Tag: motion to suppress

Felony OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

Follow the process.  That’s what the drunk driving defense lawyers at GRL Law do with every OWI. We meticulously sift through every bit of evidence in a case.  Every second of video.  Each word of an officer’s narrative.  All in search of a defense.   And when we find that gold nugget?  It can change everything. Take a recent felony OWI matter in southern Iowa.  The Iowa State Patrol claimed our client “refused” a urine test for marijuana metabolites. The stakes were definitely high.  Felony OWI convictions can result in lengthy prison or jail sentences and long license revocations. By applying […]

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CDL Saved After Urine Test Results Suppressed

In the process of saving a CDL from being disqualified, the impaired driving attorneys at GRL exposed a potential flaw in the implied consent advisory for commercial motor vehicles. The advisory provides that commercial driving privileges will be disqualified if the drivers tests over 0.04 for alcohol or refuses testing while operating a CMV. However, it says nothing about a DQ for a positive urine test. So, is a commercial driver’s decision to consent to urine testing reasoned and informed under the circumstances?  We think not. As a result, we were able to not only suppress the urine test, but […]

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THC Vape Charges Dismissed After Search of Mail Suppressed

It goes without saying that postal service investigations rarely turn out well for those who receive marijuana products by mail.  Drug dogs and search warrants will conspire to reveal the contents of suspicious packages before they reach the mailbox.  At that point, the recipients face a Hobson’s choice: either snitch on friends or cop to a felony. What can you do when neither is an option? You guessed it. You get the drug crime lawyers at GRL Law involved. Here’s an example of how we can flip the script on these mailed drug cases that don’t involve the odor of […]

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Breath Test Suppressed After Officer Fails to Explain Rights

Iowa provides a limited statutory right to speak with a family member or attorney before submitting to breath testing under Iowa Code section 804.20.  Most of the time, the driver must first trigger the right by asking for a phone call while in custody. In this case, the officer instead volunteered the opportunity to make “a call” after invoking implied consent.  Thinking this was his one and only call, our client wisely requested an explanation.  The officer repeated his offer.  And then added the call could be placed either before or after chemical testing. Here’s where the officer erred. Section […]

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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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Suppression of Urine Test Result Leads to OWI Dismissal WIN

Northwood, Worth County, Iowa.  The district court in Worth County granted the State’s motion to dismiss the charge of OWI, but not before suppressing the results of a urine test. A thorough review of traffic stop and implied consent videos revealed several issues that were briefed by the drugged driving attorneys at GRL Law, including whether: The deputy lacked reasonable suspicion to detain the driver; The deputy unreasonably prolonged the traffic stop to await a drug dog; The drug dog trespassed onto the vehicle turning the “free air sniff” into an unreasonable search; The handler cued the drug dog to […]

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Problems with Traffic Stop Lead to Dismissal of Marijuana Charges

West Des Moines, Polk County, Iowa.  The drug defense attorneys at GRL Law successfully negotiated the dismissal of drug charges after challenging the traffic stop.  The arresting officer claimed in his report that “the light was red” when “[the car] traversed the intersection.”  His dash camera showed instead that our client’s car was nearly through the intersection when the signal changed from yellow to red.  There was no evidence the car entered the intersection on a yellow light.  The officer later searched the car and discovered nearly 50 grams of processed marijuana flower.  No tax stamps were affixed to the […]

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All Charges Against Client Dismissed after Successful Motion to Suppress Evidence

Emmet County, Iowa- All charges, including OWI 2nd offense, Carrying Weapons, Interference with Official Acts, and other misdemeanors, were dismissed after Grant Gangestad successfully argued that the seizure of the client was unconstitutional.  The Court agreed, suppressing all evidence from the stop, forcing the State to dismiss the charges.  The client maintained his driver’s license and gun rights.  He also avoided jail time and hefty fines.

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