A young medical surgeon had graduated and was receiving clinical training and experience when he was stopped on suspicion of DUI in the City of Wayne. He refused the breath test, and police did not seek to draw blood, which is exceedingly rare nowadays. The prosecutor proceeded to trial based exclusively on the driving and the field sobriety tests.
I obtained all of the necessary discovery, including in-car videos and reports. I consulted with my retired police expert witness, Tony Corroto, and I explained to Tony how critical this case was to my young surgeon's career.
Prior to trial, I received all of the jury information, and I researched and studied all of the jurors. I memorized their names, backgrounds, and information. When it came time for trial, I was ready. Tony and I worked extremely hard on this case, and at least half of the credit is due to him and the analysis that he provide to the jurors. Nonetheless, Tony was shocked when I stood up without notes or cards and started talking to the jurors like I had known them for years. He has trained several classes of lawyers and judges, remarking on how I knew each person's name, occupation, and background.
In this case, knowing my jurors was critical. The City of Wayne is a funny jurisdiction where you can find jurors who don't need virtually any information to convict, and you'll find jurors who are really great and hold the police and prosecution to their burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt. But figuring out who fits which category can be challenging, and that's the critical feature of this case.
I won't lie. Without a chemical test, this case was much easier. I have no idea if my client was sober or intoxicated, but many juries have returned guilty verdicts on less credible evidence. Tony Corroto was also critical, however, since he was able to take the field sobriety tests and put those tests into perspective, destroying the prosecutor's most damaging evidence.
The jury returned a NOT GUILTY verdict following deliberations.