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.

BASIC FACTS: The driver in this case was arrested after a police officer stopped him for allegedly committing numerous “marked lanes violations”.  The officer made the usual police observations from the government-sponsored DWI arrest manuals: bloodshot and glassy eyes, “a distinct odor of alcohol”, “unsteadiness on his feet”, “mush-mouthed, thick-tongued” speech and an admission of drinking alcohol.  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 lead in this predictable roadside ritual.

The driver predictably “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”.  After the one-leg stand ordeal was over, the officer arrested the driver and charged him under New Hampshire’s DWI laws.  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 driver 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.  Like most New Hampshire DWI cases, none of these events were captured on videotape.

The old gray breath testing box at the police station said the driver’s “breath alcohol concentration” was .15.

Because he chose to help the state gather evidence against himself, the driver was then treated to a second criminal charge, commonly called a “DWI per se” charge, for allegedly driving with a breath alcohol concentration over .08.  .08 is the level at which a driver over 21 years of age can be convicted of the crime of DWI in New Hampshire.

The driver then received a letter from the New Hampshire 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 moved to dismiss this suspension.  Attorney Stevens’ motion to dismiss the suspension was granted based on the state’s failure to comply with the administrative rules required when a driver elects to blow into the breath testing hose.  The driver’s administrative license suspension was dismissed shortly after the hearing concluded.

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:

“In that day the Lord will deliver Israel from her enemies and also from the rebel powers of evil and darkness.  His sharp and unrelenting, great and strong sword will visit and punish Leviathan the swiftly fleeing serpent, Leviathan the twisting and winding serpent; and He will slay the monster that is in the sea”

Isaiah 27:1

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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.