Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Leyba Defense PLLC firm update

For those that follow the blog, I apologize for not making any posts the past couple of months.  Its been very busy, which is good for business, but the downside is I don't have much time for blogging.  It seems like every week, Ive been in court every day.  Or on days when I don't have court I've had jury trials scheduled that I need to prep, so I use that time for putting together my trial notebooks and things like that.

So here are some of the highlights of the past 2 months.  And again this is not meant to toot my own horn.  If you have read this blog before you know that I think Attorneys that have to write up their latest victories are just looking for some ego stroking, and thats not why my firm is about.  But I do think its important to note that every now and then the justice system works, and innocent people are not convicted.

DUI Dismissed: In May the firm litigated a motion in a local Municipal Court.  The issue was whether there was a sufficient basis to pull over the client.  In the end the Judge found the Officer did not observe a traffic infraction and therefore did not have a sufficient basis to pull the client over.  This effectively suppressed all the evidence after the stop including the field sobriety tests, the portable breath test, and the breath test at the station.  And in the end the case was dismissed.  Now regardless of how you feel about DUIs, everybody in this country is protected the Constitution.  And if law enforcement does not follow those protections they need to be called out on it.  

DUI Dismissed: In June I had an interesting case.  It was a relatively low breath test in one of the local District Courts.  The client came to me not wanting anything on her record.  Which is difficult to obtain on any type of case.  Let alone a DUI charge.  But the one thing the client had going for her was my familiarity with the particular Judge and Court her case was in.  A few months prior I had a similar case.  A low breath test in front of a particular Judge. In that case the Judge agreed to a deferred sentence and then dismissed the case right on the spot at the time of sentencing.  So I knew if we could get in front of the same Judge and make the same arguments we had a good chance of him dismissing the case.  Well low and behold after a few court dates we got in front of this Judge.  I made the same arguments as before, and the Judge did the same thing and dismissed the charge.  The client was happy with the outcome, and now she can lawfully say she has never been convicted of a crime.

DOL hearings dismissed: Also in May and June I had a couple DOL hearings get dismissed.  Which is always great news to the client because their license will not get suspended.  But its also great satisfaction personally because the success rate at these DOL hearings is so law due to the nature of them and the legal standard that needs to be met.  In one case the Officer forgot to check a box, which resulted in the suspension being dismissed on a technicality.  In the other case the Officer didn't properly observe the client for 15 minutes prior to taking the breath test, which resulted in the license suspension being dismissed due to an inadmissible breath test (thank goodness for the video in the BAC room, because the Officer denied doing that during testimony).  And we also won a license suspension hearing when the Officer failed to appear.  Now I didn't really do anything in that case, but when the Officers are properly sent a subpoena, they need to appear like everyone else.

And lastly I had a tough verdict in June on a DUI jury trial.  As a Seattle DUI Attorney theses types of cases are always tough when the Prosecution was not offering any kind of plea deal, and my policy in those types of cases is to hold the Prosecution to their burden of proof and make them do their job.  In the end my client received the exact same sentence from the Judge he would have received if he just plead guilty.  But he also has an interesting appeal issue should he choose to move forward with it.

Upcoming I have some interesting cases set for jury trial.  I think they are good cases, and a verdict can go either way.  Which is all you can ask for in a criminal case.  Especially a DUI charge where usually the evidence is stacked in favor of the Prosecution.  So I will keep you posted on how those turn out.  

Remember with the summer in Seattle finally arriving, its important to not drink and drive.  But if you find yourself in the position of being investigated for a Seattle DUI.  Follow these simples rules and you will ensure your constitutional rights are protected.

  1. Decline to answer any questions
  2. Decline to do any field sobriety tests
  3. Decline to do the portable breath test at the scene
  4. Ask to speak with a Seattle DUI Attorney prior to submitting to the breath test at the station.