.23 DUI Reduced to Reckless Driving in the middle of trial – Fulton County State Court – State v. R.C.
After more than 4 years of litigation (including denial of a motion to dismiss on constitutional speedy trial grounds), our client chose to proceed to trial on a .23 DUI breath test case - allegedly more than 2.5 times the legal limit. Our client had 2 prior DUI convictions within the last 10 years, so this case was particularly risky. In the middle of her trial, we successfully argued for and obtained the exclusion of her breath test based upon a foundational objection. The State then offered a dismissal of her DUI in exchange for a nolo plea to reckless driving with no jail and no fine.
Read On »P.B. & K.B. v. Division of Family and Children Services – Child Abuse Registry
We successfully defended these parents in having their names removed from the Georgia Child Abuse Registry. They were placed on the Child Abuse Registry when they elected to follow their deeply held religious beliefs instead of a doctor's recommendations in treating their daughter. For these parents, defending placement on the registry was a matter principle. Our clients were not so concerned with the effects of being placed on the Child Abuse Registry as they were upset with the mere idea or suggestion that anyone would say that they abused their special needs child.
Read On »K.O. v. Division of Family and Children Services – Child Abuse Registry
Our client is employed as an educator. As a result of this action by DFACS, our client was placed on the Georgia child abuse registry prior to this hearing. The alleged basis for the placement of our client upon the child abuse registry was the presence of marijuana metabolites in our client's child at the time of birth.
Read On »State v. T.R. – Cobb County State Court
Our client was charged with failure to maintain his lane and DUI less safe. Our client was stopped for failing to maintain his lane which was present on the video recording. After the officer smelled alcohol, he was questioned about whether he had been drinking. Our client initially denied drinking, but later conceded drinking a few beers. Our client initially refused to submit to field sobriety tests, but after the officer discussed what the tests were used for, he agreed to submit to them. Our client refused to submit to both the pre-arrest breath test and the post-arrest state-administered breath test. The worst piece of evidence that we had to deal with was our client's statements. Our client told the officer after his arrest that he knew he should not have been driving.
Read On »State v. T.J. – Smyrna Municipal Court
Our client was charged with DUI less safe and failure to maintain lane. The basic facts of this case are familiar. Our client was observed by an officer to be weaving on the road. Our client submitted to the horizontal gaze nystagmus test (the eye test), the walk-and-turn test, and the one-leg stand test. Our client submitted to a modified alphabet test, and he also submitted to the preliminary breath test. After arrest, our client refused to submit to the state-administered test of his breath at the police station.
Read On »State v. R.D.
Our client was charged with DUI less safe, DUI per se (having a blood alcohol concentration greater than .08 grams), and possession of an open container of alcohol while operating a motor vehicle. This case was pending in the Clayton County State Court, which is widely recognized to be a very difficult jurisdiction to obtain a reduction or dismissal of a DUI charge. After literally months of arguing and appearing for court appearances where the State refused to discuss a resolution short of a DUI conviction, we appeared for a jury trial and our client's DUI charges were dismissed and he entered a plea to reckless driving. This disposition was critical for our client because he would have faced loss of his employment. This case involved what would be appear to be very difficult facts, but the State's evidence lacked some critical evidence on an essential element of the charge - movement of the vehicle while our client was intoxicated.
Read On »State of Georgia V.F.H.
Our client was initially charged with child molestation following an allegation by the child's mother to law enforcement. Through intensive investigation of the incident, the child's unfortunate family history, and the mother's history, The Sessions Law Firm was able to obtain a dismissal of the child molestation in exchange for simple battery plea with no time in jail and no sex offender registry requirement.
Read On »State of Georgia V.H.S.
There are 2 valuable lessons to be learned from this case: (1) No good deed goes unpunished, and (2) All is well that ends well. Our client was at home asleep when she received a call from a friend that had been arrested for driving on a suspended license. Her friend asked that our client drive to the scene of the arrest and get her car so it would not be towed. When our client arrived at the scene, she was immediately greeted by an officer that smelled alcohol on her breath and began questioning her about drinking.
Read On »State of Georgia v. J.W.
Our client was arrested for DUI just outside of Buckhead in Atlanta. She was stopped by a member of the Georgia State Patrol Nighthawks DUI Task Force for failing to maintain her lane of travel. After the officer started his blue lights to stop our client, she proceeded to drive on for about a 1/4 of a mile. The office smelled alcohol and asked our client how much she had to drink. Our client admitted drinking 4 glasses of wine. Our client performed the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, but she refused the walk-and-turn and one-leg-stand test. We successfully negotiated a reduction of our client's DUI charge to reckless driving. She suffered no license suspension and served no further time in custody.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V.E.H.
Our client was found asleep at the wheel of his vehicle just prior to a railroad crossing. His car was in park, but it was still running at the time that the arresting officer came upon him. No field sobriety tests were performed upon our client. However, based upon falling asleep in the roadway and smelling of alcohol, our client was arrested for DUI. After his arrest, our client agreed to submit to a test of his breath pursuant to the Implied Consent Notice. Our client's breath test result was .083 g/210L. Our motions to suppress the arrest and breath test were denied. However, we developed significant issues at the motions hearing. Prior to the trial, the State offered to dismiss the DUI charge in exchange for a nolo contendere plea to reckless driving.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V. Y.K.
Our client was charged with speeding, failure to maintain lane, possession of an open container of alcohol while driving, and DUI Less – Alcohol. Our client was attempting to travel from Cherokee, North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia, when he was stopped. Following his stop, our client submitted to the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN) test, the walk-and-turn test, and the one-leg stand test. Our client showed 4 of 6 clues on the HGN test, 5 of 8 clues on the walk-and-turn test, and 3 of 4 clues on the one-leg stand test, and he submitted to a preliminary breath test that was positive for the presence of alcohol. Our client was arrested for DUI, and he refused testing pursuant to the Implied Consent Notice.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V. T.P.
Our client was in a very bad single-car accident which resulted in her car flipping at least twice and ultimately coming to rest on its side. Our client was text messaging at the time that this accident occurred. When officers arrived, they spoke with our client and smelled an odor of alcohol. They spoke with her about the how the accident occurred and had her submit to a preliminary breath test. The preliminary breath test produced a positive result for the presence of alcohol. She was then placed under arrest for DUI and read the Georgia Implied Consent notice. Our client submitted to the state-administered test of her breath which produced result .134 grams.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V. T.T.
Our client was arrested for DUI after he was stopped at a roadblock in Duluth, Georgia. The roadblock was maintained by a joint effort of the City of Duluth and Gwinnett County. Our client submitted to the horizontal gaze nystagmus which the officer said produced 6 or 6 possible clues. No other field sobriety tests were performed upon our client. Following his arrest, our client submitted to the state-administered breath test on the Intoxilyzer 5000. The lowest of his two breath samples was .080.
Read On »State of Georgia v. T.M.
Our client was charged with DUI and underage possession of alcohol in Milledgeville, Georgia. He submitted to field sobriety tests and he refused the state-administered breath test. We navigated through the administrative license suspension case without our client suffering a 12-month driver's license suspension, and we ultimately obtained a full dismissal of the DUI charge. Our client entered a conditional discharge plea to his underage possession of alcohol charge. There was no question that our client was impaired, but there was no evidence to show that our client ever drove his vehicle.
Read On »State of Georgia v. T.M.
Our client was arrested and charged for failure to maintain lane, DUI, and for their brake light and turn signals. Our client was originally pulled over after a making a U-turn at an intersection. Upon contact, the officer was suspicious of client's current condition. The officer questioned how much the client had to drink after noticing the client's bloodshot, glassy eyes, and the smell of alcohol coming off the client. After further questioning,the officer performed a field sobriety evaluation and a breathalyzer evaluation, resulting in a .097 bRac. After performing a search, the client was arrested and transported to county jail.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V. R.C.
Our client's DUI charge was completely dismissed when the State failed to meet its burden of proof at the motions hearing. Our client was originally faced a suspension of his drivers license as a result of refusing the state-administered breath test, in addition to the DUI charge. The license suspension action was also dismissed.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V.C.L.
Our client was stopped for failing to maintain his lane by the Alpharetta Police Department. According to the arresting officer, our client showed 6 of 6 clues on the HGN test, 5 of 8 clues on the walk-and-turn test, and prior to the administration of the one-leg stand test, he said “I can't do that even when I'm sober, seriously.” Our client submitted to the state-administered breath test, which produced a result of .149 and .141.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V.B.N.
Our client was stopped for speeding well in excess of the posted speed limit by the Georgia State Patrol. After speaking with the client, the officer smelled marijuana. As a result of that conversation, our client was arrested DUI – Marijuana, Driving While License Suspended, and Speeding. We ultimately obtained a full dismissal of all charges pending against our client based upon a violation of our client's constitutional right to a speedy trial.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V.E.A.
Our client was stopped by the Georgia State Patrol for Speeding in Excess of Maximum Limits and Failure to Maintain Lane. After initiating a traffic stop, the officer asked our client to consent to a Standardized Field Sobriety Test, for which she displayed a front to rear circular sway. She refused a preliminary sample of her breath and was arrested. We obtained a dismissal of the DUI charge and our client was only charged with reckless driving. Despite having refused the state breath test, our client received no license suspension.
Read On »STATE OF GEORGIA V. J.K.
Our client was charged with her second DUI in approximately 5 months along with Following Too Closely, Failure to Maintain Lane, and Obstruction of an Officer. At the trial of the case, our client's prior DUI charge, which she pled guilty to, was introduced as a similar transaction. In that case, our client showed very similar manifestations to this case, and the client submitted to a breath test that produced a result well in excess of the legal limit. Our client refused to submit to the breath test in this case. The Jury found of Client Not Guilty of DUI, of Following Too Closely, and of Obstruction of an Officer.
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