BASIC FACTS: Police stopped the defendant’s boat at night for operating without a stern light. Upon approaching the defendant’s vehicle the police saw a plastic cup which the defendant explained contained a vodka tonic. Police asked the defendant when he had his last drink and he told them five minutes ago.

The police smelled an odor of alcohol coming from the defendant’s breath. The police officer then ordered the defendant to step from his boat onto the officer’s boat. The police officer then conducted a series of “field sobriety tests” on the defendant.

The defendant then allegedly “failed” a series of “standardized field sobriety tests”: a “finger counting test” test, a “palm pat test”, and a “finger to nose test”. The police conceded that the defendant did fairly well on a “counting backwards” test, but said the odor of alcohol on his breath and his performance on the other “field sobriety tests” was so poor that they decided to arrest him.

The officer requested that the defendant submit to a “preliminary breath test” (“PBT”). The result of the defendant’s PBT was over .15, nearly twice the legal limit.

The defendant refused to submit to a subsequent breath test back at the station. He decided to fight the case.

DEFENSE: Actual innocence.

PRETRIAL MOTIONS: The defendant moved to suppress the alleged results of the preliminary breath test after Attorney Stevens discovered that the officer was not certified to administer the test. The PBT results were not admitted at trial after Attorney Stevens’ motion regarding the preliminary breath test was granted.

Attorney Stevens also moved to exclude the officer’s opinion that the defendant had failed the “field sobriety tests” because the officer did not conduct them in accordance with any recognized DWI field sobriety manual. This motion was also granted in part before the trial.

TRIAL RESULT: The state presented the testimony of two police officers that testified that the defendant was unfit to drive a boat because he was impaired by alcohol.

After trial, the defendant was found NOT GUILTY of this BWI charge. He left the courthouse with no BWI conviction on his record!

Attorney Stevens thanks God for this successful defense!