City of Roseville vs. M.L.

Court: 39th District Court Roseville Michigan
Charge: OWI

Client was pulled over by a City of Roseville Police Officer after being observed swerving between lanes of traffic. The police report indicated a strong odor of intoxicants and blood shot eyes. The Police Officer asked the client to perform field sobriety tests, including walking a straight line, one leg balance, and finger-to-nose. The police report indicated that the client did not perform well, and did not follow instructions. The client and was given a preliminary breath test, and blew over the legal limit. He was arrested for drunk driving, and taken back to the station to be processed. At the station he was given the evidentiary breath test (Datamaster), and blew 0.08. He was charged with OWI.

During the Police Officer's investigation the client was told that he was suspected of breaking into automobiles in the area, and his car was searched. A number of cell phones, and cell phone parts were found in his vehicle. Client was processed for OWI, and a warrant was requested for the suspected stolen property.

Pretrial motions were filed attacking the validity of the breath test results. These motions included citations from the scientific literature indicating that the breath test instruments used were of dubious accuracy (copies of these journal articles were attached as exhibits). Before arguing these motions, the City Prosecutor was persuaded to and agreed to offer a reduced charge of careless driving. All of the possible charges relative to the telephones were either dropped or not pursued. The client received a small fine and four points on his driving records, with no further driving sanctions.