Client W.P. charged with DUI and Possession of Marijuana following a traffic stop in rural Johnson County.  W.P. was believed to be under the influence of marijuana and was arrested following field sobriety testing.  W.P. then submitted to a DRE (drug recogniition examiner) for further testing at the station.  W.P. refused a blood test but agreed to all the other tests involved in the 12-step DRE examination.  The DRE believed W.P. was under the influence of marijuana and a CNS (central nervous system) depressant.

Prior to trial, I filed a Motion to Exclude the DRE testimony based on the fact that some of the tests required scientific conclusions, such as the HGN (eye tests) tests.  The HGN, for example, is not considered reliable unless an expert can lay a foundation as to the scientific credibility of the test in predicting impairment levels of the driver.  Kansas courts do not put much faith in the HGN tests, see State vs. Molitor.  In Molitor, the Supreme Court likened the HGN tests to a Ouija Board, where the results are simply not based on science.

Before trial, the prosecutor agreed to dismiss the DUI due to the lack of evidence of impairment.  My client agreed to plead Guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana and sentenced to one-year supervised probation.  He may qualify for early termination if he does well on probation.  Regardless, W.P. avoided the more serious charge of DUI.