Minnesota DWI Defense Blog : Roseville DUI Defense Lawyer & Attorney : Ramsay Law Firm : Minneapolis, St. Paul, Minnesota

 

In our first trial of 2010, a Hennepin County jury found my client not guilty after a trial in Minneapolis. 

The prosecutor had charged “Eric” (not his real name) with DWI after his arrest in August last year.  The police officer stopped Eric’s Mercedes convertible after crossing over the center line three times, almost striking another vehicle.  Eric agreed to perform standardized field sobriety tests consisting of the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus test (eye test where the person follows the officer’s finger or pen), the One Leg Stand, and the Walk and Turn test (walking heel to toe on a line). 

The officer arrested Eric after the field sobriety tests.  Eric submitted to a urine test.  The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) tested Eric’s urine sample and reported his alcohol concentration was over the legal limit of 0.80.  As a result of the test result, the state charged Eric with two charges of Second Degree DWI (3d in ten years) and forfeited his $80,000 automobile.

Before trial I obtained Eric’s urine sample from the BCA and had it retested by an independent lab.  The reported result was .076, just UNDER the legal limit. 

We began trial Tuesday with pre-trial motions.  The judge denied all of our motions (the first time that has happened in my career!) and we began picking a jury.  I called no witnesses to testify and relied on my cross examination to establish reasonable doubt in the jurors’ minds.  

The jury returned Thursday afternoon with a verdict of Not Guilty. 

Many believe DWI cases are not winnable.  Most attorneys unfortunately believe all they can do is “negotiate” with the prosecutor and do not challenge the evidence or take the cases to trial.  As a result of challenging the evidence and winning the trial, the state will likely return Eric’s $80,000 vehicle.

If you have been charged with DWI in Minnesota, call Minneapolis DWI lawyer Chuck Ramsay immediately.  We don’t negotiate – we win!

Please view our website at Ramsay Results

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Nationally recognized DWI lawyer and one of the very best in Pennslyvania, Justin McShane, has posted to his blog a new article about Standardized Field Sobriety Tests (SFST).

Mr. McShane points out that these roadside tests provide little information to a jury.  Most officers do not conduct the tests properly.  If the strict critera are not met as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) requires, the results are useless. The manual published by NHTSA says the tests are valid ONLY WHEN:

1.  The tests are administered "in the prescribed, standardized manner";
2.  The proper "clues" are used to assess the driver's performance; and,
3.  The standardized criteria are employed to interpret that performance.

As Mr. McShane reminds us, the manual states, "IF ANY ONE OF THE STANDARDIZED FIELD SOBRIETY TEST ELEMENTS IS CHANGED, THE VALIDITY IS COMPROMISED"!

Most importantly, the blog notes that the testing is based on faulty assumptions. 

This is worth exploring.  Consider the following:

Q:  How many drivers are required to pass such physical tests before the state gives them a license, other than eye testing? 
A.  Physical Testing is not a general requirement in Minnesota. 
 
Q:  If the officer does not know how well a driver will perform without having anything to drink, what baseline does the officer compare the driver's performance? 
A:  The officer bases a driver's performance on how well the average person would do under ideal conditions. 

Officers are trained not to use such testing for everyone.  The manual acknowledges the SFSTs are not valid for people more than 50 pounds overweight, for example.  But this is frequently ignored by both police and judges.  (An example of this can be found in a recent newspaper article, "Judge Rejects Obesity Defense in DWI Trial.."

I strongly encourage anyone who plans on consuming alcohol to prearrange for a sober ride home.  For those who don't, start practicing...

 

Please view our website at Ramsay Results

 

Please follow us on Facebook at Ramsay Results – Facebook

 

Please follow Mr. Ramsay via Twitter

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The author of this 2007 "Robustness" study claims that the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test is valid and reliable. However, her own statistics prove otherwise.

Scrutiny of the data in this study shows that even those with Alcohol Concentrations under .06 when administered "correctly" the HGN:

60% of people 0.059 and below had at least 4 out of 6 clues!

12% of people had all 6 clues!

Click here to download the study from the National Traffic Highway Safety Administration.

If you have been arrested for DWI/DUI and need the best defense, contact Chuck Ramsay at Charles A. Ramsay & Associates, PLLP.

Charles A. Ramsay
Attorney at Law
Charles@RamsayResults.com

Charles A. Ramsay & Assoc., PLLC

450 Rosedale Towers, 1700 West Highway
36Roseville, MN 55113
o: 651.604.0000
f: 651.604.0027
c: 651.336.6603

www.RamsayResults.com

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