OWI 2nd/PAC - .11 Charge Amended During Trial

The client was facing a second offense OWI, that is not unusual in our practice. The issue for the client was he was a CDL holder and the conviction would have meant a lifetime revocation of his CDL. The state was unwilling to move off of the OWI charge, so we proceeded to trial. The client was driving his motorcycle with a friend when the friend crashed. The client was contacted by the police and was put through field sobriety tests and ultimately arrested. He provided a sample of his blood which was a .112.

After the state called the officer to testify and before the analyst was called, Attorney Chirafisi raised the issue that the state had failed to establish a specific time of operation. Without that information, the blood sample result was in jeopardy. The state didn't even raise an argument. They immediately offered the client a reckless driving ticket. The amendment saved the client from jail time but more importantly, allowed him to continue to work. Client gladly accepted the amendment.

OWI 1st/PAC .12 - Case dismissed

Huge win for client as he is an over the road truck driver who would have lost his job if he was convicted of an OWI charge.

Client was stopped for a loud muffler at 11:30 p.m. State trooper indicated he smelled an odor of intoxicants and the client admitted to having "a few" beers. Cop got client out to perform field sobriety tests.

Corey Chirafisi challenged the officer's decision to request field sobriety testing arguing that there was not reasonable suspicion to believe the client was impaired. After the hearing, the court made the finding that the officer did not have reasonable suspicion to request field sobriety tests and the court suppressed all the evidence. The state immediately moved to dismiss all charges.

Client was literally shaking. So happy we could help him save his job.

OWI Amended to Reckless Driving, Columbia County

This case is an excellent example of why conducting the administrative review process can be critical in an OWI case.  Our client was charged with both OWI and PAC violations after Columbia County deputies found him asleep behind the wheel of his personal vehicle.  He "failed" field sobriety tests and agreed to take a blood test, which showed an alcohol concentration of 0.09.  The client, who has a commercial driver's license (CDL), hired Chirafisi & Verhoff, as recommended by a different lawyer.  At the administrative review hearing, the deputy gave answers that enabled Attorney Verhoff to argue the client's license should not be suspended.  The hearing examiner agreed.  As the court case moved forward, Attorney Verhoff filed legal motions challenging the admissibility of the blood test results, based off the answers to question he asked the deputy at the administrative review hearing.  After almost two years of litigation, the prosecution finally gave up, dismissing the PAC charge and agreeing to amend the OWI charge to a Reckless Driving citation.  By avoiding the OWI and PAC convictions, our client was able to save his CDL and keep his job. 

OWI 1st / Refusal- Amended to Reckless Driving During Trial

Our client came to us with two problems: he was arrested for OWI and a refusal, but he also had a CDL that he needed for his occupation.

He knew he needed to fight the charges in order to save his career, so he hired Chirafisi & Verhoff to help him do just that.  The prosecutor would not dismiss the case outright, as he had a refusal to work with and knew that if the defendant lost on the refusal, his driver’s license would be revoked and he would lose his CDL.

The matter proceeded to trial.  After the prosecution called the arresting officer and rested his case, it was Chirafisi & Verhoff’s turn.  The arresting officer was questioned about her observations and tests she performed on the client during the incident.  By the end of the cross examination, the officer admitted that she did not perform the field sobriety tests correctly and the Court found that there was a problem with probable cause based on that testimony. 

Before the Court made any specific findings on the Operating While Intoxicated charge, the prosecution offered to amend the OWI to Reckless Driving and to dismiss the refusal charge.  The client was thrilled, as he was able to keep his CDL and his job.

Case Dismissed! Operating a Motor Vehicle above a .00- CDL driver while on duty time

At Chirafisi & Verhoff, many of our clients are CDL drivers.  Their ability to be able to drive is their livelihood. They trust us to be able to help them avoid losing not only their license, but their jobs.

Our client is an over-the-road truck driver.  He was at a weigh station speaking to a State Trooper when the trooper noticed an odor of intoxicants coming from the client’s breath.  The client stated that he had consumed alcohol the night before driving.  The problem for the client was that because he was in his semi truck at the time, his legal limit was 0.00.  The client provided a preliminary breath test which registered a 0.02.  He was then ticketed for driving above a 0.00 in a commercial motor vehicle.

The client was referred to Chirafisi & Verhoff as he knew if was convicted, he would lose his job. Almost immediately, Corey Chirafisi was able to see that there was no possible way that the government would be able to prove the case.  First, while the officer was allowed to ask the client to submit to a preliminary breath test, that test would not be admissible in court against the client.  The trooper never took the client in for a breath test, which would have been admissible in court.  Further, the trooper, believing that the client had consumed alcohol but wasn’t impaired, never put the client through any field sobriety tests.

Once all of these facts were pointed out by Chirafisi & Verhoff, the Assistant District Attorney agreed and moved to dismiss the charges outright.  Our client was relieved knowing that he would be able to continue with his employment.

OWI 1st- PAC .150- Charges Amended to Reckless Driving

Our client had an all-or-nothing proposition in front of him: he was arrested for Operating While Intoxicated and he had a CDL which he used daily for his job.  A conviction would have resulted in him be fired from a job that he had for many years.

The case was a little odd in that the client wasn’t stopped by law enforcement.  The police were called because a person who knew the defendant said that he was likely impaired and had driven to a local gym.  When the police showed up they made contact with the client and ultimately arrested him for OWI.  When the client agreed to perform a breath test, that result came back at 0.15.

The client knew that his career was on the line and made a decision to hire Chirafisi & Verhoff in an effort to deal with the case.  Interestingly enough, after much discussion with the prosecutor discussing various motions, the prosecutor agreed that his case may be in trouble and he agreed to amend the charge to reckless driving.  That deal went away when shortly before the agreement was given to the Court, as the client was stopped on a different incident date and had open intoxicants in his vehicle.  The prosecutor was not very happy and pulled the deal.  The matter was set for trial.

On the morning of trial, Attorney Corey Chirafisi did something he rarely ever does: he told the prosecutor about a problem with the Intoximeter which the prosecutor would otherwise not have been aware of.  Attorney Chirafisi had obtained the data of all the tests performed by the machine which tested the client’s breath and found a problem with the maintenance of the machine.  After much review and conversation with the police, the prosecutor put the offer for a reckless driving back on the table.  That meant no suspension or revocation and no conviction of an alcohol related offense for the client.  He was able to keep his job and only received a fine.