Drunk Driving Cases
Alaska DWI Lawyer
Frederick T. Slone, Esq.

SAMPLE CASE NO. 12 - State v. P.M. - (District Court, Palmer )

P.M. was driving on the Parks Highway from Fairbanks to Anchorage. He was stopped by a trooper who thought that he saw trash flying from the back of P.M.’s pickup. Field "sobriety" tests were administered and allegedly failed. P.M. was arrested and taken to a police station where a .136 result was obtained on the breath test.

At the DMV Administrative Hearing, Mr. Slone argued that the revocation action should be dismissed on the grounds that the officer did not have a valid basis for stopping P.M. The hearing officer agreed and reinstated P.M.’s license.

At trial, the officer testified that P.M. failed field sobriety tests that were administered at the scene and blew a .136 on the breath testing machine. On cross-examination by Mr. Slone, the arresting officer admitted that for the entire distance he followed P.M., he observed no erratic or unusual driving. The officer also admitted that it was possible that the trash he saw did not actually come from P.M.’s truck, but may have flew up as P.M. drove over it. Additionally, the officer who conducted the breath test admitted that the breath testing manual required that he observe an individual for at least 15 minutes before administering the breath test to insure that the subject has no foreign objects in his mouth, including dentures.

P.M. testified that he had no more than 4 beers over several hours prior to his stop, which could not have resulted in an actual alcohol level above the legal limit. When asked whether he had any dentures, P.M. pulled them out and showed them to the jury.

The jury returned a verdict of "NOT GUILTY" and P.M. was completely exonerated.

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