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

SAMPLE CASE NO. 15 - State v. E.V. (District Court, Fairbanks)

On a July afternoon, E.V. was driving northbound on the Parks Highway toward Fairbanks. He was stopped near McKinley Park for driving 68 in a 55 mile zone. Both open and full bottles of beer were found on the passenger floorboard. The trooper noticed signs of intoxication, and administered field "sobriety" tests which were allegedly failed. Two preliminary breath tests were administered at the scene of the stop. The first registered a .254, and the second, approximately 25 minutes later, registered a .200. E.V. was arrested and taken to the McKinley Park nurse’s office for a breath test. The breath test registered a .169 and, 55 minutes later, a .146. E.V. was then transported to jail in Fairbanks and charged with driving while intoxicated.

E.V. hired Mr. Slone, who obtained copies of an audio and video recording made at the scene of the arrest, as well as printouts and information related to the breath test that was administered by the nurse at McKinley Park. Mr. Slone filed a pretrial motion to suppress the breath test evidence on the grounds that the breath test was not administered on a machine that was certified for use by the Department Of Public Safety, and on the further grounds that the nurse who conducted the test, although having received training in operating the machine, had not been certified as an operator by the Department Of Public Safety.

Mr. Slone also filed a motion to dismiss all evidence obtained after E.V. was stopped on the grounds that there was no probable cause to initiate field sobriety testing and no probable cause for the arrest.

After reviewing Mr. Slone’s pretrial motions, the District Attorney agreed that the breath test evidence should be excluded from trial. The District Attorney, however, initially filed an opposition to Mr. Slone’s motion to suppress all other evidence obtained after the stop. Since the District Attorney would not voluntary dismiss the case, Mr. Slone had the matter set on for a pretrial evidentiary hearing in Fairbanks District Court. On the morning of the hearing, as Mr. Slone was boarding a plane in Anchorage to travel to Fairbanks, the District Attorney finally called Mr. Slone’s office and indicated that the State would agree to dismiss the case.

Thus, the case was dismissed in its entirety without the need of any court hearings. As E.V. had a prior DWI conviction within the last 10 years, he faced a minimum sentence of 20 days in jail if convicted.

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