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People v. Anonymous (3/9/18)

 

What to do when a client, highly agitated and emotionally upset, with mental health issues and on medication, is arrested for Driving While Intoxicated, and after being arrested and handcuffed, makes verbal threats against police using vulgar language, and is then tasered? The client then refuses to submit to a breath test, and is subsequently taken to the hospital under a Mental Hygiene Arrest.

 

This very complex situation was faced by Mr. Corletta in People v. Anonymous (3/9/18). In that case, the client was observed by a police officer fighting with a passenger in a moving vehicle. The vehicle was observed crossing 3 lanes of traffic on an expressway, and was also alleged to have been speeding.

 

Mr. Corletta broke down the case phase by phase.

 

His client was first charged with 4 separate traffic violations, including Speeding, 2 counts of Unsafe Lane Change, and Failure to Signal. However, the officer's testimony failed to properly establish the speed through questionable “pace” testimony, because he never bothered to establish his speedometer was working properly. The 2 Unsafe Lane Change charges were not established because there was no traffic behind or to either side of Defendant’s vehicle. As a result, Mr. Corletta’s client was only convicted of Failure to Signal a Lane Change, a minor traffic infraction.

 

Once stopped, the client exhibited several telltale signs of drug impairment, including telling the officer the client was taking several prescription medications. However, the officer failed to investigate this and was instead fixated on intoxication by alcohol.

 

Mr. Corletta effectively demonstrated, through cross-examination of the officer that the Field Sobriety Tests administered were first performed substantially satisfactorily; second, inadequately documented; and third, ambiguous, because they could have indicated signs of drug impairment, which he never investigated. As a result, the client was found not guilty of Driving While Intoxicated, using the unique argument that the client could have been drug impaired, but the police never bothered to investigate it, and in any event, intoxication was not properly established.

 

Mr. Corletta also obtained suppression of a damaging Refusal to Submit to  Chemical Test, which could have resulted in a license revocation, by demonstrating Defendant, due to the obviously agitated and emotional mental state that resulted in the client being taken to the hospital, could not possibly have voluntarily refused to submit to a chemical test. Mr. Corletta also won a dismissal of the DMV Refusal proceeding, based upon the same argument.

 

Finally, there were criminal charges of Obstruction of Governmental Administration for yelling and kicking at police while handcuffed. This was a tactic to cover the excessive use of force on a helpless Defendant who while handcuffed behind the back, was tasered twice with 50,000 volts of electricity. Mr. Corletta effectively demonstrated the Defendant could do nothing to obstruct the investigation while handcuffed; and further, Defendant was already under arrest and the “investigation” over. This argument was effective in obtaining an acquittal of this relatively serious misdemeanor charge.

 

All in all, the client, out of all the aforementioned charges, was convicted of only 3 minor violations. The client will retain their license and continue to attend much needed mental health treatment. The case demonstrated that careful parsing of the facts and not giving up, can lead to a favorable result; even in the face of overwhelming odds. It also demonstrated how mishandling an individual who has mental health issues can result in a potentially dangerous situation.

 

The People’s “offer” was to place the client on probation with a period of time in jail, which was rejected. Mr. Corletta’s client will face only fines and a short license suspension.

 

The case should serve as a lesson to police that even if someone is unruly and swears at them, they are the professionals who are supposed to be trained to deal with situations like this with the least amount of force possible.

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