I recently represented a 60 year old man in Worcester District Court who had 2 knee replacements and was taking medications for diabetes at the time he was stopped by a state police trooper. The trooper pulled my client’s vehicle over after he went through a red light. The trooper noticed my client was slurring his speech , smelled of liquor and had bloodshot and glassy eyes. The trooper had my client step from the vehicle and my client needed to support himself against the vehicle to stand. The trooper asked my client if he had any injury or condition that would prevent him from performing field sobriety tests. My client informed the trooper about his knee replacements and that he was on medication for diabetes. Nevertheless, the trooper proceeded with the field sobriety tests and my client consequently failed the tests and was arrested and criminally charged with operating a motor vehicle under the influence of liquor. My client’s medical records were reviewed by a medical expert, a nurse consultant, who explained to the court about the side effects of the medication he was taking. The side effects of these medications were dizziness, confusion and slurred speech. She also explained that my client could have been suffering from fluctuating blood sugar levels from his diabetic condition (hypoglycemia) which explained why my client appeared confused and dizzy. The court found my client not guilty for operating his motor vehicle under the influence of liquor because there were other possible causes of my client’s impairment besides liquor and the Commonwealth could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that liquor was the sole cause of my client’s impairment. Specifically, the medical conditions he suffered from and the side effects of the medications he was taking for them gave the Court a reasonable doubt about liquor being the sole cause of the impairment.
