The Law Office of John J. Leunig recently secured a victory in a driving while impaired case and the related driver’s license case after persuading a district court judge that there was no basis for the expansion of the stop that resulted in the defendant submitting to a breath test. The criminal DWI charges against the defendant were ultimately dismissed and the related driver’s license revocation was rescinded.
The firm analyzed all of the state’s evidence that was disclosed through the discovery process. In reviewing audio and video from the traffic stop, issue was taken with the officer’s decision to order the driver out of the vehicle to complete field sobriety testing. The audio and video revealed that the officer’s decision to expand the stop and conduct field sobriety tests was based on nothing more than an “unidentified odor” coming from the vehicle that had been reported by another officer on scene. The officer did not note anything in the driver’s appearance or mannerisms that would be indicative of impairment.
As part of the challenge to the revocation of the client’s driver’s license, firm attorney Justin J. Duffy argued that the client’s constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated because there was not any evidence of impairment to justify the officer’s decision to conduct field sobriety testing, and that any evidence collected after that point in time must be suppressed because it was obtained in violation of the driver’s rights.
The judge agreed that the expansion of the stop was unconstitutional, suppressed the evidence obtained as a result, and ordered that the client’s driver’s license be rescinded. Securing this victory in the driver’s license led to the prosecutor in the criminal case agreeing to completely dismiss the DWI charges.
If you or a loved one are facing charges for a criminal offense, call the criminal defense attorneys at The Law Office of John Leunig, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at 952-540-6800 for a free consultation.
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