A recent ruling in a Cerro Gordo OWI case allowed my client to cut a two-year DOT license revocation period in half, a move that will certainly save hundreds, maybe more than a thousand dollars, in monthly ignition interlock expenses.
My investigation revealed that although my client refused to submit a breath sample for chemical testing, the arresting officer didn't record this refusal until 2:36 a.m. The traffic stop occurred, however, three hours earlier.
Normally, the State is entitled to a presumption that any test result obtained within two hours of the time of driving is the alcohol concentration at the time of driving. Here, the belated test refusal served to call the presumption into question, which cast doubt on the admissibility of the refusal at trial.
The State eventually stipulated to the inadmissibility and the court ruling confirming the same was all I needed to shave 12 months off of a two-year driver's license revocation for a second test refusal.
The ruling also provided the State with the opportunity to reevaluate its position on trial. Subsequent plea negotiations allowed my client to plead to an ameded charge of OWI First Offense with the mandatory minimum sentence, which was a very satisfactory outcome under a difficult set of facts.
