DUI Lawyer

 Found on the web at Gregory Casale Attorney At Law or on Google+ at Gregory Casale Attorney At Law

 

 

April 7, 2014   Fitchburg District Court

OUI Liquor - Not Guilty

Negligent Operation - Not Guilty

Person Under 21 in Possession of Liquor - Dismissed

Our client, an 18 year old female resident of Clinton MA was stopped for speeding in May of 2013 and subsequently charged with OUI Liquor, Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle, Person Under 21 in Possession of Alcohol, Speeding, Registration Not in Possession and Open Container of Alcohol. Just prior to being clocked for speeding, another driver stopped to inform the officer that our client was driving erratically and had almost struck two pedestrians in the roadway.

The arresting officer testified on Direct Examination that our client was speeding, took off into an apartment complex cul de sac, was eventually stopped and failed Field Sobriety Tests causing him to arrest her. He claimed that her eyes were bloodshot and glassy, that she smelled of alcoholic beverage and that she failed Field Sobriety Tests (FST), namely the Alphabet Test, the 9 Step Walk & Turn and the One-Legged Stand.

He claimed that she had no registration in possession, struggled to produce her license, started all FSTs too early, that she recited the alphabet in a manner that was slow and deliberate, that she missed touching her heel to toe on several steps, that she missed the number 15 while counting during the One Legged Stand and that she showed signs of instability throughout the process. He also testified that a  half empty, 1.75liter bottle of Strawberry Vodka was found in her possession.

On Cross-Examination, Attorney Casale was able to elicit that our client was not wearing shoes and that much of her instability was actually simply her finding pavement free of stones or pebbles, that she never staggered or swayed throughout the interactions, that she never slurred her speech, that she actually *passed* the Alphabet Test, that she was able to keep her foot raised longer than the requisite 30 count on the One-Legged Stand, and that although she started each test before being told to do so, that the arresting officer had told her that the test only started when her told her to begin, so this starting early was not part of the testing criteria. The officer also admitted on cross-examination that the bottle of vodka was actually found in the trunk, in a closed backpack owned by someone other than our client. Evidence of the witness was kept out of evidence by Attorney Casale because the officer had failed to secure the witnesses identification and as such was inadmissible hearsay.

At the close of evidence our client was found Not Guilty on the OUI Liquor and Negligent Operation of a Motor Vehicle. The Possession of Alcohol by a Person Under 21 was Dismissed, she was found Not Responsible for Registration Not in Possession. 

Contact Attorney Casale at (508) 752-7500.