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If you've been cited for Drunk Driving, given an OWI or BAC/PAC to seek out the services of a qualified
attorney. A mistake made by law enforcement may result in your case being completely dismissed. We
will look at all issues and facts related to your case and file necessary motions to suppress/dismiss the
charges. We conduct a thorough investigation of your case, including:
attorney. A mistake made by law enforcement may result in your case being completely dismissed. We
will look at all issues and facts related to your case and file necessary motions to suppress/dismiss the
charges. We conduct a thorough investigation of your case, including:
Police reports for inaccuracies and lack of consistency,
1.
2.
Determining if there was reasonable suspicion to conduct the stop,
Determining if there was reasonable suspicion to believe you were
impaired while operating,
impaired while operating,
3.
Determining if there was probable cause to arrest,
4.
Determining how you performed the field sobriety tests,
5.
Examining preliminary breath testing (PBTs),
6.
7.
Examining lab and BAC/PAC results,
8.
| Examining testing equipment & records |
| © Pitsch Law Offices, LLC. Disclaimer. Sitemap. |
The following is an example of why you need to get an attorney:
Attorney: "Hello, how can I help you."
Defendant: "I saw you give free consultations and was wondering what you think you can do for me."
Attorney: "Well, I can gather all of the information and analyze it to let you know if you have any
defenses to the allegations; if you'd like to retain me, I'd be happy to do that for you."
Defendant: "Well, I put my car in a ditch and was three times the legal limit, so I don't think you can do
anything for me."
Attorney: "Did the officer give you any field sobriety tests before they arrested you?"
Defendant: "No."
Attorney: "Well, before you can be arrested, the officer has to establish probable cause, usually they do
that by offering field sobriety testing."
Defendant: "I just don't think I can retain your services, I really don't have a lot of money, and I just
don't think an attorney will be able to do anything for me. And, if I don't get the case dismissed, then I'm
out the fines and your fees. It's just not worth it to me."
Attorney: "I understand, but you may have a good defense and I hope you consider all of your options
before just giving up and entering a plea on your own."
--- 11 months go by ---
Attorney: "Hello, how can I help you."
Defendant: "Hey, I talked with you about my case a long time ago and didn't hire an attorney and just
plead to the OWI charge. Is there a way you can have that expunged?"
Attorney: "Well, the first offense is civil, and won't be expunged. DAs don't agree with reopening a case
to reduce a charge ever, especially not after so much time has passed. So, realistically, there is nothing I
could likely do for you here. Why do you ask?"
Defendant: Well, I just got offered a new job, and it pays a lot more money and I was told now that they
can't give me the job because I have an OWI on my record and they can't afford to insure me as a driver.
Bottom line, you never know what your future holds. A stupid mistake now because you don't want to
spend the time, money or effort to fight your charges may result in you losing out big time in the days,
months or years to come.
There are generally four (4) phases to an OWI stop and arrest, as listed below:
Phase 1: The Stop
An officer doesn't always stop people with just and legal cause. We have gotten our client's cases
dismissed for being stopped illegally, such as when an officer pulled one of our clients over for making
too many right hand turns, "because it was suspicious", or when a client was illegally stopped because
an anonymous person made a call but the officer failed to first verify independently that there was a
violation, or when our client was pulled over illegally by the police for flashing his high-beam lights at
an on-coming car.
Phase 2: Personal Contact/Reasonable Suspicion
Just because you are stopped doesn't mean the officer can get you out of your vehicle to test you to see if
you are drunk. Remember, the officer never stops you for Drunk Driving, you are stopped for violating
the rules of the road, such as for speeding, or failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, etc. To get
you out of the vehicle for field sobriety testing the officer must establish "Reasonable Suspicion" that you
are Intoxicated, not simply that you've been drinking. This is done by establishing, in the totality of the
circumstances, that enough indicators are present to form such a belief. For example, officers look for
red/glossy eyes, slurred speech, fumbling with your wallet/purse, having the odor of an intoxicant
emanating from you, the admission of recently having consumed an intoxicant. Keep in mind that one
indicator by itself does not necessarily amount to "Reasonable Suspicion." Notes, it is not illegal to
drink and then drive, you just can't drive while intoxicated or with a prohibited level of B.A.C. And, the
odor of alcohol is not by itself an indicator of being intoxicated, just simply that you may have drank or
had a drink spilled on you. We've been able to get all of the testing and results suppressed and cases
completely dismissed because there was no reasonable suspicion to believe our client was intoxicated;
thus, no legal cause existed for the officer to begin an investigation into a possible OWI/BAC violation.
Phase 3: Pre-Arrest/Field Sobriety Testing (FST)
Just because the officer has enough to get you out of the car for FSTs does not mean he has enough to
make an arrest, which is why they have you perform tests, such as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
test, Walk-And-Turn test and the One-Leg-Stand. Officers rarely ever perform the HGN test correctly and
therefore it they don't often times know what they saw and aren't able reliably predict levels of potential
intoxication. So, HGN testing is often times not predictive and therefore not able to be utilized with any
degree of accuracy when determining if a suspect is intoxicated. Officers most often times misinterpret
the results of the Walk-And-Turn test too because they either have the suspect start on the incorrect
foot, which causes them to be on the wrong foot at the ninth step and therefore unable to correctly make
the pivot turn. They also, from time to time, count stepping "off the line" each time to establish enough
clues to indicate intoxication, which is incorrect. Whether you step off the line once or five times it is
technically supposed to count as "one" indicator, not five indicators, etc. As for the One-Leg-Stand, an
officer will attempted, often times, to get you to stand on a rigid leg, which creates a higher (top end
weighted) pivot point, which is more unstable and will often times lead to loss of balance. The key to this
test is to slightly bend the leg you stand on and lean slightly backward, which creates a more sturdy
base for balancing. Failure by the officer to properly administer these tests can lead to suppression of all
evidence of intoxication and the dismissal of your case. We have gotten our clients evidence suppressed
and cases dismissed at this phase for such violation.
Phase 4: Post Arrest/Implied Consent
If you are arrested and "Probable Cause" is established in the "totality of the circumstances" after
performing the FSTs, it's not over yet. Following the arrest but prior to formal breath or blood testing, the
officer is required by law to read you the Informing the Accused. Failure by the officer to inform you of
those rights may lead to suppression of evidence of intoxication and a case being dismissed. Also, if you
submit to an officer's request for formal testing, you may request secondary testing. The officer will
provide you with secondary testing at no cost, or permit you an alternative test of your choice at your
cost. If you request secondary testing and the officer fails to provide you this opportunity, then the
remedy is that evidence is suppressed, including his primary test that you previously submitted to, and
your case may also be dismissed. We have been successful at getting our client's evidence suppressed
and cases completely dismissed for these such violations, even after juries have found our clients to be
guilty at trial.
Remember, a mistake by an officer at any one of these phases may result in you case being completely
dismissed!!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE OUR ONGOING - BLOG
Attorney: "Hello, how can I help you."
Defendant: "I saw you give free consultations and was wondering what you think you can do for me."
Attorney: "Well, I can gather all of the information and analyze it to let you know if you have any
defenses to the allegations; if you'd like to retain me, I'd be happy to do that for you."
Defendant: "Well, I put my car in a ditch and was three times the legal limit, so I don't think you can do
anything for me."
Attorney: "Did the officer give you any field sobriety tests before they arrested you?"
Defendant: "No."
Attorney: "Well, before you can be arrested, the officer has to establish probable cause, usually they do
that by offering field sobriety testing."
Defendant: "I just don't think I can retain your services, I really don't have a lot of money, and I just
don't think an attorney will be able to do anything for me. And, if I don't get the case dismissed, then I'm
out the fines and your fees. It's just not worth it to me."
Attorney: "I understand, but you may have a good defense and I hope you consider all of your options
before just giving up and entering a plea on your own."
--- 11 months go by ---
Attorney: "Hello, how can I help you."
Defendant: "Hey, I talked with you about my case a long time ago and didn't hire an attorney and just
plead to the OWI charge. Is there a way you can have that expunged?"
Attorney: "Well, the first offense is civil, and won't be expunged. DAs don't agree with reopening a case
to reduce a charge ever, especially not after so much time has passed. So, realistically, there is nothing I
could likely do for you here. Why do you ask?"
Defendant: Well, I just got offered a new job, and it pays a lot more money and I was told now that they
can't give me the job because I have an OWI on my record and they can't afford to insure me as a driver.
Bottom line, you never know what your future holds. A stupid mistake now because you don't want to
spend the time, money or effort to fight your charges may result in you losing out big time in the days,
months or years to come.
There are generally four (4) phases to an OWI stop and arrest, as listed below:
Phase 1: The Stop
An officer doesn't always stop people with just and legal cause. We have gotten our client's cases
dismissed for being stopped illegally, such as when an officer pulled one of our clients over for making
too many right hand turns, "because it was suspicious", or when a client was illegally stopped because
an anonymous person made a call but the officer failed to first verify independently that there was a
violation, or when our client was pulled over illegally by the police for flashing his high-beam lights at
an on-coming car.
Phase 2: Personal Contact/Reasonable Suspicion
Just because you are stopped doesn't mean the officer can get you out of your vehicle to test you to see if
you are drunk. Remember, the officer never stops you for Drunk Driving, you are stopped for violating
the rules of the road, such as for speeding, or failing to come to a complete stop at a stop sign, etc. To get
you out of the vehicle for field sobriety testing the officer must establish "Reasonable Suspicion" that you
are Intoxicated, not simply that you've been drinking. This is done by establishing, in the totality of the
circumstances, that enough indicators are present to form such a belief. For example, officers look for
red/glossy eyes, slurred speech, fumbling with your wallet/purse, having the odor of an intoxicant
emanating from you, the admission of recently having consumed an intoxicant. Keep in mind that one
indicator by itself does not necessarily amount to "Reasonable Suspicion." Notes, it is not illegal to
drink and then drive, you just can't drive while intoxicated or with a prohibited level of B.A.C. And, the
odor of alcohol is not by itself an indicator of being intoxicated, just simply that you may have drank or
had a drink spilled on you. We've been able to get all of the testing and results suppressed and cases
completely dismissed because there was no reasonable suspicion to believe our client was intoxicated;
thus, no legal cause existed for the officer to begin an investigation into a possible OWI/BAC violation.
Phase 3: Pre-Arrest/Field Sobriety Testing (FST)
Just because the officer has enough to get you out of the car for FSTs does not mean he has enough to
make an arrest, which is why they have you perform tests, such as the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN)
test, Walk-And-Turn test and the One-Leg-Stand. Officers rarely ever perform the HGN test correctly and
therefore it they don't often times know what they saw and aren't able reliably predict levels of potential
intoxication. So, HGN testing is often times not predictive and therefore not able to be utilized with any
degree of accuracy when determining if a suspect is intoxicated. Officers most often times misinterpret
the results of the Walk-And-Turn test too because they either have the suspect start on the incorrect
foot, which causes them to be on the wrong foot at the ninth step and therefore unable to correctly make
the pivot turn. They also, from time to time, count stepping "off the line" each time to establish enough
clues to indicate intoxication, which is incorrect. Whether you step off the line once or five times it is
technically supposed to count as "one" indicator, not five indicators, etc. As for the One-Leg-Stand, an
officer will attempted, often times, to get you to stand on a rigid leg, which creates a higher (top end
weighted) pivot point, which is more unstable and will often times lead to loss of balance. The key to this
test is to slightly bend the leg you stand on and lean slightly backward, which creates a more sturdy
base for balancing. Failure by the officer to properly administer these tests can lead to suppression of all
evidence of intoxication and the dismissal of your case. We have gotten our clients evidence suppressed
and cases dismissed at this phase for such violation.
Phase 4: Post Arrest/Implied Consent
If you are arrested and "Probable Cause" is established in the "totality of the circumstances" after
performing the FSTs, it's not over yet. Following the arrest but prior to formal breath or blood testing, the
officer is required by law to read you the Informing the Accused. Failure by the officer to inform you of
those rights may lead to suppression of evidence of intoxication and a case being dismissed. Also, if you
submit to an officer's request for formal testing, you may request secondary testing. The officer will
provide you with secondary testing at no cost, or permit you an alternative test of your choice at your
cost. If you request secondary testing and the officer fails to provide you this opportunity, then the
remedy is that evidence is suppressed, including his primary test that you previously submitted to, and
your case may also be dismissed. We have been successful at getting our client's evidence suppressed
and cases completely dismissed for these such violations, even after juries have found our clients to be
guilty at trial.
Remember, a mistake by an officer at any one of these phases may result in you case being completely
dismissed!!
FOR MORE INFORMATION, SEE OUR ONGOING - BLOG
From our Appleton office, we are Criminal Defense, OWI, DUI, DWI, Personal Injury, Divorce attorneys providing quality legal services to
clients throughout the greater Fox River Valley and Northeastern Wisconsin areas, including Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac,
Menasha, Neenah, Combined Locks, Darboy, Hortonville, Greenville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Grand Chute, Allouez, Larson, Winneconne,
Kaukauna, Wrightstown, De Pere, Ashwaubenon, Bellevue, Chilton, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Plymouth, Two Rivers, Outagamie County,
Winnebago, Brown County, Fond du Lac County, Sheboygan County, Waupaca County, Manitowoc County, Kewaunee County, Green Lake
County and surrounding areas.
clients throughout the greater Fox River Valley and Northeastern Wisconsin areas, including Appleton, Green Bay, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac,
Menasha, Neenah, Combined Locks, Darboy, Hortonville, Greenville, Kimberly, Little Chute, Grand Chute, Allouez, Larson, Winneconne,
Kaukauna, Wrightstown, De Pere, Ashwaubenon, Bellevue, Chilton, Manitowoc, Sheboygan, Plymouth, Two Rivers, Outagamie County,
Winnebago, Brown County, Fond du Lac County, Sheboygan County, Waupaca County, Manitowoc County, Kewaunee County, Green Lake
County and surrounding areas.
Our online evaluation of your case will provide information about your case, but we do not and cannot
represent clients online, establish attorney-client relationships online or give legal advice online. We
do not become your attorneys just by doing an online evaluation.
represent clients online, establish attorney-client relationships online or give legal advice online. We
do not become your attorneys just by doing an online evaluation.
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| © Pitsch Law Offices, LLC. Disclaimer. Sitemap. |
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