THE DUI DIARY: Chapter Fourteen (Interlude)

This is just a short update. Over the weekend, I received the appeal brief that my lawyers had written. It’s about twenty pages long, and it is extremely detailed. If I had any doubts about my ability to get out of this mess, this document dispelled it all.



I think my lawyers are going to file a motion to dismiss the field sobriety test. From what I gather, everything that happened to me that night after getting pulled into the roadblock was a violation of my Fourth Amendment rights. I was detained for an unreasonable amount of time, you see. I was in my car for “less than ten minutes . . . less than five minutes” according to the arresting officer. According to the laws, these stops are to be measured in SECONDS, not MINUTES. Such a stop cannot last longer than a half-minute unless something happens to make the officer suspect illegal activity. At this point, the officer had not even detected the “faint” odor of alcohol. This is according to his testimony, mind you.


And even if the motion doesn’t work, they still have their bases covered. The “faint” odor of alcohol is consistent with my admission of having one beer. Consumption and driving is not against the law unless the person blows over .08. If the “faint” odor of alcohol was enough to merit a breathalyzer, then the future of drinking in Illinois is doomed. Get familiar with the new .01 law . . . .


Couple this with the fact that I was pulled over at one in the morning, when most people are tired and would reasonably have “glossy” eyes. The case is not so open and shut now, is it?


Did I forget to mention in previous installments that the officer himself admitted that I never slurred my words, that I never mumbled, that I didn’t have any problems with my motor skills (outside of the field sobriety test)? That’s right, baby. My words were clear, and I never stumbled, not even when I got out of the car.


Judging from what I read in that packet, I am 90% sure that I will be found not guilty, and when the appeals court finally gets to my case, that the judge at the hearing will be overturned. Mahalo.


TO BE CONTINUED TOMORROW!