D.C. skyline

DUI Trial Testimony: Basis for Car Stop

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

Q:            Officer, as I understand it, you were parked behind my client at the intersection of 19th and M Streets northwest? A:            Yes. Q:            And there were two reasons you decided to pull him over? A:            Yes. Q:            The first reason was that he didn’t pull forward immediately when the light turned green? A:            Yes, I was concerned that – …

U.S. Capitol building

DUI Trial Transcript: One-Leg Stand

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

Q:            Turning your attention now, Officer, to the one-leg stand. A:            Okay. Q:            Mr. Jones had you step into the well of the court and demonstrate how you delivered the instructions on the night in question. A:            Yes, sir. Q:            And, in fact, you were speaking so quickly that the stenographer had to interrupt you.  She had to tell you …

U.S. Capitol Building

DUI Trial Testimony: Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

BY DEFENSE ATTORNEY Q:            Now, officer, turning to the HGN? A:            Yes. Q:            The horizontal gaze nystagmus? A:            Yes. Q:            It’s fair to say that you are not an opthamologist? A:            That’s right. Q:            Or an optometrist? A:            No. Q:            Or an optician? A:            No.  I am not. Q.            But, according to the government, you are an expert in the …

Aerial view of DC

DUI Trial Testimony: The Car Stop

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

Q:            Officer, you testified on direct that when you first saw my client, he was driving southbound on 7th Street? A:            Yes. Q:            You were driving northbound? A:            Actually I was parked.  I was parked facing north. Q:            When you first saw my client, he wasn’t speeding, right? A:            Not that I’m aware, no. Q:            He wasn’t swerving? A:            No. …

Jefferson Memorial

Pet Peeves: On Prosecutors and Professionalism

Jamison Koehler Law Practice, Professional Responsibility/Ethics

Whenever you walk into a store, it doesn’t matter how busy the staff may be, the clerk should immediately acknowledge your presence.  Good afternoon, sir, the clerk should say.  I will be right with you. You forgive a lot once these words have been spoken. Please, you respond graciously.  Take your time.  And you mean it. The same principle should …

U.S. Capitol Building

Classic D.C. Trial Transcript: Key on St. Ledger, Part II

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

BY MR. KEY: Q:  When was the last time this particular machine, the one in Government’s Exhibit Number 4, was actually calibrated? A:  You mean auto-cal’d?  Are you talking recertified or auto-cal’d? Q:  All of them. You tell me when is the last time you calibrated this machine? A:  That machine I haven’t calibrated. Q:  So, when was the last …

U.S. Capitol building

Classic D.C. Trial Transcript: Thomas Key on William St. Ledger, Part I

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

In 2010, Thomas Key and Bryan Brown almost single-handedly dismantled the Metropolitan Police Department’s DUI program through a series of remarkable revelations about the inadequacies of the program. In 2011, the two defense attorneys set their sights on the program run by U.S. Capitol Police.  Here is Thomas Key cross-examining U.S. Capitol Police Officer William St. Ledger on a sign that …