Newport County DUI Case Result – Favorable Outcome
Criminal Charges:
Woman charged in the Newport County Rhode Island District Court (2nd Division) for:
- Driving Under the Influence, BAC Unknown – 1st Offense, in violation of R.I.G.L. § 31-27-2;
- Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Test, in violation of R.I.G.L § 31-27-2.1;
- Probation Violation
Case Overview:
Middletown Police responded to a report of a motor vehicle accident. Upon arrival, police met the caller who stated that another vehicle pulled out into the road, sideswiped her car and then, drove off. The police eventually met another female driver who admitted to hitting the car. While speaking with the woman, police detected a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage emanating from both inside the car and her breath. Police then asked the woman to step out of the car. Once out of the vehicle, police observed the woman to be very unsteady on her feet, her eyes to be bloodshot, watery, and glossy, and her speech to be slurred. She was then asked to perform the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, which she agreed to do and failed. She declined to participate in a chemical breath test. The police then arrested and charged the woman with the criminal misdemeanor offense of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) in Rhode Island District Court and the civil offense of Refusal to Submit to a Chemical Breath Test and multiple traffic infractions in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal. The woman was also on a 1-year filing at the time in another case, triggering a probation violation. She retained RI DUI Lawyer, John L. Calcagni III, to defend her in these matters.
Case Result: Dismissed and Violation Withdrawn, Sentence Continued on the Same.
Attorney Calcagni and his team immediately began to work on the woman’s cases. After conferencing the matter, Attorney Calcagni and his team persuaded the prosecutor to agree to dismiss the criminal misdemeanor offense of Driving Under the Influence in exchange for the woman’s acceptance of responsibility to the civil offenses in the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal. The prosecutor also agreed to withdraw the probation violation and continue the woman on the same 1-year filing. This disposition allowed the woman to avoid a criminal conviction on both cases and keep her criminal record clean.