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Mr. Corletta Uses New Discovery Law to Obtain Reduction in Difficult Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs Case.

Mr. Corletta obtained a reduction for a client charged for the second time in 3 years for Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs in People v. H.K. (Perry Tn. Ct., 2/20).

          In that case, Mr. Corletta’s client was charged with Driving While Ability Impaired by Drugs approximately 2 years after being arrested for the same charge. The client also had prior convictions for drug-related crimes and had been on probation for those crimes.

          The Assistant District Attorney initially took a difficult stance, having prosecuted the client in the past, demanding a sentence of probation and drug treatment. Mr. Corletta went to work analyzing the proof and determined the “Drug Recognition Evaluation” testimony to be extremely weak, amounting to no more than an educated guess.

          There was also insufficient proof of impaired driving, as Mr. Corletta’s client was rear ended by a driver following too closely, who was ticketed for that offense.

          There were also Discovery problems caused by passage of New York’s new Discovery statute, resulting in the District Attorney having trouble turning over Toxicology Reports and backup testing regarding the urine samples obtained from the client, which according to the initial Toxicology Report, did not indicate any quantitative level of any prohibited drug in the client's system.

          The prosecution mostly rested upon an admission by the client to having smoked crack cocaine prior to driving. Mr. Corletta filed 3 motions in the case, obtained a Probable Cause Hearing, and filed a Speedy Trial Motion due to the non-turnover of the Toxicology Reports and backup material.

          On the day of the Probable Cause Hearing, anticipating cross-examination of the Drug Recognition Expert and an arresting officer with no Drug Recognition Evaluation experience, the District Attorney offered a plea to Driving While Ability Impaired by Alcohol, an infraction with minimum fines, and no mandatory drug testing or treatment.

          Given the posture of the case, as well as the client's background and history, this was a highly favorable disposition and the client was extremely grateful.

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