Gregory Cooper5 said:Ugh, that sounds absolutely freezing... though, urbanraven16, man, you would have been in such deep trouble if that had happened to you.
Seriously, the officer told me that because of a judge's discretion ruling, I could actually come out okay—like, he said it’s possible he could drop my fine to the absolute minimum—but even then, I’d still lose my driver's license regardless.
So, here's the thing: I went in thinking I was going to file an appeal against the administrative order, but he just told me straight up that you can't appeal that specific order. Plus, since alcohol absorption takes about 72 hours—and I was at 0.1% or higher—they took my license for those three days right then and there. Even if they were technically in the right, I really wanted to fight this. Now, all I can do is contest the citation itself. Once I see which judge I’m assigned to, I’ll decide whether to ask for leniency or just stick to my guns and exercise my right to appeal (since judges move so fast sometimes, they often just dictate that the defendant chose not to appeal, so I'll have to see how it goes).
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Version A: Take the gamble, put myself at the mercy of the judge, hope for a minimal fine, and hand over my license for 3 months.
Version B: Fight it head-on. Appeal based on the breathalyzer error, the cap issue, and the fact that the officer pulled me over while I wasn't even behind the wheel, then take it all the way up to a high-level misdemeanor court. Since I'm out here in rural territory, I figure I won't even get the court summons until after the holidays. Otherwise, if you agree to the proposed terms, the verdict usually comes right after the first hearing (or so I've heard), especially since they want to wrap these types of cases up quickly.
..If I decide to appeal to the high misdemeanor court, and let's say that doesn't happen for another 6 months, what are the odds that the high court resolves it within a year and a half?
...
Or maybe I've totally messed this up: If I decide to contest the citation—arguing the cap issue or that the driving charge is wrong because I wasn't even driving (how do you even phrase that?)—what happens next? Does the same court decide on that and issue a second ruling, and *then* does an appeal to the high misdemeanor court follow after that second decision??
...
The only thing here that actually sounds "chilling" is the fact that somewhere in the States, there’s an officer being incredibly arrogant by actively preventing a citizen from exercising their right to appeal—which, by the way, is a sacred constitutional right that shouldn't be trampled on by any fine or local ordinance.
Unfortunately, judging by your response, the authorities are never going to find out about this, but hey, that’s your call and your prerogative...
The "reasons" he gave you are honestly laughable; I mean, he isn't some toxicologist, so how would he even know the specifics regarding the "absorption" of a 0.08 BAC? (And for the record, it's elimination, not absorption, and it certainly doesn't take 72 hours) besides, it's not his job to make those calls, nor is it his place to decide on an appeal, and it's definitely illegal—punishable, even—for an officer to just brush someone off and refuse to accept a formal filing... all while acting like they own the place.
As for the violation itself:
Right now, you're looking at the minimum fine, because when the police issue a citation, they aren't allowed to go above the baseline. Only a judge can decide to increase it (I think we're talking maybe $50?), but if you contest it, the magistrate isn't bound by what the officer wrote, so they could technically hike it up (but based on what I'm reading here, I wouldn't count on that being a factor in your case)
Moving forward:
1—I’d strongly suggest leaving the "judge's discretion" part out of any option you choose.
2—If you’re going to fight this using the excuses you mentioned, just file the objection without providing a detailed explanation. If you scroll back a few pages on this forum, you'll find a solid template for that.
3—They’ll call you in for a preliminary hearing, where it's just you, and you can say whatever you want. But if you stick to the story you've told me, expect a debate, likely a confrontation with the officer, and a high probability of a conviction. Once you get the verdict, you have 8 days to file an appeal with the higher court. Until you actually have the official ruling in hand, nobody can really tell you exactly which points to hit in your appeal.
4—There’s a pretty high chance the appellate court will rule before the statute of limitations expires... but if they slap you with a new charge, then it's almost a 100% certainty.
By the way, there's been this ongoing "issue" with the appellate courts for a while now, where rulings are being delivered a year or more after the statute of limitations has already passed, yet internally, the decision was made during a session held within the legal timeframe. Since that decision becomes final the moment it's signed, it technically isn't subject to the statute of limitations by the time it actually hits your mailbox.
