7th owi questions

[Mlacroix 2010]

My husband is being charged with 7th owi in wi. The first 6 were alcohol and this one is THC. We have a lawyer and heading to trial in a couple weeks. I'm trying to find an expert witness to say that the joint he smoked didn't make him too impaired to drive. The lawyer doesn't want to tell the court he was a daily smoker because it's not legal here but I think the jury should know he would have had a higher tolerance than someone who only occasionally smokes. I have publications that show the levels in the blood doesn't really tell you that someone is impaired. I've found studies saying the same thing..I don't know what to do cause I'm afraid if I just let the lawyer do things his way my husband is going to go to prison for the next 3 years over a half a joint..that's all that was in the car. What can I do?

 

[quincy]

My husband is being charged with 7th owi in wi. The first 6 were alcohol and this one is THC. We have a lawyer and heading to trial in a couple weeks. I'm trying to find an expert witness to say that the joint he smoked didn't make him too impaired to drive. The lawyer doesn't want to tell the court he was a daily smoker because it's not legal here but I think the jury should know he would have had a higher tolerance than someone who only occasionally smokes. I have publications that show the levels in the blood doesn't really tell you that someone is impaired. I've found studies saying the same thing..I don't know what to do cause I'm afraid if I just let the lawyer do things his way my husband is going to go to prison for the next 3 years over a half a joint..that's all that was in the car. What can I do?

Your husband needs to rely on the advice of his attorney. If your husband does not have trust in his current attorney, he can fire him and hire a new one, although changing attorneys at this late stage might not be wise.

I personally think that a “he smokes joints all the time” defense an extremely poor one for a charge of impaired driving.

You can check your State Bar for expert witnesses but I am not convinced you will find an expert witness who will support your contention that the more you smoke marijuana, the less likely you are to be impaired when driving.

https://www.wisbar.org/ForPublic/INeedaLawyer/Pages/i-need-a-lawyer.aspx

 

[adjusterjack]

The lawyer doesn't want to tell the court he was a daily smoker because it's not legal here but I think the jury should know he would have had a higher tolerance than someone who only occasionally smokes.

What was it about your husband's driving convinced the officer to pull him over? Presumably you have read the officer's report by now and can answer that question.

 

[Mlacroix 2010]

He supposedly was speeding and the cop said after he arrested him he could smell marijuana coming from the car but he didn't even smoke it while he was driving he sat in a parking lot then was driving home. One cop pulled behind him and followed him about a mile and there was another cop sitting waiting...I'm pretty sure it was a sting the road he was on is known for teens to party and it was Superbowl weekend..

 

[Taxing Matters]

The lawyer doesn't want to tell the court he was a daily smoker because it's not legal here but I think the jury should know he would have had a higher tolerance than someone who only occasionally smokes.

Your husband's lawyer has the experience to know what juries in your area are like and how an admission to being a habitual user of weed would go over. I see several risks to the idea you have. First, admitting in court that he's a habitual user of weed potentially exposes him to further prosecution for weed related offenses. After all, he's basically admitting to committing crimes practically daily with that approach. Second, the jury may well be concerned by that admission that your husband drives all the time high on weed, which may alienate the jury and make them more dedicated to convicting him to get him off the road. Third, that admission would essentially make it illegal for him to possess firearms. So if he has firearms, likes to hunt, etc., that could set him up for problems there.

Moreover, the issue here is not what studies say the effect of weed is on a habitual user. That is, proving that it takes more weed for a habitual user to get the same high that a more casual user would need to take doesn't really help much. That's because the issue is how your husband was affected at the time of the stop. An expert opinion regarding how habitual users of weed are affected by a certain amount of weed really tells the jury nothing about whether he was impaired at the time of the stop. They are going to be looking at the evidence showing what your husband's condition was like when the stop was made. Was he driving erratically? Was he having trouble with motor skills, memory, etc., during the stop? In short, the battle here is going to be over whether there were signs of impairment at the time. An expert on the effects of weed can't help a lot with that.

I don't know what to do cause I'm afraid if I just let the lawyer do things his way my husband is going to go to prison for the next 3 years over a half a joint..that's all that was in the car. What can I do?

The thing is, this is not your fight. You don't have the power to control what the lawyer does. Your husband is defendant and the client and will make the major decisions like whether to take a plea deal, etc. His lawyer decides the tactics that will be used. While it's hard to be on the sidelines watching everything unfold, it's really not a good idea for you to try to interject yourself into your husband's case.

And this is not just about possession of half a joint. It's about him driving while under the influence of a drug and already having 6 previous convictions for OWI. That past record no doubt will play a factor in his sentence should he be convicted. You probably won't like hearing this, but that kind of record suggests he really shouldn't be driving at all. He's a risk to himself and to others each time he gets behind the wheel high on weed or booze.

 

[stealth2]

Ditto TM's position regarding your husband and driving. I only hope that, if you have children, you never allow him to drive them anywhere.

 

[STEPHAN]

I would leave it to his attorney. He knows the area. If you do not trust him, get a different one.

Maybe you should focus on getting him help with his addiction. Currently, he should not be driving at all. He has not learned from his six previous convictions.

 

[FlyingRon]

A seventh OWI regardless of what you think of marijuana is the definition of a substance abuse problem. He knows it's against the law and will adversely affect his life when he is eventually caught, but he does it anyway.

He needs a lawyer for the criminal charge and professional drug treatment help.

 

[Mass_Shyster]

How many oui drugs trials have you conducted?
How many oui drugs trials has your husband's attorney conducted?
Who do you think is in a better position to plan a defense?

Personally, I would never put an expert on the stand to tell the jury my client smokes all the time.

 

[FlyingRon]

Personally, I would never put an expert on the stand to tell the jury my client smokes all the time.

Exactly, claiming tolerance doesn't mitigate the charge. First, he's still just as impaired and it's still just as illegal.
Second, tolerance is actually a BAD thing. Tolerance means he's more likely to be more severely intoxicated because he does more to compensate. It doesn't mean that he can drive safely while under the influence (unlike Johnny Fever in WKRP).

In fact, on a lot of things like various DOT medicals, an indication of tolerance is an absolute deal killer.

 

[Zigner]

He supposedly was speeding and the cop said after he arrested him he could smell marijuana coming from the car but he didn't even smoke it while he was driving he sat in a parking lot then was driving home.

You can't be that stupid ignorant. Do you really think that a daily weed smoker doesn't smell like weed? Do you really think that smoking in the freaking car a few minutes before means that it won't smell a few minutes later?

 

[Just Blue]

You can't be that stupid ignorant. Do you really think that a daily weed smoker doesn't smell like weed? Do you really think that smoking in the freaking car a few minutes before means that it won't smell a few minutes later?

She probably imbibes with her husband and can't smell it. Nose blind.


My ex smoked on occasion (never drove within 8 hours of smoking) and he couldn't believe how "strong" my sense of smell was...lol...I could smell it on him hours and hours later. I could walk into my apt (75 feet from my apt door) bldg and smell the weed when he was rolling a joint. The Blueberry Kush was particularly pungent.

 

[cbg]

Doesn't matter if you're talking about weed or tobacco. A non-smoker can smell it coming off a dedicated smoker even if the smoker stubbed out the last cigarette/joint they smoked three hours ago.

Lots of smokers don't realize that.

 

[quincy]

Here are links to the applicable laws:

https://wisconsindot.gov/Documents/safety/education/drunk-drv/owi-penchrt.pdf

https://norml.org/laws/wisconsin-penalties-2/

https://norml.org/laws/drugged-driving/wisconsin-drugged-driving/

Mlacroix 2010, with your husband’s criminal record, his attorney is going to have a difficult time enough working on a defense that will keep your husband out of jail (possibly for a long time) without outside interference.

I understand your desire to help. I agree with STEPHAN and FlyingRon that your husband needs professional help. Perhaps you can work on getting him that help and let your husband’s attorney do the work he is trained to do.

 

[zddoodah]

What can I do?

You cannot do anything because, as a legal matter, this has nothing to do with you, and your husband has a lawyer.

IMO your husband should never, ever be allowed behind the wheel of a motor vehicle again. He obviously doesn't get it.

A seventh OWI regardless of what you think of marijuana is the definition of a substance abuse problem. He knows it's against the law and will adversely affect his life when he is eventually caught, but he does it anyway.

It will also adversely affect the OP's life -- especially since Wisconsin is a community property state.