Recent Notable Victories
August: Success at five Driver’s License hearings so far this month alone (as of August 14th)! One involved an officer testifying that although our client was .07, which is under the legal limit, he would have been over had the Intox test taken place at the time he was pulled over two hours prior. Mr. Druyon was able to get the officer to admit that he never asked the driver any questions that would affect the alcohol absorption rate like how much the client had to eat, how much he had to drink, when he ate, when he drank, etc., to determine whether the alcohol could absorb faster or slower with this particular driver to determine whether the alcohol levels were rising or falling at the time of the driver getting pulled over. As such, Mr. Druyon asked the DLD hearing officer to totally disregard any testimony from the police officer about his “knowledge” of “reverse extrapolation” and the hearing officer agreed and took NO ACTION against the driver.
July 2015: Felony DUI case dismissed in Third District Court due to the State not having key witnesses for the prelim. Eighteen month suspension reduced to 120 days by appealing the Driver’s License Division’s original suspension.
June 2015 : Two separate felony assault cases dismissed due to prosecution not having key witnesses show for the preliminary hearing.
April 2015: Motion to dismiss granted on a DUI case due to inadequate chain of custody of the blood.
March 2015: 60% success rate on Driver’s License hearings for this month!!! (The norm is around 30%). Two requests for reconsideration at the Driver’s License Division granted after the video contradicted what the officer testified to at the original hearing.
January/February 2015: Week long trial in Third District Juvenile Court on a child abuse case. Ten experts testified. Six were retained by the Defense: an orthopedic surgeon, a pediatrician specializing in child abuse from Stanford, a world-renowned expert on bone disease, biomechanical engineer, and several others pediatricians with decades of expertise in child abuse. Although there were multiple fractures in the infant, the Court was convinced by our defense that the child had a metabolic bone disease and, therefore, was not the victim of child abuse. The Court ordered DCFS to return the infant immediately.
December 2014: Two separate felony DUI cases dismissed due to state not providing the exculpatory evidence we requested.
November 2014: Rape of a Child case dismissed in Salt Lake city after client took private polygraph and passed with flying colors. We used that private polygraph to convince the prosecutor that proceeding to trial would be an exercise in futility with the limited amount of evidence it had.
October 2014: Mr. Druyon was successful at convincing the court to permit his client to continue using the Internet for business purposes despite the State arguing against it since he was being charged with possession of child pornography and was self-employed as a software programmer and systems analyst for major international corporations. Mr. Druyon arranged to have his Client set up an office outside of his home where his employees could work and constantly supervise him and he provided proof to the court that he had installed pornography and social media filters on his computer. These steps convinced the court to permit a limited Internet access so Client’s business would not go down. Several families working for the Client’s company expressed appreciation to Mr. Druyon for his willingness to “think outside the box” to get this result so all these families would not suffer.
October 2014: Mr. Druyon convinces a Davis County judge from sending his Client to prison when the Client had been given numerous opportunities to complete various drug programs, including CATS, Odyssey House, Valley Mental Health at Davis, had absconded twice, and had completed minimal requirements under his existing probation. Mr. Druyon was able to find a private probation service that would supervise his Client, and helped his Client obtain employment and housing so the Court would give him that one last chance he needed to get back on his feet.
September 2014: Client fired his former Attorney then hired us to clean it up. We ended up filing a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, and got the case dismissed on the basis that the officers had improperly arrested him in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights under both the Utah and United States Constitutions that protect citizens from unreasonable searches and seizures.
August 2014: Mr. Druyon was successful at appealing a Driver’s License Division revocation hearing ruling suspending his Client’s license for 24 months.
August 2014: Mr. Druyon convinced the court to incarcerate his client to only 4 months of work release instead of 15 years of prison per count for his child pornography convictions. Client maintained his job that he had for 15 years and was very, very grateful for this result.
July 2014: Mr. Druyon had a trial set to go in West Jordan. Prior to trial Mr. Druyon interviewed numerous witnesses that said the police reports were inaccurate and their account of the story was different than what the police officers said the witnesses has said. Mr. Druyon discussed this with the prosecutor and the prosecutor was unwilling to dismiss the case at pretrial conference. At trial, the prosecutor, in a last ditch effort to get our client to plead guilty to something, tried to amend the charge to an infraction. Mr. Druyon thought his case was winnable and, after consulting with his client, decided to reject the offer and proceed to trial. The prosecutor went into the courtroom with his witnesses and told the judge that he was dismissing the case with prejudice due to insufficient evidence.
June 2014: Earlier today Mr. Druyon was instrumental in getting a felony rape investigation dismissed when he and his client met with law enforcement and explained his client’s side of the story. My Druyon asked a series of probing questions to the detective that, in the end, the detective admitted made the woman sound like she had “buyer’s remorse” of the date she and Mr. Druyon’s client had together after meeting on the Internet a few weeks previously.
May 2014: In May, Mr. Druyon was able to successfully get dismissed a felony child sex abuse case when he won a motion to suppress any and all statements made by the alleged victim on the grounds that the person that interviewed the minor child was not licensed and certified to conduct the interview and, as such, the interview was “contaminated”.
April 2014: In April, Mr. Druyon was able to get his client into a plea in abeyance on a felony drug prescription fraud matter, despite the fact that his client had doctor shopped from seven different doctors. Prosecutor initially wanted Mr. Druyon’s client to plead guilty to one count and he would dismiss the rest, with a recommendation of six months of jail. Mr. Druyon had his client get an assessment from a private drug counselor and therapist and came up with a recommendation for treatment that the court and prosecutor thought sounded reasonable. In the end Mr. Druyon’s client did not have to do any incarceration and if he successfully completed all of his treatment, the charges would be totally dismissed and off of his record.
April 2014: On another matter in April, Mr. Druyon’s client was facing a third DUI which carries with in a minimum mandatory jail term of at least 63 days. Mr. Druyon was able to successfully challenge the prior DUIs and won, reducing the current charge to a simple misdemeanor offense. Client was happy when he was permitted to do community service in lieu of any jail time.
February 2014: Mr. Druyon was invited to Brigham Young University’s J. Reuben Clark School of Law to judge their law student mock trial competition, which he was honored to attend and enjoyed the experience very much.
January 2014: Mr. Druyon tried an aggravated murder trial in Salt Lake City. Although he did not obtain an acquittal, several court staff members after told Mr. Druyon that they though it was one of the best trials they had seen an attorney conduct. Mr. Druyon was able to win several pretrial motions and have almost all his objections sustained by the trial judge.
January 2014: Mr. Druyon got a felony sex abuse of a minor case dismissed after persuading a judge that the court’s 15 year tradition of admitting the children’s justice center video of a minor child in lieu of actual testimony was a violation of his client’s constitutional right to subpoena and confront his accusor, a 17 year old minor, at a preliminary hearing. Because the state had no other proof, the case was dismissed.
January 2014: On yet another murder case, Mr. Druyon won several motions excluding key evidence the state hoped would enhance the offense.
December 2013: Mr. Druyon worked on the doctor McNeil murder trial. It was a nationally televised trial that lasted several weeks, and the first trial ever televised in the state of Utah. Although doctor McNeil was eventually found guilty by a jury, we were still able to win several motions excluding key evidence which were victories in and of themselves. It was seen on CNN, Nancy Grace on the H.L.N Network, Newsweek, Dateline, Dr. Phil, and other stations.
November 2013: He won a motion to suppress evidence on a d_u_i case that ultimately resulted in a dismissal.
October 2013: Mr. Druyon was able to get a federal drug conspiracy case dismissed due to the police officers mishandling of evidence and other exposed chain of custody issues.
September 2013: In a Clearfield matter, Client had a BAC of .24 and hit another car. At the Driver’s License Hearing the arresting officer said he was trained to perform the Intoxilyzer 8000. Upon cross examination, the arresting officer admitted he was not sure if he was currently certified or not. After the hearing, Attorney Druyon subpoenaed the police officer’s certifications and discovered that he was not certified as he testified he was at the Driver’s License Hearing. At the pretrial conference Mr. Druyon was able to convince the prosecutor to give his client an impaired driving instead of a DUI charge.
The prosecutor said that was the highest BAC he has ever had when agreeing to an impaired driving charge in practicing for over twelve years! Client was very happy.
April 2013: On a complex federal drug conspiracy case involving over 17 co-defendants, Mr. Druyon recently filed a Motion to Compel the Government to provide a detailed explanation as to why it dismissed three other federal drug conspiracy cases in December within a one week time period, after Mr. Druyon investigated and discovered that the same agents that were working on the dismissed cases were the evidence custodians on his client’s case. Despite the prosecutor’s vehement objections, the Court ruled in favor of Mr. Druyon’s motion. Further investigation revealed that there were also four other West Valley officers that were involved in his client’s case that were also involved in over 69 cases that have since been dismissed in West Valley due to a now disbanned West Valley narcotics unit that is now under investigation by the FBI for, among other things, illegally tampering with evidence, improperly documenting chain of custody of evidence, planting evidence, and using confiscated narcotics and contraband in violation of the law and police policy and the suspect’s constitutional rights. Mr. Druyon was able to get the federal drug charges and illegal possession of a firearm charge dismissed, avoiding up to twenty years of prison time for his client. That is a victory for the Utah and US Constitutions!!!! Cops should not and cannot step on the rights of the citizens!!!
April 2013: Mr. Druyon was successful in getting a Rape of a Child case dismissed in Davis County. After months and months of investigations, Mr. Druyon convinced the prosecutor that their evidence was weak, that there were numerous witnesses that would testify the alleged victim was fabricating the allegations to retaliate against her step-father, and that would also testify that the alleged victim has a reputation for untruthfulness and exaggeration.
April 2013: Mr. Druyon successfully suppressed evidence on a DUI case where the officer coerced the client into consenting to a search of his vehicle, which later revealed a pipe in the center console. Client avoided the six month driver’s license suspension and a class B misdemeanor charge on his record.
March 2013: After spending a considerable amount hours each week tracking a number of proposed bills that would adversely affect those charged with crimes ranging from Aggravated Murder to DUI, Mr. Druyon was successful at defeating a bill that passed the Senate unanimously: SB 152: a DUI bill that would have precluded any driver from receiving a plea in abeyance on a DUI for drugs. Previously the law had prohibited a plea in abeyance on any alcohol related DUI. The proposed law sought to eliminate a plea in abeyance on drug DUI cases as well. After spending several days lobbying senators and representatives, Mr. Druyon successfully persuaded legislators in the House to “circle” the bill and, ultimately, kill the bill. This is a MAJOR victory for those charged with DUI…it leaves open the possibility of “creative plea bargaining” in the right cases, where the state may not have the strongest case to proceed with trial, and where the Defendant may not want to run the risk of possibly losing at trial…this plea in abeyance option, even for an alcohol DUI driver that is willing to plead guilty to a DUI under the drug DUI section of the Utah Code, can keep a clean record and avoid jail time.
Mr. Druyon was also successful in persuading the legislature to not make a DUI a felony if $30,000 or more in medical damage was caused by a DUI driver (defeated HB 208); defeat SB 114 (would have permitted law enforcement to stop a vehicle if travelling on a highway over 45 mph for a seat belt violation as the primary, not a secondary, violation (which would have led to severe abuse and arbitrary, unproveable stops); modify SB 146 to permit home confinement instead of mandatory 63 days of incarceration for a third DUI; got passed HB 33 (granting power to Board of Pardons and Parole to order an expungement as part of the pardons process).
All in all, Mr. Druyon was successful at influencing the legislators in the 2013 session to make the system fairer for all citizens and to make the punishments appropriate for the given offense and offender, not just “knee-jerk” reactions to certain high profile cases.
February 2013:Aggravated Sex Abuse of a Child case dismissed this morning after a year and a half of litigation that started in district court, went to the court of appeals, went back down to the trial court, and finally was dismissed. We were on the verge of arguing our motion to be entitled to review the alleged victim’s counseling and therapy records to show she was retaliating against her step father for disciplining her when the prosecutor finally just decided to dismiss the entire case rather than argue the legal merits of the case! We also had found FaceBook posts of the alleged victim that undermined her credibility, causing the prosecutor to dismiss the entire case.
January 2013: Criminal mischief charges dismissed for client shooting fireworks at a neighbors house, causing hundreds of dollars of damage. Restitution payments negotiated with prosecutor and client avoids jail and a criminal record!
December 2012: Felony domestic violence case dismissed. Spousal immunity argument successful and prosecutor agrees to dismiss the case when alleged victim/spouse, tells prosecutor that the police reports were inaccurate as to what she told the police when they came out to respond to the 911 call. She exerted her right to spousal immunity and did not want to testify against her husband, our client, and without that key evidence, the state could not proceed to trial.
November 2012: DUI dismissed if defendant plead guilty to speeding. Prosecutor convinced that policeman did not have sufficient proof that client was DUI, notwithstanding a Breath Alcohol Content of .11, since there was no significant driving pattern, the cop didn’t use a radar gun, could not prove to driver, when asked, that radar picked up driver speeding, and the driver appeared to do well on all field sobriety tests according to the UHP video review.
October 2012: Sex Abuse of a Child case dismissed when alleged victim admits during an interview at the district attorney’s office that the defendant did not really touch her and that her mom suggested that he did when she reported she had a dream about her dad. The parents were going through a separation.
September 2012: DUI case dismissed due to lack of probable cause. The officer failed to demonstrate field sobriety tests and did not explain one of them fully to the driver, thereby undermining his claim that the clues of impairment were valid clues of impairment.
August 2012: Aggravated Sex Abuse of a Child charge dismissed due to our investigation that revealed that the child had fabricated the allegation in retaliation for our client, her step-dad, disciplining her for disobedience.
July 2012: Rape case dismissed due to our investigation of witnesses that provided testimony that the alleged victim was not a credible witness and had hidden the nature of the relationship between she and our client from the police.
June 2012: Two DUI cases result in dismissals due to insufficient probable cause. Prosecutor agrees to a Plea in Abeyance on the metabolite DUI, but stipulates to dismiss the charges for two different clients, if the client can stay out of trouble and not have any other offenses in a 12 month period. No jail, and no record! One Breath Alcohol was .12, the other was a .18!
May 2012: Court grants our motion to do an in camera review of alleged victim’s child psychology records on a child molestation case…records lead to exculpatory material that impeaches alleged victim by showing she has previously falsely accused others, showing she lacks credibility.
April 2012: DUI dismissed: we filed a motion to suppress based on the cop not having probable cause to stop and the court threw out the the Intoxilyzer evidence. State agrees to dismiss case because they now could not get into evidence the Breath Alcohol evidence of a.19 and the client had passed the field sobriety tests.
April 2012: Drug distribution charge dismissed after motion to suppress granted because officers held client and his passengers too long while they waited for the drug sniffing dog to arrive.
March, 2012: Recently Attorney Sean Druyon filed a Motion to Reduce charges from a felony to a misdemeanor for M.P., a client living in Ogden, so she could obtain a better paying job. The Client had already tried to reduce the charges about five years ago but the court denied her motion. She was not represented by counsel. Now, after five or so years, she hired Attorney Sean Druyon to ask the court to reduce the charges again and the county attorney objected on the grounds that she had already tried once and, therefore, she was precluded from ever asking again. The Court initially thought the prosecutor was correct, but Attorney Sean Druyon asked to brief the issue and provide the Court with any cases Attorney Sean Druyon could find that would allow a second review. The prosecutor told the judge that they have never seen a case reheard a second time and that if the judge permitted a second review it would open the floodgates of hundreds if not thousands of prior cases that have already been decided.
After several hours Attorney Sean Druyon was able to find persuasive case law that was directly on point. Attorney Sean Druyon briefed the issue and then set the matter for oral argument. At oral argument Attorney Sean Druyon was able to clearly present his client in the best light and argue why it was in the best interests of society to let Attorney Sean Druyon’s client have a second consideration and to reduce her felony to a misdemeanor. The court agreed, stating, “the interests of justice overwhelmingly support granting the motion. Defendant has rehabilitated herself, obtained an education, and started a family, and she and her family would be greatly benefited from the reduction in sentence.” Ruling, p. 2
This is another monumental case showing that an effective attorney can persuade reluctant prosecutors and judges, even when the law appears to be against that person.
February, 2012: Child pornography possession case dismissed due to no link between SHA values on client’s router and his computer hard drive.
February, 2012: Forcible Sex Abuse of a Child charges dismissed after alleged victim’s mental history revealed.
January, 2012: Felony DUI dismissed due to police officer not having probable cause to arrest.
January, 2012: Felony DUI reduced to a plea in abeyance metabolite drug DUI.
January, 2012: Felony Rape of a Child dismissed due to hiring private investigator who interviews alleged victim and she recants.
December, 2011: Felony domestic violence/assault charges dismissed completely.
November, 2011: Two DUI cases pled to metabolite DUI pleas held in abeyance, resulting in nothing on client’s record at all!
October, 2011: Felony Rape of a Child case: Supreme Court grants Defendant’s Motion for Funds to have government pay for his trial experts notwithstanding the trial court denying the same motion. Ground breaking case that will affect thousands of cases and level the playing field for defendants that need experts but don’t have the same financial resources as the government.
September 27, 2011: GROUND BREAKING CASE: STATE v. DAVIS (A SUPREME COURT CASE):
We represent Antony Davis in a Rape of a Child case. Mr. Davis was initially represented by the Legal Defender’s Association since he was “indigent”, meaning he did not have funds to hire a private attorney. Mr. Davis represents that he was pressured into accepting a plea of guilty for a crime he did not commit. He had asked his public defender to interview certain witnesses but his public defender did not interview those witnesses, instead reiterating that he should plead his case out. Mr. Davis maintained his innocence. His family and friends scraped together some funds and hired Sean Druyon to represent him. After reviewing the evidence on the case, Mr. Druyon Motioned the Court for the County to pay for Funds for a private investigator and for experts to counter the state’s investigation and expert. The trial court denied the motion. We appealed to the Supreme Court. The Utah Supreme Court granted our Motion for Funds for Experts and Private Investigators, overruling the trial court’s denial of that motion. The Supreme Court agreed with our position that a Defendant that has retained private counsel through friends or family resources, yet remains indigent, is still entitled to the necessary defense resources such as a private investigator or other experts in order to ensure a fair trial.
Prior to this decision, state and county prosecutors had an unfair advantage over defendants that sought to take their case to trial since the state had unmatched resources to hire investigators and experts, while often times the defendant did not have access to the same resources, making it virtually impossible to have a fair trial. The Supreme Court held that the Indigent Defense Act, as amended in 2001, did not overrule State v. Burns, a state Supreme Court case that held that requiring a defendant to accept the Legal Defender’s Association as a condition for also receiving necessary defense resources such as private investigators or experts was unconstitutional.
This is a groundbreaking case that will affect thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of defendants not only in the future, but possibly in the past as well, as many defendants that needed experts on prior cases may petition for post-conviction relief, asking the court to set aside either their plea or their conviction on the grounds they did not receive a fair trial. See the full opinion at: http://www.utcourts.gov/opinions/supopin/Davis4092711.pdf
