I'm sorry I have not written earlier, but I wanted to express my gratitude to you and your staff for handling my case for me.  This was a very stressful and embarrassing situation for me and it was difficult to seek legal help to direct me through it.  I am very thankful that my good friend Jason Murray, recommended that I speak to you.

You not only treated me with dignity and respect, but with utmost professionalism.  For this I am extremely grateful to you and your staff.  The lawyer representing me in court (forgive me for not rembmering his name - I guess my nerves got the bet of me that day), presented himself in a professional and confident manner.  He walked me through each setop of appearing in court making the process less painful and stressful.

Again, Mr. Trezza, thank you so much for all your help and counsel.  You made a most difficult time in my life much easier to get through.  I would never hesitate to recommend you and your firm to anyone I nkow regarding any legal situations where aggressive and knowledgeable representation is needed.

I wish for you and your entire staff, a blessed, happy and healthy new year, filled with continued success.  Keep doing the good work you do.

Sincerely,

Jose "Joe" M.

Neil,

I just wanted to let you know that—thanks to your help and encouragement—after seven months of motions and hearings on the fst's, the RBT IV, and other issues, the AG's office finally offered Reckless Driving for my client.  And, the judge accepted the plea.  Given that my client failed the FST's (allegedly) and that the BAC was .167, this plea was the first ever of its nature to be offered and accepted here.

Now, thanks largely to your help on how to proceed in these matters, all of the lawyers are challenging the RBT IV and the procedures used here—I didn't get a chance to present expert testimony on the machine itself, but I did cross examine the testing cops who admitted that their training at RBT IV school mandates a confirmation test and a 15-20 minute deprivation period, yet despite that training they do not follow those procedures here (have NEVER done a confirmation test).  That combined with the RBT IV operations manual made for a good case to throw out these test results.  The judge wouldn't throw them out, stating that American Samoa has no regulations for testing, that federal regulations and regulations of other states don't apply and that he was going to follow the practice and procedure of the police here (no confirmation test and no wait period) as precedent.  Therefore, the judiciary here is under the impression that failure to follow test procedures goes to weight of evidence, not admissibility, and is not a violation of due process in the implied consent waiver form. 

Despite all of that, the arguments (largely from your office) convinced the judge to allow a plea to reckless.  My client would have lost his commercial drivers license for 5 years and his regular license for 2 years (it was his second DUI).  Now, he loses his license for 30 days and keeps his commercial license.

So, thanks again!

Regards,

Sharron (Attorney from American Samoa)

Thanks Neil for all your support and representation.  Know I couldn't have done it without you.  Consider this your hug because I forgot.

Take care—

Carol