CDL Archives - Page 3 of 5

NFG! Court Dismisses Log Book Violation Against CDL Driver

Another CDL ticket trial, another NFG verdict for the driver! Our client was charged with log book violations for not having a few records of duty status in his possession. He was on the road only two days that month when stopped by the Iowa DOT enforcement officer. And the truck was not equipped with an ELD. We argued successfully that our client was at most an intermittent driver. Without proof that his motor carrier required him to maintain paper records, the court dismissed the charge at the State’s cost. Because there was no conviction, the driver will not be […]

CDL False Report of Duty Status Dismissed at Trial

The CDL defense attorneys at GRL Law score another win for a client after charges were dismissed. Our driver was charged with false report of record of duty status. The firm noted three possible defenses. One in particular concerns how the complaint was verified. I thought it would be a winner under these facts. However, I didn’t even get a chance to raise it at trial. The trooper was en route, but 30 minutes late, when the prosecutor moved to dismiss at the State’s cost. That never happens! I met the trooper on the sidewalk outside the courthouse minutes later. […]

OWI Amended to Public Intoxication Preserves CDL

Another result of our relentless pretrial discovery efforts is now on display in Jasper County. After painstakingly reviewing every word of the implied consent video, we discovered that our client asked for an attorney. The officer did not honor this request, but instead requested a breath sample for testing on the DataMaster DMT. Our client refused. Iowa law provides a limited right to consult with a lawyer while being detained by police. The prosecutor amended the OWI because the breath test refusal would not be admissible due to the violation. The result? A simple misdemeanor. No jail. A fine of […]

Posted on May 5, 2021
Colin Murphy
Articles, GRL Law, Recent Results, Uncategorized

GRL Wins DOT and Saves CDL

Iowa provides a limited statutory right to speak with a family member or attorney before submitting to breath testing. Most of the time, the driver must first trigger the right by asking for a phone call. In this case, our client told the officer he had an out-of-state CDL. He asked whether implied consent would affect his commercial driver’s license. When the officer said that he couldn’t answer that question, our client replied that he would wait for the lawyer to arrive. The officer immediately requested a breath specimen. Our client refused. GRL Law recently appealed the one year revocation […]

CDL Saved After OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

The impaired driving attorneys at GRL Law successfully negotiated another resolution to preserve a client’s CDL. After winning the DOT hearing, we leveraged that result by convincing the county attorney to amend the OWI to public intoxication with a minimum fine of $105 and no jail time. The DOT would have disqualified the client’s CDL had he pleaded guilty as charged. The negotiation saved his commercial driving privileges. A tip of the hat to the county attorney who was willing to reevaluate the charge in light of our efforts with the DOT.

A Deferred Judgment Does Count – Felony Domestic Assault Reduced – OWI Charge Dismissed

Garner, Hancock County, Iowa. Felony Domestic Abuse allegation reduced to a simple misdemeanor and OWI accusation dismissed. A thorough investigation into the circumstances of the allegations revealed that the arresting officer improperly informed GRL Law’s client that his prior deferred judgment for operating while intoxicated did not count as a prior offense. This misinformation, when pointed out, resulted in the license suspension being reversed by the Iowa Department of Transportation which also saved client’s commercial drivers license. The operating while intoxicated criminal accusation was consequently dismissed. The initial felony charge related to allegations of domestic abuse assault was ultimately reduced […]

GRL Saves CDL After Officer Unreasonably Limits Phone Calls

When your CDL is at risk for failing a breath test, you need the expertise of the impaired driving defense attorneys at GRL Law. Merely three weeks after suppressing a breath test to save a commercial driver’s license, the firm’s efforts have rescued another CDL holder, this time through the DOT appeal process. The administrative law judge found that the arresting officer provided our client only 14 minutes to place phone calls prior to chemical testing. When the last call attempt went to voice mail at the stroke of the deadline, the officer exclaimed “Times Up!” and took his phone […]

GRL Suppresses Breath Test and Saves CDL

The impaired driving defense attorneys at GRL prevented yet another CDL holder from being disqualified by the Iowa DOT. A thorough review of pretrial discovery indicated that the arresting officer made a critical mistake during the implied consent process. He failed to properly observe the 15-minute waiting period before requesting a breath sample for testing on the DataMaster DMT. As a result, the district court suppressed the test result from evidence making it inadmissible at trial. This ruling is binding on the DOT and serves to rescind and remove the revocation (and CDL disqualification) from the driver’s record. GRL defends […]

“If I pass this test…”

Wayne County, Iowa. Attorney Matt Lindholm recently was able to get a client’s OWI charge amended to public intoxication and save the client’s non-commercial drivers license and commercial driver’s license. During the course of the investigation the client asked the officer “if I pass this test will I still lose my license?” and the officer responded in the affirmative. Unfortunately, this information was incorrect. As a result the officer misinformed the client about the ramifications of his decision which resulted in winning the DOT hearing and in turn resulting in the suppression of the client’s test result. The county attorney […]

CDL License Saved

Polk County, Iowa. Being a truck driver is hard. Being a truck driver facing the loss of your CDL license as a result of an OWI is even more difficult because of the threat to losing your source of income. A recent GRL client facing such a situation was elated when he was informed that attorney Matt Lindholm was able to securing a ruling suppressing his breath test refusal and getting the charges reduced to public intoxication and reckless driving. The reason the breath test refusal was suppress was because the officer had informed the client that the decision to […]

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