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| Georgia
DUI Success Stories |
The Chestney-Hawkins Law Firm has defended several hundred DUI
cases over the past few years, and we certainly don't win 100%
of the time. However, over two-thirds of our clients have avoided
a DUI conviction, one way or another. Here are just a very few
examples of those success stories. To read a specific selection,
simply click on the link below.
DEKALB COUNTY - .160 BREATH TEST - SPEEDING STOP
State v. B. M.
Defendant was stopped by Avondale Police at 3:30 AM for speeding,
given SFST's and arrested for DUI. Subsequent breath test
registered 0.162 / 0.160. No legal grounds for suppression
of breath test existed, so Defendant hired Bob Zettl from
Colorado to testify that although the Intox 5000 is an excellent
instrument, there can be several reasons why its results might
be inaccurate. In particular, Zettl testified that Georgia's
protocol was deficient in that a calibration check was not
performed at the time of each test, despite the ability of
the instrument to perform such a check along with each test.
He also opined that a burp or belch prior to the test could
produce an artificially high result, and the state's witnesses
could not exclude such a possibility.
The jury acquitted Mr. M. of both "less safe" and
"per se" DUI charges, and Judge Purdom fined him
$100.00 for speeding.
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ROSWELL / FULTON COUNTY - .132 BREATH TEST - WEAVING / SPEEDING
STOP
State v. L.B.
Defendant was stopped by Roswell Police for weaving out of
his lane and speeding. After performing field tests, he was
arrested for DUI and blew a .132 on the Intox 5000. The officer
failed to read the implied consent notice in a proper and
timely manner, so the breath test results were suppressed.
Since Mr. B. had a prior DUI conviction, the State insisted
on going to trial and introduced evidence of the prior conviction
to the jury. We argued to the jury that Mr. B. was being prosecuted
not so much for the present case, but simply because he had
a prior DUI, and the jury found him Not Guilty.
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FULTON COUNTY - .23 BLOOD - WEAVING STOP
State v. J.S.
Defendant was stopped in Fulton County after he was observed
crossing the centerline, nearly causing a head-on collision
with a truck. Field sobriety evaluations, including the horizontal
gaze nystagmus (eye test), 9-step Walk & Turn, and One-Leg
Stand tests were administered. The defendant was arrested
and asked to submit to a blood test which resulted in a .23
blood alcohol level. At a pretrial hearing, the State could
not lay the foundation for the blood test to be admitted,
and the results were excluded from evidence. At a bench trial,
the prosecution failed to explain the meaning of the horizontal
gaze nystagmus test and the judge was not persuaded that the
remaining evidence proved that the defendant was guilty beyond
a reasonable doubt. The defendant was found Not Guilty of
DUI and Guilty of Failure to Maintain Lane.
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CITY OF ATLANTA - .106 BREATH - UNLAWFUL TURN
State v. D.M.
Defendant was stopped by a City of Atlanta DUI Task Force
officer after he made an unlawful left turn at the intersection
of Piedmont and Cheshire Bridge roads. Field sobriety evaluations,
including horizontal gaze nystagmus (eye test), 9-step Walk
& Turn, and One-Leg Stand tests were administered. When
asked to submit to a portable alcosensor breath test, Defendant
asked if he could have a blood test instead. The officer would
not give him a blood test, but advised him that if he did
not take the State administered breath test, his license would
be suspended for one year. Defendant took the breath test,
which resulted in a .106. At a pretrial hearing, the judge
excluded the breath test results from evidence because the
officer violated Defendant's right to additional tests of
his own choosing. The jury found Defendant Not Guilty of DUI
and Guilty of Failing to Obey a No Turn sign.
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CITY OF ATLANTA - REFUSAL - ROADBLOCK
State v. W.C.
Defendant was stopped at roadblock in the City of Atlanta. The
officer accused him of not stopping properly and ordered him
out of the vehicle. The field sobriety evaluations were videotaped,
showing that Defendant did not look nearly as impaired as the
police officer described in his report. Defendant was arrested
and asked to submit to a breath test. Feeling that he was not
properly arrested, he refused to blow and the officer filed
a Notice of Suspension for one year. At trial the jury saw the
videotape. After deliberating for less than 20 minutes, the
Jury found Defendant Not Guilty of DUI.
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COBB COUNTY - .17O BREATH - ACCIDENT
State v. A.G.
Defendant was involved in an accident when he rear-ended the
car in front of him at an intersection in Cobb County. He was
questioned by the police about where he had been and how much
he had to drink. According to the arresting officer, he was
unable to successfully complete field sobriety evaluations.
The officer read the implied consent warning asking for a breath
test. A wrecker was called to tow Defendant's car, and the officer
attended to other duties associated with the accident. Some
time later, Defendant was advised he was under arrest for DUI.
The breath test resulted in a .17. The judge ruled at a pretrial
motions hearing that implied consent warning had not been read
at the time of arrest, which is required, and excluded the breath
test from evidence. The prosecutor reduced the charge to Reckless
Driving and dismissed the DUI charge prior to trial.
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DEKALB COUNTY - .12 BLOOD - ACCIDENT
State v. S.J.
Defendant stuck a DeKalb County police car which had parked
on the shoulder of the ramp from I-285 East to I-85 South. The
officer was investigating a previous one-car wreck that occurred
on the wet roadway. According to the officer, when asked why
he hit the car, Defendant responded "because I've had too
much to drink." Several officers became involved with the
arrest of Defendant and he was asked to submit to a blood test,
which resulted in a .12 blood alcohol level. At a pretrial motions
hearing, the State failed to produce any officer to testify
that Defendant was read his implied consent rights prior to
taking the blood test. The judge excluded the blood test result
from evidence. The jury acquitted Defendant of all charges.
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GWINNETT COUNTY - REFUSAL - SPEEDING
State v. S.A.
Defendant was stopped for speeding 72 in a 55 MPH zone. The
officer testified that he smelled alcohol when he spoke to Defendant.
Field sobriety evaluations, including the horizontal gaze nystagmus
(eye test), 9-step Walk & Turn, and One-Leg Stand tests
were administered. The defendant was arrested and asked to submit
to a breath test. Defendant asked to speak with a lawyer before
deciding whether to submit to the test. The arresting officer
advised Defendant that he did not have the right to a lawyer
at that time and Defendant "refused" to take the test.
Defendant testified at trial that he would have taken the test
if he had been able to speak with a lawyer to find out what
his rights were. On questioning by the prosecutor, Defendant
admitted he had four beers at a sports bar earlier that night.
The jury found the Defendant Not Guilty of DUI and Guilty of
Speeding.
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COBB COUNTY - .14 BREATH - WIDE TURN
State v. J.P.
Defendant was stopped by Georgia State Patrol for making a wide
left turn, given field sobriety tests, and arrested for DUI.
Subsequent breath test registered .14. At the motions hearing,
no evidence was suppressed, but it became clear to the prosecutor
that the arresting officer was very inexperienced and would
not be a strong witness at trial. The State dismissed the DUI
charges, and J.P. pled guilty to Reckless Driving.
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GWINNETT COUNTY - .15 BREATH - FAILURE TO MAINTAIN
LANE
State v. P.B.
Defendant was stopped by a Lilburn police officer for weaving
out of his lane of travel. Field sobriety tests were administered
and defendant was arrested for DUI. Defendant submitted to
the state breath test which resulted in a .15. Background
investigations of the arresting officer revealed that he had
an internal affairs file that raised serious doubts about
this officer's credibility and integrity. Upon learning of
this information, the state dismissed the DUI charge and P.B.
pled guilty to reckless driving.
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CLAYTON COUNTY - .093 - ACCIDENT
State v. L.B.
Defendant was involved in a traffic accident in the parking
lot of a bar at 1:00 a.m. She submitted to field sobriety
tests and an alcosensor. Based on her performance she was
arrested by a member of the DUI Task Force. She agreed to
a breath test and blew a .093 and was charged with being over
the legal limit as well as being a less safe driver.
We argued at trial that based on her lack of manifestations
that Defendant was not impaired. In addition we argued that
the margin of error on the breath machine placed Defendant
under the legal limit. A jury found Defendant Not Guilty of
all counts.
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CITY OF ATLANTA - .14 BREATH - FAILURE TO SIGNAL AND
WEAVING
State v. A.G.
Early New Year's morning, Defendant was stopped for weaving
and failure to use his signal when turning into a gas station.
After submitting to field sobriety evaluations, he was arrested
by a member of the DUI Task Force. Defendant was taken to a
nearby roadblock where a Batmobile was located and blew a .14.
The entire incident was recorded on a video camera in the officer's
police car.
Defendant brought Dr. Francis Gengo, a pharmacologist from New
York, to testify that based on the video he was not impaired
and that his performance on the field tests, his speech, behavior,
and conversation were inconsistent with a person with a blood
alcohol level of .0 or higher. In addition, the defense was
able to provide evidence to the jury that the breath machine
had not been properly inspected under the law. The jury found
Defendant Not Guilty of DUI and Weaving. He was found Guilty
of Failure to Use Signal and given a fine.
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CARROLL COUNTY - .09 BREATH - SPEEDING
State v. R.S.
Defendant was stopped by Georgia State Patrol for speeding,
given field sobriety tests, and arrested for DUI. Subsequent
breath test registered .09. At the motions hearing, no evidence
was suppressed, but it became clear to the prosecutor that the
arresting officer was very inexperienced and would not be a
strong witness at trial. The State dismissed the DUI charges,
and R.S. pled Guilty to speeding.
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DEKALB COUNTY - REFUSAL - IMPROPER LANE CHANGE
State v. H.S.
Defendant was stopped for crossing 5 lanes of traffic without
using a signal. While the officer was trying to explain the
field sobriety tests, Defendant became verbally abusive with
the officer and used profanity. Defendant was arrested for DUI.
On the way to the police station, Defendant urinated in the
backseat of the patrol car. Defendant refused to submit to a
breath test. Although the jury felt that the Defendant's behavior
may have shown he was impaired, they felt the State had not
proven the case beyond a reasonable doubt. He was found Not
Guilty.
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