|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
| |
p a
d u l
a &
a s s
o c i
a t e
s , L L C |
|
 |
|
We can be reached 24/7 - call
425 883-3366
You will speak with an Attorney
lizanne@paduladefense.com
Seattle and all of Puget Sound - Washington
2320 130th Ave NE #
250, Bellevue, WA 98005 -
Map
|
|
| |
D U I : Client Win
November 2007
This was a tragic case. Our client had two prior DUI’s
that we did not handle. She came to us with a DUI, 3
counts of Hit and Run and a felony Attempt to Elude a
Pursuing Police Vehicle. This client was a wonderful
woman with a terrible drinking problem. She came to us
early on but did not think she could afford us so she
elected to go with a Public Defender.
|
|
 |
|
| |
Months later she returned to our
office telling us that the Public Defender had been
ineffective and wanted her to plead guilty to the
felony. She hired us. We aggressively pursued
negotiations but the prosecutor was unmoving. Our
client was in the financial industry and the felony
(attempt to elude) would eliminate her ability to return
to the industry and cripple her ability to rebuild her
life. The other charges were misdemeanors and she stood
ready to plead guilty to these. The felony was the
problem. Not only would it be devastating but she was
adamant that she never saw the police and never
attempted to elude them.
At trial we showed the jury that the “chase” was very
very short, that both her side mirrors were broken, that
her rear window was fogged and that she stopped on her
own. We took a gamble that the jury would understand
that our client’s ability to perceive the presence of
the police was eliminated by her intoxication and the
lack of mirrors or clear windows that allowed her to see
behind her.
The prosecutor laughed at our strategy and told us she
had defeated this tactic before. The jury deliberated
for an entire day but emerged with a Not Guilty verdict
on the felony. They returned Guilty on the other
charges but we had conceded these as a sort of
“sacrifice fly” to the felony.
The client is out of jail and looking for a job in the
banking industry.
|
|
 |
|
|
|