Tag: Results – Drunk Driving

Asking for a Blood Test is Not a Refusal

Many people arrested for operating while intoxicate have some idea that they have a right to obtain and independent test but they are not exactly clear on what it takes to exercise that right.  Fortunately, for a client of attorney Matt Lindholm, police officers also don’t entirely understand this right.  Thus, when this client was asked to provide a breath sample and he asked if he could get a blood test, the officer’s decision to consider this request a refusal was not a legally valid and enforceable refusal as he should have explained to the client the right to get […]

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Doggonit

Boone County, Iowa.  A client for GRL attorney Matt Lindholm (aka The Wolf), recently had his operating while intoxicated charge dismissed.  The client was charged with OWI after law enforcement officers obtained a search warrant and took a sample of his blood for chemical testing.  A motion to suppress was filed challenging the admissibility of the blood test results arguing that the State cannot just obtain a search warrant for a blood sample on a standard OWI case, and that the client’s rights to a phone call were violated because he was not allowed sufficient time to speak to an […]

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OWI Dismissed

Wright County, Iowa.  Attorney Matt Lindholm (a.k.a The Wolf) recently secured the dismissal of a client’s operating while intoxicated charge and saved the client’s drivers license from being suspended.  Matt was able to obtain the preliminary breath testing calibration logs and determined that they were not kept in accordance with Iowa law which subsequently undermined the officer’s legal authority to ask the client for a breath test.

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Officer Still Doesn’t Understand Need to Turn on Squad Car Video

Greenfield, Adair County, Iowa.  For the second time this year, a Judge ruled that an Adair County Deputy’s stop of a motorist was constitutionally invalid when he followed GRL’s client for miles, claiming that the vehicle weaved within its lane but mysteriously failed to activate his in-car video camera.  The Constitution requires that for an officer to validly stop a motorist, he/she must first have a identifiable traffic offense or reason to believe the individual was engaged in criminal activity. The Adair County Deputy has a history of following motorists for miles and then claiming that they weaved within their […]

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Felony OWI Amended to Public Intoxication

The impaired driving defense attorneys at GRL get results.  A recent case in Mitchell County demonstrates how effective we can be when the stakes are highest. We recently took over a case from another attorney after the State refused to budge on a felony OWI and trial looked inevitable.  After unpacking it, we discovered several important facts that completely changed the dynamic of the case.  We went to work limiting the State’s evidence.  We requested the DataMaster DMT breath test data and noticed the State’s expert witness to appear on our behalf at trial. The result? On the eve of […]

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Late Night Parking

Winnebago County, Iowa.  A client facing an OWI charge in Winnebago County after being stopping while parked in a parking lot late at night made the right decision by hiring GRL Attorney Matt Lindholm (aka The Wolf).  After reviewing the video footage from the officer’s investigation Attorney Lindholm filed a motion to suppress arguing that the clients was subjected to an unreasonable search and seizure because he was not engage in any suspicious activity when he was stopped and that his rights to an independent test were violated.  Upon review of the motion to suppress, the State agreed and dismissed […]

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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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Calibration Matters

Thousands of people each year are subjected to preliminary breath tests (PBTs) by Iowa law enforcement officers in an effort to determine their alcohol concentration as part of criminal investigations.  One of the most frequent situations in which PBT’s are used are to determine if a person should be arrested for operating while intoxicated or if implied consent should be invoked.  Officers are required by law to not only calibrate their preliminary breath testing devices each month but are also required to keep a log of these calibrations and the failure to do so can have significant consequences.  Attorney Matt […]

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Arrest Means Arrest

Under Iowa law the term “arrest” has a specific meaning and requires certain procedural steps in order to make the arrest “lawful.”  These steps are imperative when determining if a peace officer has lawfully requested a blood, breath, or urine sample from someone suspected of operating while intoxicated.  Attorney Matt Lindholm recently exploited this situation in a for a client facing an OWI charge in Decatur County, Iowa.  Despite the fact that the police officer’s report and the implied consent form (which was signed under penalty of perjury) indicated that the client had been lawfully placed under arrest for OWI, […]

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A Blatant Violation – The Right to a Personal Consultation with a Family Member

We cannot make this stuff up.  Some things you just have to see to believe.  This case was the most blatant violation of an arrested person’s right to consult and see a family member we have seen in a very long time. Iowa law provides that a person who has been arrested has the right to call, consult AND see an attorney, family member, OR BOTH upon their arrival at the place of detention, i.e., the jail.  Law enforcement is nor required to tell the person of this right but if a request is made, law enforcement actually commits a […]

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