The Operating While Intoxicated (OWI) defense attorneys at the Barone Defense Firm (BDF) have been helping people avoid professional licensing consequences from drunk driving charges for over 30 years. Recently, BDF’s Senior Attorney, Ryan Ramsayer, added to his long list of professional licensing saves in OWI cases by saving his client’s Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).
In this Wayne County case, our client was pulled over in his personal vehicle for swerving and following the vehicle ahead too close. The officer administered Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and a Preliminary Breath Test on the roadside, which our client failed. He was arrested and taken to the police station. Our client blew two samples of .18, more than double the legal limit, on the Datamaster breath test machine at the police station.
The client did the right thing and reached out for help from attorneys right away. After deciding on the OWI defense attorneys at the Barone Defense Firm, his attorney, Ryan Ramsayer, immediately began work on his case by meeting with him, ordering the evidence, and recommending proactive steps that would help in the negotiation phase of the case. Mr. Ramsayer performed a detailed analysis of all available evidence. Unfortunately, there were not very strong defenses available.
During the negotiation phase of the case, Mr. Ramsayer he filed a deviation request. This request included pages of personal information, painting a picture of the client’s life and what was at stake for him. This client had been a professional CDL driver for a very long time. He supported not just his immediate family but also some extended family with this career. As a result of the OWI charge, he was facing a one-year suspension of his CDL and 30-day suspension of his personal driver’s license. Additionally, the client immigrated to America from India to pursue a better life for his family. He had been such an upstanding resident in the country that he had achieved citizenship. And his career as a CDL truck driver played a big role in his American citizenship.
While this letter was not enough to get a deviation outright, it caused the prosecution to become sympathetic to the client’s cause. The prosecution even asked to have an evidentiary issue to base a possible deal upon. Utilizing a deep understanding of the law, officer training, and science, Mr. Ramsayer did notice that the officer deviated slightly from the standards for one of the field sobriety tests, the preliminary breath test, and the Datamaster breath test. It was just enough deviation to file a legitimate motion to suppress each of those tests. The motion was filed, but never heard.
Instead, Mr. Ramsayer was able to present all of this personal information to the prosecutor and the arresting officer and convince them that a reckless driving plea deal was appropriate. Although a reckless driving conviction results in a 90-day suspension of a CDL, this was okay with the client because he was to be away from work for three months rehabbing an injury anyway. He was also able to find another driver to fill in during this time. This result essentially avoided any practical interference that the OWI charge could have had on the client’s duties as a CDL truck driver.
As a result of Mr. Ramsayer’s diligent work and commitment to exhausting all options, and the client’s willingness to follow all recommendations from Mr. Ramsayer, the best result possible in this case was achieved. If you are facing the potential loss of a professional license as a result of an OWI charge, the DUI defense attorneys at the Barone Defense Firm can help, just as they did in this case.