All Around Victory: OWI Reduced to Reckless, DC and Refusal Dismissed

Law enforcement stopped our client for what is termed a "rolling domestic."  He and his girlfriend were having an argument in the car, and she called police.  Upon arrival, law enforcement pulled him over and asked him to step out of the car.  The police began questioning the client about what happened.  Officers also smelled an odor of intoxicants, and the client admitted to consuming alcohol at dinner.  Authorities then asked him to submit to field sobriety tests, but he refused.  He also refused to submit to a chemical analysis of his breath.

The client was arrested on a criminal charge of disorderly conduct, an OWI-first and the refusal to agree to a chemical analysis of his breath.  Attorney Verhoff spoke with prosecutors at the time of charging, and they agreed not to charge a criminal offense. Instead, the District Attorney issue an ordinance violation on the disorderly conduct.  As the case unfolded, our attorney was able to convince the prosecution to amend the OWI charge to a citation for reckless driving, dismiss the refusal, and dismiss the disorderly conduct citation.  In the end, the client paid a modest fine on the reckless driving, but avoid a conviction for an OWI and the refusal, as well as a criminal charge, and the accompanying license implications and associated fines.  

Reckless Child Abuse- Found Not Guilty at Trial

Our client, a middle school principal, was charged with child abuse.  A conviction of this offense would not only cause him to lose his job, but as a convicted felon, he would never be able to work with kids again. Our client made a potentially career saving decision in hiring Chirafisi & Verhoff to represent him in this matter. 

The principal was charged with reckless child abuse for washing a child's hand (which had a profanity on it) with gum remover.  The child suffered a chemical burn and the parents called the police.

The facts were not in dispute in this case; the only question was whether the client acted recklessly, or if the burn was an accident?  This case had drawn considerable attention in the community because of the client's job.  Knowing this, a very helpful thing we did on this case was to request that the court send out specific jury questionnaires to gauge the prospective jury members' opinions about the case.

The jury selection ended up taking an entire day--something that is very rare.  However, the questionnaires made it much easier to get the people that we believed would be helpful hearing the case onto the jury.

The case was tried in two days and in the end, the client was found not guilty in approximately 5-10 minutes.  

The reaction of the jury really says it all in the video linked below: 
https://wxow.com/news/top-stories/2018/08/23/amundson-found-not-guilty-of-child-abuse/

Homicide OWI Charge Declined

Law enforcement referred to prosecutors potential criminal charges of homicide by intoxicated use of a motor vehicle after our client crashed his car while drinking and driving. In a tragic twist, a passerby who stopped to assist the client after the crash was killed.  Attorney Verhoff spoke with prosecutors prior to charges being issued and argued that while our client was impaired while driving and should be held accountable for those actions, he did not directly cause the death of the other person.  If charged criminally, this would leave open a statutory defense to the charge.  Prosecutors ultimately agreed.  Although the client was charged and convicted of OWI-1st Offense, the prosecution declined to file the homicide charge. 

Another Felony Stalking Case Reduced

In this Dane County case, the client was charged with stalking a woman with whom he had a previous relationship.  Although he never made any threats to her or took any action toward her, he did repeatedly call her, text her, and often came to her residence.  But our attorney had a very strong card to play, evidence that the complaining witness sent texts to our client in the weeks leading up to his arrest.  Ultimately our attorneys brokered a deal with the prosecution in which the client agreed to plead to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct.  He also agreed to be supervised on probation for one year, but he was not required to serve any jail time.   

Felony Charge of Maintaining A Drug Dwelling Dismissed

Our client and his housemates were charged with maintaining a drug trafficking dwelling in Rock County after law enforcement raided their home.  Our attorneys reviewed the search warrant and found problems with certain aspects that allowed us to file a motion to challenge the validity of the warrant.  In speaking with prosecutors in advance of the hearing on the motion to challenge the search warrant, the prosecution made an offer to dismiss the felony and have the client plead to a simple possession of marijuana with expungement of the case after one year of probation.  The client, who accepted this offer, was very pleased with the outcome.

Gun Charge Dismissed At Initial Appearance

A Dane County court commissioner had no choice but to dismiss a criminal charge of going armed while intoxicated against our client at a recent initial appearance.  The client, who was pulled over for a traffic violation, was initially charged with a criminal offense for having a firearm in her possession while she was intoxicated.  Attorney Verhoff attended the first hearing and received a copy of the charging document called the criminal complaint.  He immediately noticed the complaint failed to allege that the firearm was loaded at the time our client possessed it.  This is an element of the criminal charge.  Our attorney moved to dismiss the complaint and charge based on the prosecution's failure to sufficiently allege all elements of a crime in the charging document.  Given the defect in the complaint, the court commissioner dismissed the case.

OWI/PAC Verdict: Not Guilty, 0.147 Alcohol Concentration

A Grant County jury recently returned not guilty verdicts on charges of OWI-2nd and PAC-2nd, acquitting our client of all counts.  In November 2017, a Grant County Sheriff's Deputy stopped our client for speeding and for what he described as an unsafe passing of another vehicle.  After field sobriety tests, the client was arrested and agreed to submit to a blood test, which resulted in a reported value of 0.147.  Our office litigated the case at every turn, having an administrative review hearing and a motion hearing to suppress evidence.  This gave Attorney Verhoff several opportunities to question the deputy before trial, which proved instrumental in front of the jury.  At trial, Attorney Verhoff argued the client's driving, as seen on video, was not as poor as the deputy portrayed in his report.  He also argued the client's performance on the field sobriety tests was pretty good, particularly when compared to the high blood test results.  He even got the deputy to testify under oath that the client did "surprisingly well" on field sobriety tests, given how high his blood test was.   Attorney Verhoff suggested the disparity between the field sobriety tests and the blood test results meant something wasn't right with the case.  And that something was a problem with the collection of our client's blood.  During the cross examination of those involved in the blood collection and testing, our attorney raised these issues.  Then, with the final witness in the case, Attorney Verhoff called an expert who offered an opinion on the blood collection and testing in this case and how it likely corrupted the test results.  And the ultimate result: A not guilty verdict!  

OWI 1st. .09 accident/hit and run- Dane County

Our client was driving at bar time on a busy street in downtown Madison. He was involved in an accident for sideswiping another vehicle and then leaving the scene.  When police made contact with him, he was not very cooperative and was charged with multiple offenses, including OWI/PAC and a criminal charge of Hit and Run.

Chirafisi & Verhoff got involved in the case and started with the Hit and Run charge.  We met with the prosecutor prior to the court appearance and were able to convince the prosecutor not to charge the Hit and Run.  

Next was the OWI charge.  The accident did pose a problem (as it usually does) and being over the legal limit compounded the accident.

As the matter closed in for trial, we found an issue with the manner that the breath test was conducted.  We decided to hold this issue back and not disclose it to the other side until we had an opportunity to cross examination the breath test operator.  It turns out that we never had the opportunity to do so because the prosecutor called us and agreed to amend the charge to reckless driving.  At the end of the day, the hit and run disappeared and so did the OWI.

OWI 1st- accident .22- charge amended to reckless driving

Our client was involved in an accident on the interstate with a semi trailer. The trooper who arrived on the scene believed that, based on the odor of intoxicants, accident and bloodshot eyes, the client was intoxicated. Our client retained our firm because Chirafisi & Verhoff had previously represented her boyfriend.  (His OWI charge was also amended due to our firm’s work on his case.)

We filed two motions in this case: first, a motion challenging the basis for conducting field sobriety tests.  The second motion involved the distance in which the client was moved to conduct field sobriety tests.

On the morning of the motion hearing, the state voiced concern about whether or not they would be successful in defending the motions.  The state offered our client a reckless driving charge to resolve the case. The client was thrilled with the result!

3 more outstanding results- Felony dismissed at preliminary hearing

The first case is out of Dane County: a felony battery. The client was charged with striking a person on a downtown Madison street.  That person fell down, struck their head and lost consciousness. The Dane County DA's office has a policy of not attempting to resolve cases before preliminary hearings.  We here at Chirafisi & Verhoff have a policy of not waiving preliminary hearings for no reason.

At the preliminary hearing, the officer testified to our client's version as to what had occurred.  The prosecutor never asked the officer about any other version of what had happened. The Court, armed with only the version set forth by our client, found that the state had not established probable cause and the felony was dismissed.  

More soon regarding out two other recent outstanding case results...

Injunction Petition Denied

A Dane County judge denied a domestic abuse injunction filed against one of our clients after Attorney Verhoff argued the evidence did not merit a finding that the client engaged in domestic abuse against the petitioner.  He also argued that, given the timing of the filing, it appeared the petitioner was attempting to use the injunction as leverage in a family court case where child placement was an issue.  At the conclusion of evidence, the judge agreed with our attorney's argument but went a step further.  The judge stated that event if he believed the client engaged in an act that constituted domestic abuse he would still have denied the petition under the circumstances in light of Attorney Verhoff's argument.

Felony OWI Reduced to Misdemeanor

Our client was arrested and charged with a felony OWI in Dane County.  Upon review of the client's driving abstract, Attorney Verhoff recognized one of the prior convictions upon which the prosecution was relying as a basis for counting prior convictions could not be used in the pending case.  This was because the earlier conviction transpired in a municipal court that did not have proper jurisdiction over the case.  Based on our lawyer's challenge to the use of the prior conviction from municipal court, prosecutors from the Dane County District Attorney's Office were forced to reduce the pending charge from a felony to a misdemeanor.  Spared a felony conviction, the client was thrilled.

Substantial Battery- Acquittal at trial

Our client was charged in Jefferson County with Substantial Battery for a fight that ended with the complaining witness suffering a skull fracture. Our defense at trial was self-defense. With the help of investigators, we had an opportunity to interview all witnesses who really assisted in setting up the defense. When all was said and done, the jury was out 40 minutes before returning a not guilty verdict.

OWI/PAC .17 Amended to Reckless Driving

This case comes out of a stop in Columbia County. Our client was pulled over by the State Patrol for illegal tinting of their windows and no front license plate.  The trooper smelled the odor of intoxicants and the client admitted to having consumed a couple of drinks earlier in the evening.  

Our client was put through field sobriety tests and was arrested for an OWI.  This is the point where the case turned, the client had a prior OWI conviction which was more than 10 years ago.  That would make this OWI charge another first offense; however, the trooper misread the teletype and repeatedly informed the client that this was a 2nd offense and a blood test was required. 

Attorney Corey Chirafisi filed a motion challenging the defendant's consent to the test because the client was misinformed regarding what he was being charged with (2nd offense vs. 1st offense).  The parties had a lengthy consented hearing with multiple sets of briefs filed.  Prior to the Court deciding the issue, the government offered to amend the charge from an OWI to Reckless Driving.  It was the outcome the client was hoping for all along.  The OWI conviction would have triggered the IID requirement based on it being the client's 2nd offense (in lifetime) and the test result was above the 0.15 threshold.  Very happy client.

Felony Sexting Case Dismissed

The Wisconsin Attorney General's Office recently declined felony charges against our client in a local sexting scandal among area teens. Authorities began investigating the case of wide-spread sexting at an area high school. Several students were formally charged with crimes in circuit court for their actions. In this case, Attorney Verhoff met with the assistant attorney general assigned to handle all of the prosecutions prior to our client being charged. Unlike most of the other individuals in this case, who formally faced charges in court, Attorney Verhoff brokered an agreement with the AG's Office in which no charges were formally filed against our client. Instead, the client was required to complete a deferred prosecution agreement. Having done so, the prosecution has agreed to now formally decline the case. Although this case took several years of patience to be completed, the client and his family are thrilled with the final result.

Felony Sexual Assault Reduced to Misdemeanor With Expungement

When our client received a summons to court for charges alleging repeated acts of sexual assault of a child, he went into panic mode. Although the client was in his early twenties, the Dane County District Attorney's Office charged him for several acts that occurred when he was approximately 14 years old. The family hired our firm before making an initial court appearance. Attorney Verhoff contacted the District Attorney and requested a meeting at which he suggested that had the case been filed at the time of the offense, the client would have been treated as a juvenile. Attorney Verhoff proposed a postponement of the case to give the client time to undergo various evaluations and treatment to demonstrate he was not a high risk to re-offend. Assuming that checked out, Attorney Verhoff proposed amending the charge from a felony offense to a misdemeanor that could be expunged from his record. As Attorney Verhoff argued, this would be an outcome that very much mirrored what would have happen in juvenile court if the client had been charged at that time in his life. The District Attorney agreed to the proposal. At the plea hearing, the judge was at first taken aback by the proposed outcome in this case. But once Attorney Verhoff explained it thoroughly, she said she was very comfortable with the outcome and accepted the agreement in full. This case is an excellent example of our firm thinking outside the box to resolve cases favorably for clients.

Domestic Assault Dismissed Before Trial

The Madison Police Department arrested our client after a disturbance with her estranged husband. Upon review of the case, the Dane County District Attorney's Office charged our client with domestic battery. The client hired our firm and met with Attorney Verhoff. She described her marital life to him. As a former prosecutor who supervised the domestic violence unit, Attorney Verhoff recognized the client was actually a long-time victim of abuse in the relationship. He contacted local law enforcement and learned the complaining witness had been a suspect in several prior domestic cases against our client. He obtained the reports regarding those cases, and he also obtained a copy of an injunction the client previously filed against her husband. Armed with this information, Attorney Verhoff approached the prosecutor assigned to the case. He informed the prosecutor that if the case went to trial, he planned to put the "victim husband" on trial. Attorney Verhoff suggested the appropriate course of action consistent with the interest of justice was to dismiss the case against our client. Several hours after presenting his argument to the prosecution, the assistant district attorney assigned to the case contacted Attorney Verhoff and informed him the case was being dismissed.

Felony Drug Possession- all evidence suppressed

Client was charged with OWI and felony drug possession. Client was involved in an accident which ultimately lead to police locating fentanyl in the client’s purse. The client was referred to Chirafisi & Verhoff from an outstanding lawyer in Milwaukee and we got started. The government wanted the client to plead to the felony drug charge, as fentanyl is an opioid, and they believed a conviction was appropriate. 

The video in the case actually was the big game changer here. The video showed the client was arrested and her purse was removed from her body and not searched for almost 20 minutes after she was put in the back of the squad car. That information was never mentioned in the police reports. 

We argued the search was unlawful without a warrant. After a lengthy hearing, the Court agreed, and suppressed the drugs found in the client's purse.

Felony Battery amended to DC ticket

Client was already charged when he called so this was not a precharge situation. Client was accused of breaking the jaw of another man in a fight. Client had posted material on social media confirming he in fact had done that, and was bragging about what occurred.

We sent an investigator out to speak to witnesses that the police had never bothered to speak with. We had approximately 5 people provide statements regarding what they had seen and how the matter was really a self defense case. We presented that information to the prosecutor handling the matter. The offer went from "plead to the felony with restitution" to a non-criminal ordinance violation and no restitution owed.

Road Rage With Gun Amended From Criminal Charge

The Dane County District Attorney's Office charged our client with criminal disorderly conduct while armed after he was alleged to have pointed a firearm at another driver during a road rage incident. Upon meeting with the prosecutor, Attorney Verhoff noted a recent change in the law that provides the equivalent of an affirmative defense to displaying a firearm, provided there is no malicious intent. According to the reporting party in this case, our client displayed a firearm during the incident, but he also let the clip drop from the magazine while brandishing the firearm. Attorney Verhoff argued to the prosecutor that this reflected an act that was more akin to self-defense and by dropping the clip the client was showing a lack of malicious intent. The prosecutor, who was not aware of the change in the law, decided to amend the charge to a non-criminal citation that is the legal equivalent to a parking ticket.