Our client left the bar after having had too much to drink. He recognized that he was in no condition to drive so he decided to “sleep it off” in his car. He turned on the engine to keep him warm and put the seat back. Later, a police officer came up to the car and started banging on the window. He opened the car door, dragged our client out of the car, and arrested him for DUI even though he wasn't even driving! Our client refused the police officer's request for a breath test because he was outraged.

We filed a pre-trial motion arguing that, under the circumstances, our client was not actually operating the car. The case never got to court because after reviewing the facts, the prosecutor withdrew the charges. So far, so good, but our client was also facing a one-year license suspension because he refused the breath test. We filed an appeal of the breath test refusal and after a hearing, the Judge sided with us.

The result: The license suspension was reversed.