Tag: driver’s license

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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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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In Person Consultation Request Denied

Polk County Iowa.  Attorney Matt Lindholm recently secured suppression of his clients breath test refusal after showing the prosecutor that the investigation officer denied his client’s request to have an attorney come to the station and only provided him with thirty (30) minutes to secure an attorney via telephone.  As a result, the OWI charge was amended to reckless driving the the client was able to avoid a driver’s license suspension.

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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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Lifetime OWI 3rd amended to Reckless Driving after Urine Test rendered inadmissible

Story County, Iowa- A GRL Law client was facing a 3rd OWI offense lifetime in Story County.  She provided a urine sample to officers and it was sent to the state DCI lab for testing.  Mr. Gangestad determined that the urine test result was inadmissible because the officers failed to properly store and package the sample for testing.  The OWI was amended to a reckless driving and the client’s driver’s license was saved.

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Don’t Let Those Traffic Tickets Pile Up: How the DOT Can Pull Your Driver’s License for Multiple Moving Violations

Imagine this scenario: you get a traffic ticket for a failure to correctly use a traffic signal.  You might have failed to signal within the required distance, you might not have.  You could dispute the ticket, but you decide that it’s not worth it to take the time off from work, go to trial, and fight the ticket.  So, you decide to just send the payment in to the clerk of court.  A week or so later, you get a letter in the mail from the Iowa Department of Transportation saying that the DOT is going to take your driver’s […]

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