Tag: Department of Transportation

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.

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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 […]

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OWI 2nd offense amended to Reckless Driving

Shelby County, Iowa- A GRL Law client was stopped for allegedly driving while suspended as he pulled into his driveway.  The officer ran the client through field sobriety tests and had him blow into a preliminary breath testing device which registered a result under .08.  Even though the client blew under the legal limit, the officer believed that he was under the influence of some drug other than alcohol without any specific basis for believing so.  The client then provided a breath test, indicating that he was slightly above the legal limit.  He was charged with open container, OWI 2nd […]

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GRL Overturns License Suspension for Driver Traveling 100 MPH

The traffic ticket defense lawyers at GRL Law field calls regularly from drivers cited for excessive speed.  More often than not, it’s only after they receive a suspension notice from the Iowa DOT. That’s right.  The consequences of pleading guilty are more than just the fine, surcharge and court costs.  The DOT can suspend the privileges of anyone convicted for speeding more than 24 miles over the posted limit or what is referred to as a “serious violation.” The minimum suspension for a serious violation is 60 days (25 mph over) while the maximum is one year (49 mph or […]

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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 […]

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How Long Does a Traffic Ticket Stay on My Record?

The traffic ticket defense attorneys at GRL Law receive calls from time to time with questions about moving violations.  One of the most common questions?  How long will a particular charge remain on my driving record?  That depends on a number of factors. Is it for a non-moving or moving violation?  Personal vehicle or commercial motor vehicle? Non-moving violations stay on for three years.  Moving violations in a personal vehicle last five to seven years (longer if committed in a CMV). Convictions for OWI remain for 12 years (much longer if involving a CMV). Suspensions can last anywhere from six […]

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Farm On!

Adams County, Iowa.  An Adams County farmer will keep farming thanks to GRL Law’s 12-step OWI defense review of his operating while intoxicated case.  GRL Law’s review of the case revealed that the preliminary breath test unit that was used to initially test our client had been calibrated with an alcohol standard that had expired eight months earlier.  Further investigation also revealed that the officer had not received the required updated training certification required to operate the DataMaster breath test machine used to test GRL Law’s client at the police department.  All of this allowed for GRL Law to exclude […]

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Don’t Pay an Overweight Truck Ticket Without First Consulting GRL

The CDL traffic ticket defense lawyers at GRL Law represent local and out-of-state drivers, trucking companies and owner-operators cited with overweight violations throughout the State of Iowa. When it comes to overweight axle or gross weight violations, you should always remember this Murphy’s Law:  Don’t pay the ticket without consulting GRL first. Overweight fines for single or tandem axles and gross weight violations are thousands of dollars per ticket.  Unpaid fines will result in the loss of your CDL privileges. If you simply pay the fine, then you waive your right to a jury trial and the matter is reported […]

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CDL Disqualification for Moving Violations

The Iowa DOT will disqualify your CDL if you are convicted of certain moving violations.  These include: Operating a CMV upon a highway without a CDL or commercial learner’s permit Operating a CMV upon a highway without the proper class of CDL, commercial learner’s permit for the specific vehicle group or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported Speeding 15 mph or more over the legal speed limit Reckless driving Any violation of the traffic laws, except a parking or vehicle weight violation, which arises in connection with a fatal traffic accident Following another motor vehicle too closely […]

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GRL Saves CDL with DOT WIN

The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law prove once again that preparation is everything when it comes to implied consent testing and DOT administrative hearings.  This is especially true when it involves professional CDL drivers and forensic drug testing. In this case, a DOT officer assigned to an I-35 weigh station in North Iowa believed he had reasonable grounds to invoke implied consent and request a urine sample under Iowa Code section 321J.6 based on the discovery of a small amount of marijuana and an admission to smoking the previous evening.  When the sample came back positive for non-impairing metabolites […]

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