And in case you didn't know, there is a difference between attorneys. The primary difference is the amount of time that will be put into your case. For some criminal lawyers in Seattle, particularly DUI lawyers, their work on your case consists of glancing over the police reports, glancing over the breath test information, and talking you into taking the first plea that is offered by the prosecution.
And there are some criminal attorneys in Seattle out there that will dive into your case. They will ask you important questions, delve into the police reports and breath test results, and actually try to beat your Seattle DUI (and if they can't do that poke as many holes as they can to get you the best deal possible). And the thing is, if your criminal lawyer is on top of their game, there are dismissals out there to be won from time to time.
I was reminded of this yesterday when I watched a motions hearing after a court date I had. The facts were pretty straightforward. There was this lady driving a red Corvette in line at one of the ferries in Seattle. She cut in line to get on the boat (the lines can get really long at the ferries) and a bunch of passengers complained. The toll booth operator did not see the line cutting occur, but when the Corvette got to the booth, the operator made her go back to the end of the line. After that, the operator mentioned to the cop working that day that there was a lady in a red Corvette that was accused of cutting in line, which is a traffic infraction in Seattle.
When the Corvette got back up to the front of the line to pay the toll, the officer approached the vehicle to find out what happened with the line cutting. When he got there, he smelled alcohol, investigated her for Seattle DUI, and eventually arrested her for it. Then the case got to this DUI attorney in Seattle, who took a look at the facts and noticed that something might be a little fishy.
For Seattle cops to investigate a crime, particularly something as small as a traffic infraction, there needs to be a reasonable suspicion the crime occurred. Unidentified eyewitness testimony is enough, so long as it is reliable and can be corroborated by some other evidence. If the unknown witnesses story cannot be corroborated and is not found to be reliable, then that information cannot be used to initiate a traffic or investigative stop.
In this case, the toll booth operator didn't see the lady cut in line - the people waiting in line to get on the ferry did. Because the officer didn't corroborate what the ferry toll booth operator told him with an actual witness to the event, there was no corroborating evidence there to investigate the cutting in line, or initiate the traffic stop. This argument, from the defendant's point of view, made all the evidence seized after the illegal stop (which is pretty much all of the evidence) inadmissible, meaning his Seattle DUI charge should be dismissed. And the judge did dismiss this guy's DUI case.
Moral of the story at the Seattle Criminal Attorney Blog? Take a little bit of time to find a DUI lawyer in Seattle that you can trust. Ask around and see if anyone has any recommendations. Ask the Seattle criminal defense attorney when you meet them what they plan to do on your case to see if any technical or procedural violations exist. And go on the internet to see if any one has been complaining about this attorney or law firm in the past (though I will admit you must take those with a grain of salt - sometimes no matter what a DUI attorney in Seattle does the outcome will not be favorable to the client). Bottom line - find someone you can trust, someone you can afford, and someone that will do a good job for you.
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