Jury Finds Elderly Veteran ‘Not Guilty’ in Outstanding DUI Case

Failure to appear before the court on charges related to Driving Under the Influence (DUI) can lead to serious legal consequences. Not only will the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) revoke driving privileges, but the judge may issue a bench warrant for the individual’s arrest. 

Individuals with a bench warrant can be arrested at any point if ever in contact with law enforcement – even years later.

In this case, our client – an elderly veteran with chronic medical issues – learned of a decade-old bench warrant when he encountered law enforcement. He was arrested for the outstanding warrant, and he once again failed to appear in court due to hospitalization. With another arrest warrant activated and no resolution in sight, he knew he needed an experienced criminal defense attorney. He turned to Robinson & Henry. 

Our criminal defense attorneys investigated the day our client was charged with DUI years earlier. They learned their client had been struggling with a series of personal and professional challenges and, during a low moment, decided to drink in his car where he fell asleep. 

At trial, our criminal defense attorneys argued that the available evidence, including the police incident report, did not indicate that anyone saw our client commit a crime. Given this context, we argued that the prosecution had the burden to prove our client had committed the alleged crime.

The jury returned a “not guilty” verdict, and our motion to dismiss all additional charges related to this incident was granted. We also requested that the court seal our client’s criminal records, allowing our client to put this experience behind him.