Cases: State v. T.G. &
T.G. v. Commission of Public Safety
Charges: Third Degree Driving While Intoxicated (DWI) and License Revocation
Outcome: Case Dismissed and License Revocation Rescinded
I was hired by T.G. on what appeared to be a pretty ordinary Dakota County DWI. Because he had a prior DWI, the case was aggravated to a Third Degree DWI and his license was going to be revoked for a full year. When I reviewed the evidence, something jumped out at me. My client sounded and appeared completely sober and he claimed he only had one drink. It appeared to me the police officer simply claimed he observed all of the clues of intoxication that are difficult to rebut. In addition, I thought the officer claimed my client failed his field sobriety tests in ways that were not supported by the body camera and squad car footage.
I made a Data Practices Act Request for all the police reports the arresting officer had filed in his DWI arrests for the past 2 years. What I saw was a trend. This officer claimed to see the exact same indicators of intoxication in nearly every single person he arrested for DWI. I argued that the percentage of cases in which he said he saw certain clues of intoxication were not supported by the science. The judge agreed that the officer’s claims were not credible. She ordered the case to be dismissed. As a result, the license revocation was rescinded as well.