Sullivan’s motions were set up perfectly for the Fulton judge to rule in our favor – even when the actual facts of our case were bad.  On the day of motions and trial, the Fulton County prosecutor failed to get their witnesses in court after issue was joined for a bench trial and the judge declared our client not guilty. 

Planning and preparedness for whatever may come our way in court is what sets Chestney & Sullivan apart from other DUI law firms.  Even if the officer showed up, we were prepared to argue motions that we stood an excellent chance of winning.  Call Chestney & Sullivan today to discuss your DUI charges at 404.816.8777. 

Georgia State Patrol Chamblee DUI, Speeding and Failure to Stop at a Red Light: Not Guilty DUI and Speeding

James “Skip” Sullivan took over a Chamblee DUI case from another law firm that was transferred to DeKalb State Court for a jury trial.   Our driver was stopped by a Georgia State Patrol Trooper (Nighthawks), for speeding and failing to fully stop before a stop bar at a red light (vehicle was past the stop bar into the intersection).  When the trooper initiated his emergency equipment, our client pulled into the nearest gas station and stopped.  Apparently our client had to use the rest room pretty bad, but was stopped by the trooper for a DUI investigation.  After realizing that our client really did have to use the rest room, he was allowed to do so.   Then the Trooper had him perform field sobriety evaluations, which our client did poorly (still complaining his stomach hurts).  He was arrested for DUI but refused to be handcuffed, resisting arrest.  Once under arrest, our client refused to submit to a state breath test.  The prosecutor refused to negotiate a lesser charge, so  Mr. Sullivan took the case to jury trial.  The jury found our client not guilty of DUI, not guilty of speeding, guilty of the Obstruction of a Law Enforcement charge, and a mistrial was declared on the Red light charge (jury could not reach a unanimous verdict on that charge).  Although we received a guilty verdict on the Obstruction of a Law Enforcement charge, the DeKalb judge agreed with Mr. Sullivan that the First Offender Statute applied even after a jury verdict if the client decides to use it and the judge accepts it, meaning if the client completes his sentence requirements successfully, the Obstruction charge would be dismissed without a conviction! 

if you are charged with a DUI or a serious traffic or criminal offense, call Chestney & Sullivan today at 404.816.8777.  Mr. Sullivan or Mr. Chestney would be happy to discuss your case with you.  

Forsyth County DUI (Not Guilty)

Our client made a wide turn onto another road and almost collided with another vehicle (caught on camera by the Forsyth County DUI Deputy).  Our client immediately pulled into a Waffle House and was detained by the deputy for a Forsyth County DUI investigation.  Our client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and was subsequently arrested for a DUI in Forsyth County.  He refused to submit the state administered breath test and was served a notice of an administrative license suspensionMr. Sullivan conducted a hearing for the the administrative suspension and was able to use a transcript from that hearing to his client’s advantage at his DUI jury trial in Forsyth County.  the Forsyth County jury found our client Not Guilty of the DUI, but did convict him on minor traffic offenses.  The DUI acquittal enabled our client to get his license reinstated.  

Sandy Springs DUI, CDL driver (Not Guilty)

In a must win case, Skip Sullivan and Bob Chestney were able to avoid an administrative license suspension for our CDL holder while his DUI case was pending and got a Not Guilty verdict from a judge in Fulton County State Court.  Our client was asleep in his vehicle alongside a roadway in Sandy Springs.  While on patrol, a Sandy Springs police officer came upon our client’s vehicle parked on the side of the road with the two driver’s side tires over the solid while fog line.  Our client was asleep in the back seat of his car with throw up in the back of the car as well as outside on a door handle and on the ground.  Once awoken and out of his car, client was very disoriented and showed visible signs of impairment.  During the course of the investigation, the Sandy Springs officer had client sit back in his car.  Client then proceeded to start up his car and revved the engine multiple times.  The officer then turned off the car, grabbed the keys and got the client out of the car.  As Sandy Springs DUI officer was called to the scene to assist in the DUI investigation.  After performing field sobriety, client was arrested for DUI in Sandy Springs, Improper Parking, and Failure to Change Address within 60 days.  At trail, Mr. Sullivan crossed examined the officers on their observations and argued the the judge that the prosecution had not met its burden of proving that defendant moved his vehicle at any point and if the prosecution was able to prove that the vehicle moved at some point, the prosecution had no evidence whether client was impaired at the time the vehicle was parked at that location.  The Fulton County State Court judge agreed and found our client Not Guilty of DUI, Not Guilty of Failing to Change Address within 60 Days, but Guilty of the Improper Parking charge (Georgia DDS assesses no points for this offense).  Client was able to save his Georgia CDL and his career.   

Gwinnett DUI: Roadblock, .082; .077 Breath Test Not Guilty

James “Skip” Sullivan represented a client in a Gwinnett County roadblock case where the client was speeding up to the roadblock and cut off another driver before stopping at the Gwinnett DUI roadblock.  The roadblock was set up by Gwinnett DUI task force officers (the only officers that have video in their patrol cars).  For reasons not credible, the Gwinnett DUI task force officers elected not to use their videos during this roadblock, nor during the transport of our client to the Gwinnett County Jail.  The Gwinnett DUI task force officer that conducted a DUI investigation claimed that our client had very sleepy, droopy, bloodshot eyes, and that his speech was heavily slurred.  The  Gwinnett DUI officer also claimed that our client was unsteady on his feet.  His breath test results were .082, .077.  Even though the Gwinnett police decided not to use video, our client had a dash camera that we played during trial.   Although the video showed our client cutting off another driver and coming up to the roadblock fast, he looked fine, no droopy/sleepy eyes, and was steady on his feet for the brief time he was on camera.  His speech was also not slurred.   The prosecution offered a reckless driving offer before trial, but our client rejected. The jury found our client not guilty of DUI and not guilty for cutting off the other driver.  The prosecution elected not to charge our client with speeding.

Forsyth County Boating Under the Influence, Obstruction of a Law Enforcement Officer – Not Guilty

Client was stopped by Georgia Department of Natural Resources officers for violating a no wake zone. Officers claimed that client was attempting to flee after being told to stop. Boating field sobriety evaluations were performed and client was arrested for boating under the influence. The Georgia implied consent notice for boaters was read and client agreed to take the state’s breath test, but client also asked questions about her own blood test. Our client’s breath test was 0.145 (the legal limit for boaters is 0.08). After a motions hearing and arguments from the defense and prosecution, the judge suppressed the prosecution’s 0.145 breath test result. After a 3 day trial, a Forsyth County jury found our client not guilty of Boating Under the Influence, not guilty of Obstruction of a Law Enforcement Officer, and only found guilty of failure to obey a regulatory marker (no wake zone).

Fulton County DUI Drugs/Alcohol: GSP Nighthawk Refusal

Client was stopped in Buckhead for driving with no tail lights (running lights only after dark). Although the trooper observed 6/6 clues on HGN and scored her poorly on WAT and OLS, she appeared quite sober on the video. Even the trooper was heard to tell his colleague she showed signs of little alcohol. But because she candidly admitted she had taken her prescribed anti-depressant medication that morning as she always does, the trooper arrested her for DUI-Combination Drugs and Alcohol. Client refused to consent to blood and urine testing when she was not allowed to call her father, a lawyer, for advice. She was found Not Guilty by the judge in a bench trial.