Drunk Driving Cases Handled by DUI Attorney William C. Head

Case 20
State v. B.M.
Fulton County State Court
Atlanta, Georgia

B.M. had just finished an exhausting day at her new job and decided to pick up a six pack and go visit with her brother.  She had 3 beers in 5 hours and left at midnight for home.  As she was driving, she decided to put on some lipstick.  This involved pulling down the visor, searching in her purse for the tube of lipstick and applying it.  In addition, she was speeding and trying to get home to go to the bathroom.  Also there was a slow-moving truck in front of her.  She was apparently traveling too close behind this vehicle, according to the arresting officer.  B.M. was approaching a curve when her distracting activities and speeding caused her to cross the yellow line.  Two officers on duty saw the driving conduct.

When approaching the B.M.’s car, the officer asked why she was speeding and also following so closely behind the truck ahead of her vehicle.  She explained she was applying lipstick as she was going home.  The second officer approached and stated, “you’ve been drinking, get out of the car.”  He had her perform field sobriety tests, which she passed.  Then the officer had her blow into the Alcosensor (roadside breathalyzer).  She registered positive for alcohol.  She was immediately put under arrest for DUI.  She asked the officer to instead take her home since she lived a short distance from the site.  This request was ignored.

The officer was going to allow her husband to pick her up but only allowed 5 minutes for him to arrive before impounding the car.  This was too short a time period for him to get dressed and get to the location without speeding or driving recklessly.  Because her husband did not arrive within 5 minutes, she was handcuffed and taken to jail.

The road upon which the incident occurred was a rural country road, with no street lights.  The only lighting was car headlights and the police blue lights. Although B.M. passed each of her field sobriety tests, the officer said nothing to her after each of the tests.  Instead, he just arrested her after the roadside breath screening test.

The case was transferred from a municipal  court to Fulton State Court for Jury Trial.  A not guilty plea was entered.  We also filed 14 separate motions, including a Motion for Discharge and Acquittal.  The basis for this Motion was the lack of a speedy jury trial in accordance with Georgia statutory law.

Under threat of a lengthy hearing and possible pre-trial appeal, the DUI was dropped.  She pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and retained her driving privileges.  No jail time was involved in the negotiated plea.

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