The Reality of Fantasy Island

There used to be a TV show called "Fantasy Island." It starred Ricardo Montalban. People on the show would take a trip to a lush tropical island. The island was a magical place. Ricardo was in the fantasy fulfillment business. People looking for a one sided reality (a fantasy) soon discovered that there fantasies were not really all they were cracked up to be. The people visiting Fantasy Island discovered that the reason they were there was to get a life lesson.

I get many DWI phone calls, and some people want me to be Ricardo. I have been called Lorenzo but thats another story. What they seek is a fantasy. Make it all go away. Get rid of it. They ask, Can you get all the charges dropped? That is a possibility but in all probability, unlikely. They ask for their charge of an aggravated DWI (with a BAC of .18 or higher) to become a DWAI (less than .08 BAC), and a non-criminal offense. Anything is possible but if you expect this (these types of outcomes) without having a fight (a trial), and without incurring risk (jail) then you really do have a fantasy.

I deal in realities. I look at facts. Not Guilty does not mean innocent. Not Guilty means Not Proven. That is the legal reality. What are the proofs? What is the Evidence? Can we block (suppress) any Evidence, and thus weaken the Prosecution's case?

For example, where the Breathalyzer machine was re-calibrated (re-checked and balanced) beyond the six month time regulated time period the test results are probably unreliable and thus inaccurate.

If one case has an eight and half month re-calibration date prior to testing, and the other has a ten month re-calibration time period prior to testing will the judges in these Courts uphold my motion to suppress the results of these tests? I do not know. Do they have to? No. Can we appeal their decision? Yes. Do we want to? I do not know, that depends upon many factors.

When we get to trial this will also have an effect upon the case outcomes. Will a jury listening to this decide whether to give the breath test more or less weight? I hope that common sense will always prevail in these situations but you never know how some people (juries) think.

So you can see just because you find a major weakness in the prosecution's case doesn't necessarily mean that will "guarantee" anything.

Some people don't want to hear this reality. Giving cases enough time and effort ensures that better outcomes are more likely. In the long run that is the truth. The only truth of which I am aware is that Sustained effort (hard work) with a clear, focused goal utilizing all the resources (legal knowledge) and tools (trial skills) at your command will yield the best results.