Texas residents might be interested in the following story. A woman apparently decided to have something to eat after consuming alcohol and anti-anxiety medication. This normally would not have attracted the attention of the police had the 34-year-old woman not decided to park her car at the local McDonald’s drive-thru after arguing with workers who refused to give her free food. Police charged the woman with driving while intoxicated based upon a chemical test showing her blood alcohol content to be above the legal limit for intoxication.
According to the police, the woman stopped at the McDonald’s drive-thru to complain about two Big Macs to replace ones she had eaten earlier. Although it was early morning and the restaurant was only serving breakfast, the female motorist demanded that employees give her complimentary Big Macs because she did not like the ones she ate. When told that only breakfast items were available, the woman was undeterred and demanded free breakfast sandwiches. Restaurant employees called the police after the woman refused to move her car and end her blockade of the drive-thru.
A DUI charge in Texas is an allegation that prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt before the accused person is subject to fines and other penalties. A criminal defense attorney might develop a DUI defense strategy challenging the accuracy of the chemical testing that resulted in the report of the motorist’s BAC level.
Issues such as the elapsed time between the police stopping the motorist and the chemical test, the calibration of the equipment used to perform the test and the training of the police officer or technician performing the test can lead to test results being excluded as evidence in the case. If this occurs, the charges against a motorist might be dismissed or reduced by the judge or the prosecutor.
Source: Huffington Post, “Kimberly Womack Blocks McDonalds Drive-thru, Demands Free Food“, David Moye, July 17, 2013