Our client was a 33-year-old man who had been charged with DUI along with a friend. The two friends had been out at a bar and left at the same time. They were following one another in their cars when they were both pulled over by a Roanoke County police officer. The officer had both of them perform roadside field sobriety tests and they witnessed each other’s tests.
The two friends were tried together so that they both could testify in front of the Roanoke General District Court judge. Our client came to the Roanoke DUI lawyers at Copenhaver, Ellett & Derrico for help. His friend was represented by another attorney, as is required, even when two people are part of the same case.
During the trial, an independent witness testified that the two friends had been completely sober when they left the bar at which she worked. The witnesses’ and the client’s testimony suggested that the police officer had not been telling the truth about their impairment. The judge found the witnesses’ testimony convincing and found that the officer did not have probable cause to charge either of the two men with DUI. Both cases were dismissed through the teamwork of two attorneys defending multiple defendants together.
The outcome of an individual case depends on a variety of factors unique to that case. Case results do not guarantee or predict a similar result in any similar or future case.