A friend of mine was set up for a dui by another resident and the police were sitting in front of his house waiting for him to come home. His ATV was parked in my drive which is only 3 driveways down. When he drove it into his drive the police turned on their lights and pulled him off his ATV and arrested him for DUI. Then they towed his ATV to the impound yard and they now want over $6,000 to get it back. They told him that his license could not be suspended because it was on private property, but suspended it anyway. He went to court and the judge rescinded his license as the states attorney and his lawyer did not catch the mistake. He has fired that attorney. I would like to know if the police towed his ATV illegally and if he can sue the state for the blow device and lost work wages?
I would advise your friend to keep his focus on defending himself against the pending charges. This means, first and foremost, hiring a new attorney that he is comfortable with.
In short -forget about suing and concentrate on defending.
Christopher I. Simser, Sr.
Anelli Xavier
Syracuse - Albany - Rochester - Buffalo
1-800-DWI-TEAM
Suing the state does not seem like it would be successful based on the facts you've described. If your friend is still facing DUI charges, he needs an attorney. Best of luck.
Jasen Nielsen
If he is legally intoxicated and is operating a motor vehicle, they can arrest him for DUI and ask him to provide a breath test. He can get a DUI on private property on an ATV. They can impound the ATV also. If he only operated the ATV on private property, they should not suspend his license though. If they have evidence he operated the ATV on the road (going from his house to yours), he can have his license suspended as well. Forget about suing the city. Concentrate on getting a reputable criminal defense attorney to handle the DUI.
