Seattle DUI Lawyer, Nate Webb, acquires another Not Guilty Verdict for a DUI client!

Seattle DUI Attorney, Nate Webb, represented a client in Upper Kittitas County District Court (Cle Elum) and acquired a Not Guilty verdict from a jury on November 13, 2014. State of Washington versus C.H. 

Facts: The trooper alleged my client was speeding well in excess of the posted limit, had bloodshot, watery eyes, slurred speech, the odor of alcohol, continually swayed throughout their contact, had continually unsteady balance, failed to follow simple directions, he also alleged the client failed three field sobriety tests, took a portable breath test and was deceptive while doing it, and refused a breath test after arrest at the station. Further, the trooper testified that there were at least three open containers in the vehicle.

The State presented two witnesses, one was the trooper who made the above allegations and the second was a toxicologist from the Washington State Patrol Toxicology Lab.  Mr. Webb was able to succesfully impeach the trooper's testimony via the State's own witness, the toxicologist.  The trooper, an apparent 16 year veteran of the Washington State Patrol, testified as to the proper administration of the field sobriety tests pursuant to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standards and protocols only to be contradicted by the toxicologist after Mr. Webb challenged the trooper's conclusions.  

The jury returned a verdict of Not Guilty.

State v. C.H. (Cle Elum - Upper Kittitas County District Court - November 2014).

Refusal to take Field Sobriety Tests not admissible at trial!

In every DUI case there is usually litigation concerning Refusal evidence.  The government's proposition is that it constitutes a "consciousness of guilt" and is, therefore, relevant to the trier of fact (jury or judge).  Most judges, previously, agreed and would allow the government to utilize that tactic at trial.  Of course, no one is ever told that "hey let's do some field sobriety tests but if you refuse, the prosecutor will say it proves you were drunk!", thereby creating an unfair, unfounded proposition which then requires testimony from a defendant when they would normally be able to remain silent without repercussion.  Unfortunately, in that scenario, a defendant is forced to call BS.

Things, however, are trending in favor of defendants.  I recently argued this exact situation to an esteemed King County District Court judge and she held that given the recent decision in Missouri v. McNeely and State v. Gauthier, the refusal to participate in field sobriety tests would no longer be admissible for the purpose of establishing a consciousness of guilt.  Thankfully, this judge read the cases and articulated an extremely reasonable ruling.  I mean how fair is it that the government can say, hey since the defendant didn't take our ridiculously subjective feats of balance exam, he is guilty!  That is a load of horse manure.

I would suggest you watch the movie "The Man With Two Brains" with Steve Martin and skip to the field sobriety test portion, it is very humorous. See the clip here: Drunk Tests are Hard! Perhaps that clip is a bit of an exaggeration concerning field sobriety tests but given the fact these "Standardized" Field Sobriety Tests are administered in the same fashion to any individual (whether they are young, old, overweight, have already existing balance issues, have ADD, any other learning disorder, etc.) declining them is no evidence whatsoever of a consciousness of guilt.  Allowing them in to show an alleged consciousness of guilt then pits a defendant's explanation for why they wouldn't take such a test against that of an officer who is trained to testify that these tests are so simple a 5 year old could perform them.  Why should someone have to face off against an officer to prove these tests have no relevancy if not performed?  It is a ridiculous notion.

Hopefully this ruling will continue given the recent Supreme Court decisions and judges will start to literally apply the law.

Seattle DUI Attorney

Nate Webb

(425) 398-4323