Our client was observed by Smyrna Police failing to maintain his lane and touching the double yellow line several times while driving. the Smyrna DUI officer initiated a traffic stop and began a DUI investigation after he smelled alcohol. Client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and performed less than stellar on the walk and turn evaluation, but looked good on the one leg stand evaluation. He refused a portable alcosensor. Client also made some incriminating statements after he was arrested for his Smyrna DUI. Mr. Sullivan was able to avoid an administrative license suspension for our client and was able to successfully negotiate a dismissal of the DUI charge in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving.
Tagged: reckless driving
Lilburn DUI, Speeding, Failure to Dim Headlights (DUI dismissed)
Our client was stopped by Lilburn Police for travelling 61 mph in a 40 mph zone. She also had her brights on. Our client agreed to perform field sobriety evaluations and based upon the results of the evaluations, she was arrested for DUI in Lilburn. She refused to submit to the state administered breath test and faced a one year license suspension of her driving privileges due to the refusal. Mr. Sullivan was able to navigate the administrative license suspension action while the DUI case was pending in Lilburn Municipal Court. Mr. Sullivan was able to negotiate a dismissal of the DUI charge in exchange to a plea of Reckless Driving and
Atlanta DUI (two car accident), reduced to Reckless Driving
Our client ran a red light in Atlanta and struck another vehicle. Atlanta Police responded to investigate. Our client admitted to drinking and after an investigation, was arrested for DUI in Atlanta. He agree to take the state’s breath test at the jail, but after an unexplained two hour delay, his alcohol level dropped to a .077. The Fulton County State Court prosecution had the ability to present evidence that our client was over .o8 at the time of driving as well as being DUI less safe. Mr. Sullivan was able to persuade the prosecution that they would still have a difficult time proving its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The Atlanta DUI and Red Light charges were dismissed in exchange for a negotiated plea to Reckless Driving.
Union City DUI (dismissed), plea to Reckless Driving
Our client was stopped by Union City Police from a call of a disturbance at a gas station (client got into a heated argument with the clerk). Officer also noticed a headlight out. Client showed signs of drinking and impairment and was arrested for DUI and No Headlight. Client also lived out of state and missed his court appearance for his Union City DUI in Fulton County State Court and a bench warrant was issued. Mr. Sullivan was able to get the bench warrant lifted in Fulton County State Court and negotiate a dismissal of the Union City DUI charge in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving.
Forsyth County 2/5 DUI Reduced to Reckless Driving
Client arrested in Forsyth County for DUI, and he refused the state-administered breath test. He has a 2012 DUI conviction, so this would have been a 2nd in 5 years, subjecting him to about six months in jail and a lengthy license suspension if convicted again. Bob Chestney was selected as lead counsel, and several motions were filed, including a Motion to Suppress his Refusal on Georgia Constitutional grounds (based on the recent Olevik v. State decision by the GA Supreme Court). At the motion hearing, the State agreed to reduce the DUI to Reckless Driving with no jail.
Although we had lost the ALS hearing, resulting in a 12-month license suspension for the refusal, that suspension will be immediately terminated and deleted from his driving record.
Roswell Fleeing and Attempting to Elude: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our client was clocked doing 92 in a 65 mph zone on Georgia 400 south by Roswell Police. The Roswell police officer attempted to catch up to our client to initiate a traffic stop. Our client took a quick turn onto a side street and ran through a stop sign while the officer was pursuing him with his emergency equipment on. Client eventually stopped and was placed in an investigatory detention and charged with speeding, fleeing and attempting to elude, and reckless driving. Fleeing and attempting to elude carries a very harsh statutory mandatory minimum penalty of 10 days in jail. Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the prosecutor in Roswell that this particular case did not warrant the prosecutor pursuing the fleeing and attempting to elude charge or the speeding charge (a 4 point offense) and negotiated a plea to only the reckless driving charge, avoiding jail time for our client.
Covington DUI Refusal: Reduced to Reckless Driving
A concerned citizen was following our client and called in to Georgia State Patrol that our client was failing to keep the vehicle in a single lane. A Georgia State Trooper spotted our client’s vehicle and also noticed it failing to maintain the vehicle within the lane. The trooper initiated a traffic stop in Covington, Georgia and after a brief conversation, allowed our client to drive off. The Trooper then saw our client drive off onto the shoulder of the road and stopped the vehicle again. A DUI investigation began, where our client performed field sobriety evaluations and tested high on a portable alcosensor (almost twice the legal limit). Our client was subsequently arrested for a DUI in Covington. Mr. Sullivan was able to convince the prosecutor that the client performed well enough on field sobriety evaluations that a jury might not convict on the DUI charge. The prosecutor agreed and a plea to reckless driving was negotiated.
Cobb County DUI Breath Test .173: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our client was charges with a Cobb County DUI after being stopped for failing to maintain his lane. Marietta Police conducted an investigation for DUI where our client agreed to submit to field sobriety evaluations. Our client was subsequently arrested for DUI and took the state breath rest with a result of .173. The case began in Marietta Municipal Court, but the Marietta DUI charge was sent over to Cobb County State Court to preserve our client’s right to a jury trial. Mr. Sullivan conducted a motions hearing to exclude the .173 breath test from being admissible at trial. While the judge was deciding the motions, Mr. Sullivan was able to persuade the prosecutor that the test would be inadmissible at trial. Subsequently, Mr. Sullivan negotiated with the prosecutor to dismiss the Cobb DUI charge and our client enter a plea to reckless driving.
Woodstock DUI: Reduced to Reckless Driving
Our Woodstock DUI client was observed by Woodstock Police throwing up besides her car in a parking lot. Our client then drove off not coming to a complete stop at a stop sign exiting the parking lot. The Woodstock police officer initiated a traffic stop and client pulled back into the same parking lot. A DUI investigation was conducted after the officer smelled a strong odor of alcohol coming from our client, observed bloodshot, watery eyes, and observed our client vomiting. Our client performed field sobriety evaluations and scored the maximum clues on the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus evaluation, 5 out of 8 possible clues on the Walk and Turn evaluation, and 1 out 4 clues on the One Leg Stand evaluation. She was then arrested and charged with DUI and running a stop sign. Mr. Sullivan was able to successfully negotiate with the Woodstock solicitor (prosecutor) to drop the DUI charge in exchange for a plea to Reckless Driving.
Spalding County DUI, .40 Blood Test: Reduced
In her Spalding County DUI case, our client lost control of her vehicle and crashed into a collision repair shop parking lot in Spalding County. A witness saw the accident and called police. Georgia State Patrol responded and conducted an investigation. Due to the accident, no field sobriety evaluations were performed, but the trooper noticed a very strong odor of an alcoholic beverage from our client. Our client was transported to the hospital for treatment. Our client was charged for DUI in Spalding County and blood was draw for testing at the GBI. The blood test result was .40, five times the legal limit. Mr. Sullivan was able to persuade the prosecution that due to the delay of the case and admissibility issues of the state’s blood test to dismiss the DUI charge, resulting in a negotiated plea to Too Fast for Conditions and Reckless Driving.