Prosecutors were forced to dismiss a criminal charge filed against a Chirafisi & Verhoff client after the judge ruled much of the evidence in the case was obtained unlawfully. The client had been charged in Dane County Circuit Court with operating a motor vehicle with a minor passenger. Law enforcement found the client in a parking lot, sleeping in his vehicle. His child also was sleeping in the back seat. At the conclusion of the investigation, the client submitted to a blood test, which showed a 0.03 percent alcohol concentration and the presence of a prescription medication. Prosecutors then filed criminal charges against the client.
Attorney Chirafisi filed two legal motions challenging the admissibility of the evidence. The first motion asserted that law enforcement did not have a sufficient basis to request the client submit to field sobriety tests. The second motion asserted that the client's "consent" to the test was not voluntary. Attorney Verhoff then appeared at an evidentiary hearing on the motion. He examined the witnesses and argued the motion. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge granted the motion in favor of our client. With no evidence left to prove the case, the prosecution had little choice but to dismiss the case against him.