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Editor: Bob Battle
Profession: DUI Defense Lawyer

Category: Recent Wins

CAROLINE COUNTY GENERAL DISTRICT COURT- A 19-year-old in the military who is stationed in Virginia was charged with DUI, Reckless Driving, Aggressive Driving, Failure to Maintain Proper Control of his vehicle, and Underage Possession of Alcohol in Caroline County, Virginia. At trial, Richmond Virginia DUI Lawyer and Reckless Driving Lawyer Bob Battle was able to get all charges dismissed. The driver/defendant was charged with these numerous charges after an accident in Caroline County. He was taken to the hospital for treatment in an ambulance. At the scene and again at the hospital he was questioned by the Virginia State Trooper who charged him with all these offenses. A blood test was taken at the hospital and the BAC result was .10.

At trial, on cross examination, Virginia DUI Attorney Bob Battle was able to demonstrate that the trooper could not definitively prove that the arrest was made within three hours of the driving behavior. The defendant initially told the officer that the accident happened around 5:00 a.m. but could have happened later. The officer testified that it was shortly after 8:05 a.m. that he placed the defendant under arrest. The Virginia Code requires that the arrest be made within three hours of the driving behavior for the Virginia Implied Consent law to apply. Thus, the judge excluded the blood test results and, since there were no other field sobriety tests or evidence with respect to the DUI charge, the drunk driving charge was dismissed.

As to the Reckless Driving, Aggressive Driving and Failure to Maintain Proper Control charges, there were no witnesses present at trial and, when the trooper attempted to testify as to what he had been told, the hearsay objection by Virginia Reckless Driving Lawyer Bob Battle was sustained and those charges were dismissed.

With respect to the Underage Possession of Alcohol charge, the trooper testified he found a green bottle in the car that smelled and had the appearance that he associates with alcohol. On cross examination, the officer admitted that he had not had the contents of the bottle analyzed. Virginia Code Section 4-100 lists a very specific definition of "alcohol" and "alcoholic beverages." It requires that there be a certain percentage of alcohol in the beverage to qualify. Again, without any evidence as to the specific alcohol content of the contents of the bottle, this charge was dismissed as well.

As Bob Battle states in his book "How to Choose a DUI Lawyer in Virginia," any time there is a single car accident, there are a lot of potential defenses available. As was demonstrated in this Caroline County case, the prosecution could not make any of the charges stick over objections from an experienced DUI and Reckless Driving lawyer. This Blog has previously posted another example of how the "3 hour arrest rule" led to the reduction of a Richmond DUI with a .20 BAC.