WISCONSIN DRUNK DRIVING CASES

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Yet another successful jury verdict from Attorney Kirk Obear. Kirk secured Not Guilty verdicts on all counts in an OWI Second offense case in which the prosecution came in to the trial with guns ablazin'. Anticipating that Kirk knows his stuff, the prosecution brought in an "expert" witness to help bolster the case. However, after Kirk was done cross-examining the arresting officer in the case, there was little that could be done by the prosecutor to save the case. Their "expert" had no impact on the case after Kirk was finished with the cop. At the end of the trial, the jury went out to deliberate and came back 2 hours later. Not Guilty across the board. Another grateful client and another win for the Obear Defense team.

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On the last day possible to request a refusal hearing, a client called Kirk advising him that he didn't know what to do or how to respond to the notice. Kirk quickly sprang into action and made sure that the refusal hearing request was filed at the last minute. This was a Northern County in Wisconsin, unaccustomed to aggressive defense, and the judge thought he could throw Kirk for a loop by scheduling a refusal hearing three days from the filing date. Kirk immediately obtained critical evidence and proceeded with litigating the hearing. At the end of the day, the judge agreed with Kirk that the arresting officer did not have probable cause and dismissed the refusal allegation. Kirk then filed a motion requesting that all evidence in the OWI case be dismissed. That motion was also granted. Footnote: the prosecutor tried to offer a reckless driving during the middle of the hearing, and Kirk flatly rejected it. Client ended up with no revocation, no conviction, no fine, and no record.

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In a Northern County in Wisconsin, our client was arrested after allegedly striking a pedestrian on the side of a rural road. Our forensic analysis of the evidence and months of investigation revealed that it was impossible that our client was the cause of the death. Our own accident reconstruction, along with blood evidence gathered at the scene and later tested, were used to convince the prosecutor that our client was innocent. Originally facing decades in prison, and initially with a public defender, the client almost entered a plea with an agreement for a long prison term before the Obear team got on the case. Nearly a year later, she was a free woman and had no criminal conviction. Another innocent person whose life was protected by Kirk Obear and the rest of the staff at our law firm.

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OWI / PAC First Offense Not Guilty Verdict
Knowing that he was facing a huge challenge, Kirk took on a case with not just one, but two chemical test results far above the legal limit. A breath test showed an alcohol concentration of .27, and a blood test showed an alcohol concentration of .28. In spite of the two very high tests, Kirk successfully attacked the results and a jury found his client Not Guilty of both Operating a Motor Vehicle while Intoxicated, and Operating with a Prohibited Alcohol Concentration.

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Kirk Secure OWI Win - Not Guilty on 2nd Offense
Our client came to us knowing that there was a tough, uphill battle ahead. Not only did the police treat her poorly by failing to properly investigate the incident, but she also had to deal with a dishonest witness who was trying to throw her under the bus. As is often the case, the prosecutor was more interested in putting the question to the jury rather than trying to resolve matters. Kirk Obear tried the case in a one day trial. The case went to the jury and in a very quick decision (less than 15 minutes) they returned a verdict of Not Guilty.

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Charge: OWI 4th

Venue: Milwaukee County

Date: 2019

Result: Case dismissed after Prosecutor had no defense to Attorney Muller's Motion to Suppress results of legal blood draw.

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OWI 3rd Dismissed Before Initial Appearance - Obear Never Even Had to Put on the Gloves

A client who knew he was in for trouble came to the Obear firm seeking help. He was on his Third OWI, and his test result was way up there. Fortunately for RC, the team went into action and investigated the case from the get-go. Kirik and Charlie established conclusive evidence that the prosecutor would not be able to prove that RC was impaired at the time that he was driving and had an accident. A meeting with the prosecutor that occurred before the initial appearance resulted in the DA's office proclaiming that it was impossible for them to proceed. RC's drunk driving case was dismissed without the need for any court appearance. Some say that if you can win the battle without showing up to the arena, you can declare an absolute victory. We don't disagree.

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Sometimes clients are referred to our office because the stakes are high and the outcome of the trial could permanently effect a person's livelihood. That was the case when SA was referred to our office from a prominent Illinois attorney who knew that this case would require special attention for two reasons: SA had an Illinois license; and SA had a commercial driver's license. The combination of these two factors would have meant the end of SA's career if he was convicted. This was true even if the case would be amended to a lesser traffic citation. So the writing was on the wall - the case had to go to trial. Kirk worked diligently to prepare the defense. The strategy involved attacking the accuracy of the breath test result by revealing problems with the testing machine that was used. Several problems were identified with the particular way that the machine was being operated. When the officer had no real explanation for the problems, the jury found SA not guilty on all counts. He was able to keep his job and is now a successful commercial truck driver.

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Charge: OWI 2nd

Venue: Milwaukee

Result: Mistrial on behalf of the State

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OWI Case Dismissed After Brutal Suppression Hearing

The arresting officer claimed that HW "failed" three field sobriety tests. An initial review of the police reports seemed to support this notion. However, Kirk filed a motion to suppress based upon the results of an administrative suspension hearing which was held prior to the case going to Circuit Court. Kirk knew from the testimony at the suspension hearing that the officer was not up to snuff. He subpoenaed the officer's training materials to a suppression hearing and used them to cross-examine the officer on his administration of the field sobriety tests. It turns out that the officer administered the tests in a way that could not be considered a "failure" by any means. After Kirk made the cop look like he didn't know which way was up, the prosecutor decided that enough was enough and ditched the case. Observers in the court room reported that they felt bad for the officer. HW walked away with a reckless driving citation and no drunk driving conviction.

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Charge: OWI 2nd

Venue: Milwaukee

Result: Case dismissed after defense motion is granted suppressing the evidence obtained from an illegal arrest for OWI

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Mr. P was driving home one night after enjoying dinner at a supper club. He had two glasses of wine and did not feel impaired. However, the police pulled him over for speeding and simple traffic violation turned into a life-changing nightmare for Mr. P. The officer placed him through a series of field sobriety tests, and then alleged that Mr.P was being uncooperative because he refused the officer's request for a blood test. TP was arrested for drunk driving and refusing the blood test, both of which would result in losing his driver's license and his job. His reputation would also be irreparably damaged. Wanting to fight the case with a vigorous defense, TP hired Kirk to represent him. After an extensive investigation, Kirk was able to establish that the arresting officer failed to follow protocol in several aspects of the case. The prosecutor was convinced that he could not prove the case. Both the drunk driving and refusal charges were dropped.

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Charge: Flee/Elude Officer, Hit & Run, Operating a Motor Vehicle While Under Influence of an Intoxicant, Operating a Motor Vehicle With Prohibited Alcohol Concentration, Operating a Motor Vehicle Left of Center, Failure to Stop at a Stop Sign, Inattentive Driving, Red Light Violation. Client was drunk and hit two occupied cars at intersection, fled scene to next town, was chased by two squads until abandoning his car. Then chased by police on foot until apprehended. Multiple charges in multiple jurisdictions.

Venue: Lannon, Brookfield, Waukesha County

Result: Plea to single misdemeanor, 2 years probation, no jail, community service, and dismissal of all other charges.

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Charge: Operating After Revocation

Venue: Milwaukee

Result: Criminal charges were dismissed and defendant received a ticket

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Charge: OWI 2nd

Venue: Milwaukee

Result: Case dismissed after defense motion is filed challenging the admissibility of the blood results

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Charge: OWI 1st

Venue: Grant

Result: Case dismissed after judge grants defense motion declaring the arrest illegal – decision is upheld on appeal

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Charge: 1 count of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated – 3rd offense, 1 Count Operating while Intoxicated.-BAC .1%+ – 3rd offense. Client facing 1 year jail, 36 months suspension of driving privileges, and a fine of $2,500.00. Client pulled over for erratic driving and was verbally abusive to the officers. DA recommended 8 months jail.

Venue: Milwaukee County

Result: (4) months jail with Huber

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Charge: Client was drinking heavily before and during driving in rural area. Client ran stop sign and crashed into garage. Owner chased and stopped client. When owner approached, client drove straight at him barely missing him. Client faced potential charges of Attempted Homicide, Felony Endangering Safety by Use of a Motor Vehicle, Criminal Damage to Property, Excessive Speeding, and Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated.

Venue: Waupaca County

Result: Client ultimately plead guilty to a county ordinance – Disorderly Conduct by Use of a Motor Vehicle, and Failure to Stop at a Sign. Fines and court costs totaled $587.20.

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Charge: Probation revocation. Revocation would have meant 8 months of straight time at the House of Corrections. Client was on probation for violating a Domestic Abuse Injunction with his estranged wife. Client was an alcoholic and tested positive for alcohol, admitted going to bars, was accused of theft and got into several severe shouting matches with his PO in her office lobby. Probations Agent refused an offer of Alternative-to-Revocation plan that included AODA treatment.

Venue: Milwaukee County

Result: Revocation denied. ATR instituted. Court ruled that revocation was not related to original offense.

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Charge: 1 count of Operating a Vehicle While Intoxicated (2nd) with Refusal, Count Operating while Intox.-BAC .1%+ (2nd). Client’s BAC was .39 – over 4 times the legal limit and his “refusal” to submit to blood testing is considered very aggravated. Client faced 1 year jail and DA recommended the maximum.

Venue: Waukesha County

Result: (4) months jail with Huber privileges.

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Charge: 1 Count Operating while Intox.-BAC .1%+ (2nd), 1 Count of Operating a Motor Vehicle While Intoxicated, 2nd offense. BAC was .11 and client faced up to 1 year jail. Client drinking with friends after weekly basketball league and was seen driving erratically by police.

Venue: Jefferson County

Result: Reduced to “reckless” driving; fined $300.00