Not Guilty/Complete Acquittal at Jury Trial – Super Extreme DUI (.358 BAC) Extreme DWI, DUI, DWI, Resisting Arrest, and Open Container in a Vehicle – State v. Ms. N (DMC No. 18195) NOV 8, 2023 – Agua Fria Justice Court (Case No. TR2022-113429)
DPS Troopers indicated that they were travelling eastbound on the I-10 when they claim to have seen Ms. N’s vehicle drive onto the emergency shoulder with half of her vehicle on three separate times. When they ultimately pulled her over, they said that she put her vehicle in Reverse instead of Park, and almost backed into their police vehicle. Once she rolled down the windows, the Officers indicated she appeared to have slurred speech, watery and bloodshot eyes, and a strong odor of alcohol. Ms. N had indicated she was driving a rental vehicle, and was not familiar with how it regularly drove.
Field Sobriety Tests were begun, but they were terminated quickly, as the Trooper felt it would be unsafe to conduct these on the side of the roadway. When she was placed under arrest, as she was being handcuffed, the Trooper claimed she tried to pull away, and so he used an “OCCS wrist lock technique.” Once she was placed under arrest, an open bottle of alcohol was found in her car. She was then taken down to the Police Station where a breath test was administered, which resulted in .358 BAC (over 4 times the legal limit).
At Jury Trial, we were able to argue that the reading was outside of two hours of driving, and that the breath testing device had various flaws. In addition, the Resisting Arrest charge was very suspect, and the State could not prove knowledge of the open bottle of alcohol in Ms. N’s car. Ultimately, the Jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty on all charges – which is highly unusual for a reading this high.