Suppressing Test Results Under McNeely: Winning the Battle But Not the War

Posted On August 13, 2013 by Daniel Koewler
228.png

I spend a lot of my time speaking with individuals who want to hire me, and our firm, as their attorneys. Lately, a lot of those conversations have involved explaining the impact of Missouri v. McNeely, what I intend to do to get their test results suppressed, and why that matters.

Answering the question, "why that matters" is what separates a great defense attorney from an average one - and when it comes to defending your liberty and your property, the difference between "great" and "average" is the difference between success and failure.

Because here's a secret an average defense attorney will never reveal - even if that blood, breath or urine test is suppressed due to a McNeely challenge, the state can still take you to trial and try to convict you of driving while impaired.

At our firm, "ready for trial" is a battle-cry, a chance for us to go toe-to-toe with the state and use our years of experience to make sure that the government does not get a conviction. For those average attorneys, however (the ones using recycled McNeely briefs and who don't really understand or believe in the issues presented) . . well, take a look at the picture of the cute little baby at the start of this post.

An average attorney, as opposed to a great attorney, will go from the pure joy of getting a test result suppressed, to terror at having to actually take a case to trial, in about six seconds. That's not the way to win a case.

Despite the clear language of the McNeely decision, Minnesota still refuses to adjust their DWI laws to conform with the constitution. Until that day comes, either by legislative act or by judicial decree, we'll continue to fight the good fight. And we'll continue to tell our clients the honest truth: getting their test results suppressed is winning one battle, but does not necessarily mean we've won the war.

But it certainly brings us one step closer.