BASIC FACTS: A police officer responded to the scene of an alleged argument.  Upon arrival the police made contact with two citizens who had contact with the driver.  The police approached the driver and made the usual stock observations that precipitate a DWI arrest.

The officer claimed the driver’s speech was slurred and that he seemed incoherent.  The police officer then orchestrated the driver’s performance through a medley of sidewalk gymnastics called “field sobriety tests”.  The driver allegedly failed a pen test (police call these horizontal gaze nystagmus, or “HGN” tests), a “nine step walk and turn test”, and a “one leg stand test”.  The driver admitted drinking “8 beers before losing count” several hours prior to driving.  After the battery of the balancing and pen-following exercises, the officer arrested the driver and charged him with DWI.  The driver decided to risk blowing into the breath testing gadget at the police station.  He blew a .00 twice.  Unfazed by the zero readings, the police mounted a “drug impairment” evaluation.  The defendant was interrogated about drug use and made numerous statements.

The Miranda card used by the police was defective, as it did not accurately state the warnings required by the Miranda Court.  The defendant later submitted to a blood test that revealed the presence of controlled drugs.

After his arrest, the defendant hired Attorney Stevens to fight the DWI charge.

DEFENSE:     Attorney Stevens moved to suppress the driver’s statements based on the Miranda violation.  After arguments on the suppression motion, hearing, the Court ordered that none of the defendant’s statements would be admissible at trial.  The state proceeded without the defendant’s statements.  The state presented the testimony of three witnesses at trial.  At the conclusion of all this, Attorney Stevens moved to dismiss the case of for a finding of not guilty.  The driver was found not guilty after trial!

RESULT:       NOT GUILTY AFTER TRIAL!!!

Attorney Stevens thanks God for this successful defense!!!

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