Ms. Ontivares had been at a friend’s house drinking and celebrating her new job. On her way home, she got into a wreck with another vehicle. She had been carrying what was left of a bottle of wine in the back passenger seat. Having previously been convicted of a DWI, Ms. Ontivares panicked and tried to dispose of the bottle in a public trash can near the scene of the accident. The driver of the other vehicle saw her, retrieved the bottle, and reported it to police. After administering field sobriety tests, the police arrested Ms. Ontivares and charged her with DWI 2nd with an open container. She voluntarily gave a sample of her blood, which revealed a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .16, twice the legal limit.

After just two Court appearances, Mr. Fahle demonstrated to the prosecution that the evidentiary problems with the blood sample the police had taken that night would make the blood test inadmissible. Without the blood test, the State would not be able to prove its case. The State moved to dismiss the case for insufficient evidence, and the Judge agreed.