NOT GUILTY IN DRIVING WHILE INTOXICATED JURY TRIAL – FALL 1998

Kevin Hinzman obtained a not guilty verdict in a jury trial for a Driving While Intoxicated case, successfully overcoming his client’s failure of two of the three standardized field sobriety tests administered by the arresting officer by introducing evidence of the client’s severe dyslexia.  The client had refused  a breath test, passed the one leg stand test, and video evidence of the his arrest was favorable, however, he did exhibit horizontal gaze nystagmus as evidence of intoxication and failed the walk and turn test after he was unable to follow any of the instructions.  At trial, Hinzman called the client’s optometrist who testified that the client had suffered such severe dyslexia at birth that it caused double vision until a corrective surgery was performed at the age of four, and that the client always exhibited nystagmus as a result of his dyslexia.  In addition, the client’s mother and sister both testified that due to his dyslexia it was impossible for him to follow more than two sequential instructions.  The jury accepted the client’s dyslexia as the true cause of his failure of the field sobriety tests and came back quickly with a not guilty verdict.

 

 

2019-03-21T21:55:05+00:00