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A Desire for Fast Food Results in a McDonald’s DUI Charge

Written by David O
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A Desire for Fast Food Results in a McDonald’s DUI Charge

An unbelievable but true story about a McDonald’s DUI charge out of Leesburg, Florida. Released today by the Orlando Sentinel was a story about a young women allegedly under the influence of alcohol who was arrested and charged with DUI after causing a large commotion in a McDonald’s drive thru.

Lydia Grace Kelm, must have had a major hankering for some McDonald’s chicken nuggets, french fries, or something good and greasy because the 23-year-old nurse decided to go to McDonald’s at 3:30 a.m. only wearing her bra and panties.  According to the McDonald’s employees, Lydia made quite a disturbance in the drive thru by revving her car engine loudly while trying to back out twice, to which the employees had to yell and motion her to drive forward.  According to an affidavit signed by McDonald’s employees, Lydia “seemed to be confused, lethargic” and “had slurred speech.”

Employee’s promptly called local police to investigate the situation.  Upon questioning, the police immediately suspected Lydia was under the influence of alcohol, especially when she openly admitted to drinking three beers prior to driving.  Officers asked Lydia to perform the DUI field sobriety tests and provided a jacket for coverage and warmth, since it was only 48 degrees outside.

Lydia failed the DUI field sobriety tests and her breath test revealed her BAC level was three times the Florida State legal limit of .08.  Unfortunately, Lydia was arrested in her bra and panties and was hauled off to the Lake County Jail where she was charged with DUI.

Lydia has since bonded out of jail and probably won’t be going back to the North 14th Street McDonald’s anytime soon.

McDonald’s DUI Charge – Mistakes Made by Lydia

Lydia made a few critical mistakes while being investigated by police for DUI.  First she should have asked to speak with her DUI attorney immediately.  Second, she should have exercised her right to remain silent and refused to answer any questions asked by officers.  Third, Lydia should have respectfully declined to taking the DUI field sobriety tests, they are voluntary.  If Lydia wouldn’t have made these three mistakes, her DUI case would have been in a better position to defend.

Don’t make the same mistakes… Remember to call David O Defense if you are ever being investigated for DUI or a criminal charge, 206-459-6392.

Scales, DUI and criminal defense lawyers

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Fighting For Client’s Rights – No Fear in Taking Criminal and DUI Cases To Trial if Necessary

Written by David O
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Fighting For Client’s Rights – No Fear in Taking Criminal and DUI Cases To Trial if Necessary

Our mission statement at David O Defense is “Fighting for Rights, Providing Peace of Mind, & Serving the Community.”  We don’t take our stance in “Fighting for Rights” lightly, it describes our commitment to defend our clients to the fullest to achieve the best possible case resolution – even if that means putting on our legal boxing gloves to fight for our client by taking their case to trial.

David O Defense isn't afraid to put on the boxing glovesA major attribute that separates David O Defense from other law firms, is that the lawyers at David O Defense are not afraid to take a case to trial.   If it’s in the client’s best interest to go to trial our attorneys will be prepared.

One may assume, “don’t all lawyers take criminal and DUI cases to trial, isn’t that just part of their job?”  The answer is NO, many attorneys don’t want to take a case to trial.  Reasons a defense attorney doesn’t want to take a case to trial may include; the attorney doesn’t want to work that hard, they don’t really care about their client or their client’s future, they don’t want to spend the time and energy necessary to properly prepare for a trial, they aren’t a good trial attorney,  they don’t want to look foolish in front of their client or judge or jury, they don’t believe in the client, and finally the attorney may not believe they can win the case so they don’t even try.  Thus, unfortunately, to avoid going to trial these attorneys convince their client to plead guilty to the original charge or convince their client to take a bad plea deal even when it’s not in the clients best interest.

Here at David O Defense, it is all about our client’s best interests and achieving the best possible case resolution.  Our criminal and DUI defense lawyers are committed to each and every client, and are willing to put in the hours necessary to properly prepare for trial.  Our attorneys are confident in their trial skills and enjoy the challenge of presenting a proper defense.  Our attorneys know we can’t always win every case but that does not stop us from preparing and having that intention for our clients.  We don’t prepare to lose for our clients we prepare to win.

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When Stopped for DUI – Advice from a DUI Criminal Defense Attorney

Written by David O
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When Stopped for DUI – Advice from a DUI Criminal Defense Attorney

When stopped by an officer while driving after consuming alcohol you should be respectful to the officer and identify yourself by providing your driver’s license, proof of registration, and car insurance.

If you have any difficulty understanding the English language, especially complicated English such as legal terms, request for an interpreter in your first language as soon as possible.  The officer will provide an interpreter by phone if requested.  You should not attempt to understand the officer’s instructions if there is any language barrier.  This is not the time or environment for you to be shy or embarrassed about not understanding English fluently.

The officer will eventually ask you questions related to alcohol.  I would recommend declining to answer any questions related to alcohol.  The officer will likely order you out of your vehicle so he or she can conduct a DUI investigation. The officer will ask you to perform field sobriety tests and/or to submit to a DUI portable breath test.  You should not take any field sobriety test and/or portable breath test, they are voluntary, meaning there is no requirement by law for you to perform either test.  If you decline to take any of the tests the officer will make a decision to either release or arrest based on the officer’s observations up to that point.  The primary reason I advise people to decline taking the field sobriety tests is the fact that the tests are physically difficult and they become even more difficult when you are accompanied by un-ideal circumstances such as; uneven roadways, lack of adequate light, other vehicles driving by, and loud traffic noises making it difficult to hear and concentrate.  The tests are difficult, respectfully decline taking them.

After an arrest for DUI, a person will be taken to the police station.  There they will be presented with at least two forms, the Constitutional Rights Form and the Implied Consent Warning form.  These two forms are very important because they explain your rights and consequences of exercising your rights.  If you have any questions about the forms, do not hesitate to ask the officer to clarify the information so you will have a full understanding.

The Constitutional Rights form will advise a person of their right to have an attorney.  I recommend you always ask for an attorney whenever confronted with a criminal investigation.  It does not matter if you do not know a criminal defense attorney to call.  The officer will contact a defense attorney by phone at no cost to you.  You will be provided a private room to talk to the attorney and ask questions.  Again, if you have any difficulty understanding English you should request to have an interpreter made available to you.

The request to submit to a breath test at the police station is very different and separate from the request to submit to a portable breath test out on the field.  The DUI portable breath test is voluntary and there is no negative consequence from declining to take it. However, if a person declines to take the breath test at the police station it will likely result in a revocation of your driver’s license for at least one year.  The decision to take the breath test at the station is dependent upon many factors, consult your DUI defense lawyer for their recommendation.  I Generally recommend, if it is a person’s first DUI arrest and the person did not consume a lot of alcohol then they should take the breath test.  However, if a person has prior DUI arrests and/or consumed a lot of alcohol then they should not take the station breath test.

In short:

  1. Be respectful to law enforment.
  2. Ask law enforcement for an interpreter if there is any language barrier.
  3. Do not take the field sobriety tests or the portable breath tests, they are voluntary.
  4. If you have questions about legal forms, always ask the officer to clarify until you have a full understanding.
  5. Request to speak to a criminal defense lawyer.
  6. Ask your defense attorney for their recommendations.

If you don’t have a DUI criminal defense attorney’s number programmed into your cell phone, you should do so now, David O 206-459-6392, you never know when you might need it!  I am here to help.

 

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