Court: 73A District Court – Sandusky
In this Operating Under the Influence – Second Offense, our client was observed by the arresting police officer who then ran his plate. The plate came back expired, the car was stopped, and upon approaching, the arresting officer noticed an odor of intoxicants "emitting from the vehicle". The driver admitted drinking "a couple beers". His eyes were noted to be "bloodshot and glassy".
The driver was asked to exit the vehicle, and was able to say his alphabet and to pick a number between 71 and 69 (he stated "60"). He was also able to perform the finger count, and when asked if Mickey Mouse was a cat or a dog, he correctly indicated "a mouse". The driver was arrested, and a breath test was administered. The result was a .10.
The case was scheduled for trial, and we requested a final pretrial conference. At the conference we argued to the prosecutor that the stop and the arrest appeared to be without an appropriate legal basis. The prosecutor offered to allow our client to plead guilty to a careless driving, and our client agreed to this reduction, and tendered his plea to the careless driving, a three point civil infraction. He received a small fine. His driver license was not suspended, revoked or in any way restricted, (he retained full driving privileges). Additionally, there was no jail time, no probation and no community service.