http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

Please note-this is an example of the disposition of a recent New Hampshire DWI case. It is by no means a guarantee of any particular result in any other case.

http://www.byebyedwi.blogspot.com

BASIC FACTS: The driver in this case was stopped for making two “wide, sweeping turns” while driving late at night.  After stopping the driver, the police officer asked the usual questions that are posed to most other drivers who are stopped late at night:  where are you coming from, where are you going, and have you been drinking.  The officer made the usual and customary police observations from the government-sponsored DWI arrest manuals: red, flushed face, bloodshot and glassy eyes, and “a distinct odor of alcohol coming from inside the vehicle”.

After the usual series of questions, and simultaneous observations of red bloodshot eyes, the “distinct odor” of alcohol and slurred speech the officer asked the driver to perform the series of sidewalk gymnastics known as “field sobriety tests”.  The driver chose to agree to play the role of the “about-to-be-arrested driver” in this predictable roadside ritual.

The driver allegedly “failed” the usual three sidewalk maneuvers: the “follow the pen” or “horizontal gaze nystagmus” (“HGN”) exercise, the “nine step walk and turn test” (sometimes called the “heel to toe test”), and the “one leg stand test”.  This driver’s performance was unremarkable on these “field sobriety tests” which were performed on what the officer described as a “slight grade” (You would call it a hill).  After the one-leg stand ordeal was over, the officer arrested the driver and charged him with “driving while intoxicated”, commonly known as “DWI”, and alternatively called “DUI” or “OUI”.

The driver was handcuffed and put in the back of a police cruiser.  The officer got the driver out of the car at the police station and brought him inside.  Inside the station, the officer asked the defendant to blow into a black hose to give a “breath sample”.  The driver chose to give the state “evidence” against himself and he blew into the black hose twice.  The breath test was captured on video tape. 

The old gray breath testing box at the police station said the driver’s “breath alcohol concentration” was .11.

Because he chose to help the state gather evidence against himself, the driver was then treated to second criminal charge, commonly called a “DWI per se” charge, for allegedly driving with a breath alcohol concentration over .08.

The driver then received a letter from the department of safety advising him that his license would be suspended for allegedly failing the breath test.  The driver hired Attorney Stevens to challenge the administrative license suspension at a hearing at the Department of Safety. 

HEARING PROCEDURE:            Attorney Stevens requested a hearing on the driver’s behalf at the Department of Safety.  Attorney Stevens challenged everything that the law and the rules allow regarding the breath test.  After the state presented its case, Attorney Stevens submitted a copy of the driver’s booking video as an exhibit at the hearing.  The videotape revealed that the state had failed to comply with an important administrative rule prior to getting the driver to blow into the breath test hose.  Attorney Stevens’ motion to dismiss the suspension was granted based on the state’s failure to comply with the administrative rules.  The driver’s administrative license suspension was dismissed after the hearing.

RESULT:      ADMINISTRATIVE LICENSE SUSPENSION DISMISSED!!!   The driver’s right to drive pending trial was restored immediately.  He did not suffer the 180 day administrative suspension that the state sought to impose on him.

Attorney Stevens thanks God for this successful defense!!!

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:

“The Angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him and each of them He delivers.”

Psalm 34:7

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Information in this column should not be construed as legal advice and does not constitute an engagement of the Mark Stevens Law Office, nor any attorney associated with the Mark Stevens Law Office. The information contained herein is of a general nature and may not apply to any particular set of facts and circumstances. Please bear in mind that laws change frequently. We will make an effort to update the information on a regular basis, but are under no obligation to do so. No part of this document, nor any information contained in this website, may be disseminated without this paragraph. This may be considered legal advertising.

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