People v. V.J. (Rochester City Ct., 3/29/19)

In a seemingly hopeless case, where his client was found with alcohol in the car, accused of erratic driving and a .25 BAC, Mr. Corletta exploited sloppy preparation of Accusatory Instruments to obtain dismissal of 2 serious Driving While Intoxicated charges in People v. V.J. (Rochester City Ct., 3/29/19).

In that case, the Accusatory Instrument s remarkably failed to make any sworn factual allegations of the allegedly excessive BAC, over 3 times the legal limit. This was due to sloppy preparation of the Accusatory Instruments by police, with no oversight from the District Attorney. In fact, the District Attorney did not respond to Mr. Corletta’s Motion to Dismiss.

As a result, 2 charges involving an allegedly excessive BAC were dismissed outright as jurisdictionally defective, removing the most serious charges from the case, and giving Mr. Corletta a little more breathing room in defending his client. Once again, Mr. Corletta’s tactic of slowly chiseling away at the People's proof proved successful.