On January 5, 2012 DUI Attorney Matthew Ruff won a jury trial in Santa Clarita Superior Court, Division 3.  The facts are as follows:  The client, a commercial driver, was found parked in his SUV along the 14 freeway in July.  The CHP officer immediately smelled alcohol on his breath and observed signs of substantial impairment.  The driver stated he drove there and stopped 5 minutes prior to the CHP arrival because he was tired.  The officer asked the accused to perform various field sobriety tests such as the walk and turn and the rhomberg stand, all of which he failed.  A nystagmus test revealed alcohol consumption.  A PAS breath test was administered on the roadside which reflected a BAC level of .21 and .22 respectively.  The accused told the officer he was the driver, he was alone and drove there from the Los Angeles area and that he had consumed at least 5-6 beers in the last three hours.  The defendant was arrested and transported to the Santa Clarita Sheriff station whereupon he was asked to blow into a Datamaster breathalyzer which produced a result of .22 and .22.  He was charged with VC 23152a and VC23152b, his license was confiscated and he was booked.

In Court, a not guilty plea was entered to all charges, including the added enhancement of driving with a .15 BAC or higher.  A jury trial was set for late December and a jury was selected.  The District Attorney called the arresting officer, a chemist from the LASD and three other CHP officers to establish that the driver was not parked at the area of arrest for more that a few minutes prior to being detained.  Matthew cross-examined all government witnesses extensively and argued the lack of evidence to establish the time of driving and the BAC level at the time of driving.  After 3 hours of deliberation the jury came back not guilty on all charges.  The attorney is now seeking to get the DMV suspension set aside and the accused commercial license restored.

It is vitally important to understand that all DUI cases can be fought if the client is facing life altering consequences.  In this case, the client was looking at a minimum one year suspension of his commercial license as well as likely never being able to be employed as a truck driver again.  Having a Santa Clarita DUI Attorney that is experienced in challenging the evidence in a drunk driving case can indeed make all the difference in the world when facing criminal charges.