Tag: Department of Transportation

3 Separate OWI Cases – 3 OWI Charges Avoided – 3 Driver’s Privileges Spared

Waukee, West Des Moines, and Iowa City.  Three separate clients were charged with operating while intoxicated offenses.  In all three cases, GRL saved each client’s driving privileges by prevailing at the Iowa Department of Transportation administrative hearing. In all three cases, the operating while intoxicated criminal accusations were also amended down to simple misdemeanor offenses.  They all happened at different times in different cities but they all ended up being resolved the same week.  Where others may take the easy route of least resistance, GRL stands firm on our clients’ behalves, ensuring that the best possible outcome is obtained for […]

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Routine Random Stop of Commercial Vehicle Deemed Unconstitutional

Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa.  GRL Law has long argued that Department of Transportation Commercial Motor Vehicle Enforcement Officers cannot legally stop commercial drivers without reasonable suspicion of a law violation.  It has long been the practice of Iowa law enforcement officers to randomly stop commercial vehicles to weigh them or check compliance with regulations.  Back in 2016 in a blog titled A case for Truck Drivers and the Fourth Amendment, we set out our contention that the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution requires either law enforcement to have a stationary checkpoint or a reasonable suspicion of a […]

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Commercial Driver’s License Error

Commercial driver’s licenses are a staple for many people to make a living thus, when that staple gets threatened because of an arrest for operating while intoxicated, the stakes are often enhanced.  The law requires that officers provide accurate information to arrestees facing a decision whether to consent or refuse chemical testing following an arrest for OWI and providing inaccurate information can be fatal to the State’s case.  A recent GRL client was vindicated of his OWI charge and both his non-commercial and commercial driver’s licenses were sparred when Attorney Matt Lindholm determined the officer incorrectly advised him about the […]

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Iowa’s OWI Timeline

What is the timeline for an Operating While Intoxicated case in Iowa?  Much of it can depend upon which county the criminal case is filed but there are a number of constants across the board.  Here is an general outline of Iowa’s OWI timeline. It is important to first understand that there are two sides to every operating while intoxicated case.  One is the criminal prosecution, and the other is the driver’s license suspension action.  Each proceeding is triggered by a different event and they each proceed on independent timelines.  Think of them as separate trains moving down separate tracks. […]

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NFG for CDL Driver Charged with Following Too Closely

On February 3, 2022, the Worth County Magistrate found our client not guilty of the charge of Following Too Closely. An Iowa State Trooper testified that two semi-trucks passed him in the left lane.  The rear truck, which was operated by our client, was within five feet of the other. However, the trooper had not observed that the lead truck was actually right behind him and pulled into the left lane at 60 mph, cutting off our client.  The trooper was traveling 52 mph in the right lane. Our client was traveling 65 miles per hour pulling a fully loaded […]

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Bad Urine Test Results

Taylor County, Iowa.  A GRL client’s operating while intoxicated charges were recently reduced when it was determined that the urine test in her case was obtained in violation of the collection procedures adopted by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.  After conducting a thorough investigation, attorney Matt Lindholm found that the officer failed to collect a second void of the client’s urine for testing and used a testing kit that had an expired expiration date.  As a result, the State agreed that the urine test results could not be admitted as evidence and the charge was ultimately reduced to reckless […]

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CDL Saved After State Amends OWI Charge

The drunk driving lawyers at GRL Law successfully negotiated yet another resolution to preserve a client’s CDL. After winning the DOT and suppression hearings, we leveraged those results by convincing the county attorney to amend the OWI to public intoxication and reckless driving with no jail time. The DOT would have disqualified the client’s CDL had he pleaded guilty as charged even though we prevented the implied consent revocation from taking effect. Our negotiation saved his commercial driving privileges after we won the DOT hearing. A shout out to the prosecutor who was willing to reevaluate the charge in light […]

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Preliminary Breath Test Logs Strike Again

Carroll, Carroll County, Iowa.  A commercial vehicle driver’s driving privileges were spared and the Operating While Intoxicated accusation was dismissed outright after it was discovered that the preliminary breath test (PBT) log did not comply with Iowa requirements. A preliminary breath test device is the breath test that law enforcement requests out on the road, prior to making a decision to bring a driver in for further testing.  It does not have all of the built-in safeguards that the DataMaster breath test has at the station.  Because of what the court has described as “inherent unreliability” of the PBT, law […]

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To Light or Not to Light

Boone County, Iowa.  A GRL client recently had an operating while intoxicated charge dismissed following a ruling by the court indicating that the stop of the clients vehicle violated the Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution.  The client was stopped because the officer believed his license plate light was not illuminated.  However, attorney Matt Lindholm was able to break down the video footage from the patrol car camera and body camera to show various instances where the license plate was clearly illuminated.  As a result, all evidence obtained following the stop of the client’s vehicle was thrown out and […]

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Boating Privileges Saved

Appanoose County, Iowa- A GRL Law client was charged with Boating While Intoxicated (BWI), Second Offense. A conviction for BWI 2nd offense results in a minimum fine of $1,000, seven days in county jail, completing a substance abuse evaluation and completing all recommended treatment, and a loss of the person’s boating privileges for two years.  Mr. Gangestad and the county attorney were able to successfully negotiate a non-BWI resolution, with the client paying a $200 fine.  Jail time was avoided and the client’s boating privileges were spared.

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