June 2021 County District Court Case
Mark W. Garka's Client was pulled over because of speed and a couple of lane deviations. The Washington State Patrol Trooper made contact with Mark's Client and noticed that the Client had potentially been drinking. The Client exited the vehicle and performed standardized field sobriety tests (SFST) and was also asked to remove his chewing tobacco. He was then arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI). Because Mark's Client previously had chewing tobacco in his mouth and the Trooper did not ask the Client to rinse his mouth, Mark argued that the breath test was invalid. Mark discovered this improper procedure during questioning of the Trooper at the Department of Licensing (DOL) hearing. The DOL Hearing Officer agreed that there was an invalid Breath Test and the DOL Hearing Officer dismissed the DOL action. Mark provided this information to the County Prosecuting Attorney who acknowledged these evidential issues and agreed to reduce the case to a Negligent Driving in the First Degree (NEG-1). Mark's Client did not go to jail, nor lose his license, nor require SR22 insurance, nor require an Ignition Interlock Device (IID).
