RESULTS-Note each case depends on the facts of that case. Results vary.  Do not assume similar results can be obtained.

Young woman charged with possession of marijuana and possession of mushrooms. Police alleged that client admitted all drugs in a car with three people belonged to her. Drugs were found in trunk and under driver's seat and client was sitting in front passenger seat. Case proceeded to trial. The day after jury selection, and before opening statements, Attorney Griessmeyer argued the alleged confession should be supressed based on no miranda warnings. After hearing evidence from the arresting officer and listening to arguments by the prosecutor and Attorney Griessmeyer, the Judge supressed all statements made by the defendant. A few seconds later, the prosecutor dismissed all charges. Jury was sent home.

Young Army Veteran who served two tours in Iraq was riding his motorcycle home with his wife on the back. A police officer observed him speeding and turned around to pull him over. The motorcycle increased speed to over 100 mph and went through several red lights at high speeds. The police officer videotaped the roughly 2 mile alleged chase. The man was charged with felony fleeing/eluding an officer and felony reckless endangerment second degree. Attorney Griessmeyer provided extensive defense, including a PTSD defense very early on in the case. After many motions including a motion to dismiss based on the officer's written report (initially witheld from the defense) that the saftey of everybody involved was not in jeopardy, the prosecution agreed to amend the two felony charges to one count of misdemeanor obstructing an officer. This decreased the young veteran's maximum exposure from 13.5 years prison to 9 months jail. After an argued sentencing hearing, the court sentenced him to one year probation, 20 days jail/ electronic monitoring, 6 month loss of license, 40 hours community service, and a $100 fine+costs. The misdemeanor conviction will be expunged upon successful completion of one year of probation. Attorney Griessmeyer was also able to get the city prosecutor (who initially said he did not feel sorry for the young man) to waive the fine and costs on the related unreasonable and imprudent speed ticket after informing him about PTSD causation to the charge.

Young man charged with theft and receiving stolen property after the purchase of a t.v. in a back yard.  Both charges were dismissed outright less than a week before the scheduled jury trial. 

Young woman charged with deviation from lane and OWI after Madison Police Officer alleged she swerved on the beltline in Madison. PBT .09 breath test .06. Lane deviation ticket was dismissed and OWI amended to reckless driving with proof of assessment-likely saving the woman thousands of dollars in fines and insurance.

Attorney Griessmeyer represented a young man at his DMV hearing regarding an administrative suspension for OWI charges. The arresting officer was subpoeaned at a gun club and called to say he would not appear because he had scheduled training. The DMV dismissed the administrative suspension action (which is separate from a criminal case in the courts).

Madison business owner charged with criminal disorderly conduct after an altercation at home with her husband. After deciding to meet with a marriage counselor to strengthen the marriage and prevent future arguments, D.A. agreed to amend the charge to a civil forfeiture fine only, not a crime.

Woman charged with OWI. Attorney Griessmeyer scheduled an in person DMV hearing to contest the allegations and subpoenaed the arresting officer. The officer failed to appear and as a result the DMV never administratively suspended the woman's license although the license was eventually revoked upon conviction.

Young man admitted guilt to second offense OWI in Sauk County. Through interactions with the Court and Milwaukee Sheriffs, Attorney Griessmeyer was able to get the young man transferred to Milwaukee where he served electronic monitoring in his home town. This allowed him to work and support himself and pay off fines. Young man charged with first offense OWI with a pac over .15. Prosecutor agreed to stipulate that the bac at the time of driving was under .15 based upon the facts. This likely prevented driver from having to install IID at a cost of about $1000 per year.

Co-Counsel-Felony Jury Trial (with Richard Duquette)-February 2009 San Diego North County.  24 year old Marine Client was driving with his friend down the highway and was rear-ended causing an accident.  Client suffered broken wrist and passenger in other car suffered severe head laceration and lost vision in her eye.  Client had .14 b.a.c. 1 hour 45 mins after the accident.  Client was charged with two felony counts of DUI causing injury and two misdemeanor counts of DUI.  After 9 days in trial, Client was acquitted of all charges except one count of misdemeanor driving with .08 or higher.  Sentenced to 80 hours volunteer work-no jail, no restitution. (At the time of accident, client was exposed to up to 9 years prison) The jury said they did not believe the client caused the accident (as was alleged by the D.A. and the alleged victims).  The jury also said they did not feel the prosecution proved that the client was under the influence-only that he was over a .08**The client and his passenger told the officers they were rear ended just after the accident.  The alleged victims changed their story at least three times.

Operation, "Sudden Fall" "the largest drug bust in San Diego County history, and one of "the largest college drug busts in U.S. history." Client had 1000+pills of Ecstasy and was represented by Richard Duquette and assisted by Clayton Griessmeyer. Client sentenced to a reduce-able felony (to a misdemeanor) and 0 days jail time

Kept an innocent father of two out of jail when charged with 2 pounds of meth (case was later dismissed). Judge Nash in Los Angeles County Superior Court had this to say to the family of the defendant, "Your son is going home today because he has a super lawyer." (The other two co-defendants went to jail on a prosecution bail motion). Attorney Griessmeyer made three appearances that day to keep his innocent client out of jail

Helped a medical doctor keep his medical license after being convicted of a crime

Reduced bail from over $100,000 to $30,000,- after working past midnight the night before meeting with client in jail and writing a bail reduction motion Saved a client over $1,900 by getting a fine to run concurrent with custody (When he granted this, the Judge commented that Attorney Griessmeyer had done an excellent job handling the case)

Driver charged with OWI/DUI after police saw him drive through a flashing red light at approximately 2:15 a.m. Although he blew a .09 on the PBT, the video showed superior performance on field sobriety tests and his breath test was recorded as .07. The video also contradicted the written police report wherein the arresting officer indicated he instructed the defendant to turn left and not right. The state refused to amend at the pre-trial and final pre-trial. Shortly before the scheduled jury trial, the State agreed to an amendment from OWI/DUI to reckless driving, and to dismiss the red light ticket with an alcohol assessment. Result, red light ticket was dismissed and OWI/DUI was amended to reckless driving with a total fine of $200+court costs. This result saved the driver several thousand dollars in fines and insurance premiums. Driver has no conviction for OWI/DUI.

Woman was charged with felony theft from a business setting in the amount of about $44,000. She wisely hired Attorney Griessmeyer in combination with California Co-Counsel as soon as the police contacted her. She paid back a large portion of the money before her first court appearance. Because of the hard work by her attorneys and her taking responsibility for the crime, she was able to avoid extraditition, avoid arrest, and avoid jail for even one day. She also only had to make one court appearance. She was sentenced to four years probation with no objection to transfer of the probation to another state.

Young man and his mother were threatened on an elevator by a person who frequented their building. Attorney Griessmeyer was able to get a four year restraining order against the person who made the death threats and also able to get the court to order surrender of all firearms to the Sheriff.

Mortgage broker and recent grandfather from Illinois was arrested for DUI while in Wisconsin. Illinois law allows for deferred prosecutions on first offense and sometimes second offense DUI and therefore they are often not counted as convictions. Wisconsin first offense owi is counted as a conviction in Illinois so Illinois drivers who get a first offense owi in Wisconsin can lose their Illinois license for up to life. Attorney Griessmeyer was able to get a plea to refusal with a dismissal of the owi charge. This saved the client over $800 and also prevented him from potentially losing his Illinois license for life. He lost his Wisconsin license for 12 months based on the refusal.

19 year old girl and future nurse charged with obstructing an officer for lying and saying she was driving a car that crashed when she really wasn't even in the car. She plead guilty to the charge and her lawyer never requested expungment. About five years later she contacted Attorney Griessmeyer who petitioned the court for expungment. The Judge noted that it should have been addressed at the original sentencing but said that based on the information presented in Attorney Griessmeyer's motion, he would go out on a limb and grant the expungment. The prosecutor opposed the expungment and argued that the law does not allow it unless it is requested at the time of sentencing. Now she is able to get a nursing license and help other people.

Man was on parole and was revoked and had a reconfinement hearing. At the reconfinement, he was sentenced to nearly the maximum amount of time available. After the man was reconfined, Attorney Griessmeyer was appointed as appellate counsel. Attorney Griessmeyer met with the man in prison, and closely examined all the evidence in the case and filed a motion for postconviction relief on behalf of the man. At the evidentiary hearing in court, the district attorney stipulated to inaccurate information at the reconfinement hearing but objected to a new sentencing hearing. The judge disagreed and granted Attorney Griessmeyer's motion for a re-sentencing of the man.

Young woman arrested and charged with theft of movable property, theft from a business setting, and retail theft. She was cooperative with the police from the beginning. The victims in the case inflated the restitution amount by over $20,000. The young woman, represented by Attorney Clayton Griessmeyer, contested the restitution amount and proposed order, and asked the court for a restitution hearing. At court on the day of the restitution hearing, the victim agreed to reduce the claimed restitution amount by over $20,000.

Man was involved in argument with a family member, arrested, taken to jail, and charged with misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor attempt battery, and disorderly conduct. Result: Man pled no-contest to disorderly conduct and agreed to attend anger managment class out of state. The prosecution dismissed the battery and attempt battery charges and agreed to a deferred prosecution on the disorderly conduct charge. Upon successful completion of anger managment class, prosecution agreed to move the Court to order dismissal with prejudice of the disorderly conduct. Green County- Monroe, Wisconsin.

Man was driving home late at night and fell asleep at the wheel hitting a parked car which collided with another parked car and then he allegedly drove onto a lawn and hit a third car. In a state of shock, he went home and went to bed leaving his bumper and license plate at the scene. Charged with three separate counts (citations) for hit and run, one citation for failure to report an accident, one citation for inattentive driving, and one for failure to maintain control. Client had a Commercial Driver's License and was facing lifetime loss of the CDL based on the hit and run charges and potential loss of license from the failure to report charge. This would have meant loss of high paying successful job and problably loss of house due to no job. Result: All hit and runs and failure to report either dismissed or amended. Stipulated to a total of 11 points based on amended charges. No loss of license for even one day!

Dane County Man charged with battery and disorderly conduct. While his case was pending, he picked up additional charges of disorderly conduct and intimidation of a victim on a new case. Prosecution also suggested they could amend to add on bail jumping. Result: Battery dismissed, second disorderly conduct dismissed, intimidation of a victim dismissed, no bail jumping charge was brought. Client pled no contest to original disorderly conduct. Prosecutor requested 45 days jail based on alleged injuries. Client was sentenced to 10 days jail with no opposition to work release, electronic monitoring, or release for child care. Dane County

Young man charged with battery, disorderly, and trespass after arriving home and being challenged to a fight by upstairs neighbors. Result: battery dismissed, trespass dismissed, disorderly conduct-pled guilty, deferred prosecution/ first offender program-dismissal upon completion of first offender program.

Dane County Single father charged with contempt and facing potential jail time when ex-wife brought two separate contempt motions alleging he was willfully failing to pay her money. Result: No finding of contempt in either hearing, no jail time imposed.

Dane County Man charged with obstructing justice after trying to obtain loan. Could have been charged with, or amended to felony forgery. Result: Misdemeanor obstruction charge amended to civil forfeiture (fine only) and not a crime. Dane County

Young man charged with felony possession with intent-cocaine 5 to 15 grams.  He admitted guilt to the police during a video interview. After receiving an offer from the State to plead guilty with a reccomendation of 6 months jail, the man fired his first lawyer and hired Attorney Griessmeyer.  The prosecutor indicated he would not make any different offers than he already made.  The young man elected to have an "argued sentencing" and leave the sentence up to the judge.  Attorney Griessmeyer reccomended probation and no jail while the prosecutor reccommended 3 months jail regardless of any treatment programs.  The judge imposed 3 years probation with 3 months jail, but stayed the jail pending successful admission into and completion of a treatment alternative program.  

Young woman charged with felony possession with intent mushrooms, felony maintaining a drug trafficking place, misdemeanor possession of ecstacy, and felony manufacture/deliver mushrooms.  The young woman was sentenced to drug court. All three felony convictions were eventually dimissed and her only conviction is for misdemeanor ecstasy possession. 

Young man charged with felony possession of THC/marijuana.  The charge was amended to misdemeanor and the man was sentenced to 15 days jail with release for Huber/work, child care, and with good time.

Young woman charged with felony forgery.  She admitted guilt and was sentenced to first offender program.  If she is sucessful in the program she will not have any conviction on her record and not have to serve any jail time or probation. 

Decorated former Marine who served two tours in Iraq and came back with PTSD.  Charged with battery and disorderly conduct.  Plead guilty to both charges and was sentenced to Veteran's Court in Rock County.  If successful at Veteran's Court, both charges will be dismissed and Marine will have no record and will serve no jail or probation. 

Young man charged with disorderly conduct after altercation with an agressive driver.  He was already convicted when he hired attorney Griessmeyer to represent him regarding sentencing.  Attorney Griessmeyer was able to get an agreement to expungment of the crime with proof of community service work for the red cross and payment of a fine.  Instead of getting jail or probation, the young man was able to help out his community and in return, he does not have a record that will prevent him from getting a job. 

Mother of two charged with three (3) counts of theft from a business setting.  Because she was able to get help with gambling and other issues in life and pay back a significant amount of money before any plea, two felonies were amended to misdemeanors, she plead guilty to one count of felony theft but the charge was held open/deferred.  If she is successful on 24 months of probation, the felony charge will be dismissed and she will have never been convicted of a felony. 

Note: Every case depends on the specific factual and legal circumstances of that case.  Do not assume similar verdicts or outcomes can be obtained. 

TESTIMONIALS

"Attorney Griessmeyer, I'm writing to say thank you from my heart. Out of all the years I've been in this system I've never had an attorney fight for me like you have, and I've been in this system a very long time.  This is a real wake up call for me.  To see you fight for me, you just don't know how it touched me.  Attorney Griessmeyer you're a damn good attorney, I mean that even if we would have lost, just how hard you worked and the contact we kept makes it worth while...I want to say thank you very much and you are the "man" and you have a very promising career ahead of you!!!" B.H.

"Thank you again for all you wonderful work!  I was not quite sure how to express my deep gratitude for the many ways in which you have been helpful through this whole thing.  I have been very appreciative of both your competence and skill, as well as the compassion continually extended.  I would not have been able to bear the complexity of the legal/ insurance system without your help.  While I hope to never have the need, I will most certainly recommend your services with confidence. Hope we cross paths from time to time and most hopefully in gentler circumstances. Thanks for your advocacy for making the roads safer. Wishing you continued success!" K.S.

"Thank you a lot for this! if I ever know someone who needs a good lawyer I will definately reccomend you."

"You are the man"  K.B. "

"Again, thank you for all the help I am more than satisfied with the results. If in the future, I or anyone I know need legal assistance I will refer you with the the highest regard." A.S.

"Thank you for helping me out for free.  I felt like I was going to have a nervous breakdown trying to handle things on my own."  M.G.

"You are different from other lawyers.  You actually listen and care what I have to say." J.B.

"Thanks for getting my money back and not charging me for your help; you did a great job." M.B.

"Thanks for all your hard work, I really appreciate it." T.N.

"Good work, you're all right."  R.D.

"That's what I'm talking about"  K.D.

"Thank you so much for the help that you were throughout this situation.  I greatly appreciate it and would contact you again in the future." C.G.

"You know the law, and I trust your advice for my case and will follow it."  W.W.

"You did a great job on this and have really made a difference for the future."  [stated by a lawyer for the opposition]. 

"Your son is going home today because he has a super lawyer."  [stated to family of client by Judge Nash in Los Angeles County Court when client was charged with two pounds of meth.

"If I ever get in trouble, I want you for my lawyer."  AJ

PRESS

Go ahead, hit a bicyclist Bill Lueders on Thursday 06/10/2010  After getting hit by a car and then ticketed, Day Host-Jablonski put flags on her bike indicating the mandatory three-foot clearance. A couple years back, Isthmus wrote about how Madison resident Linda Willsey was ticketed by police after getting "doored" by a car in downtown Madison ("Cops Ticket Biker Hit by Car Door," 8/14/08). That story helped prompt passage of a new state law requiring drivers to look before thrusting open their doors. In late April, one of Willsey's fellow employees at Community Pharmacy had a similar experience. Day Host-Jablonski was hit by the mirror of a car as it passed too close to her on South Paterson Street just past East Washington Avenue. She was not injured, and the mirror (thank goodness) was not harmed. By Host-Jablonski's account, she had words with the driver, who afterward "followed me for a while revving her engine." She jotted down the car's license plate number, which she reported to a parking enforcement officer. Officer Shawn Kelly responded, and spoke to both Host-Jablonski and the driver. (The driver, according to his report, explained that scratched paint on her mirror was "old damage.") That night, Kelly issued a $63.60 citation — to Host-Jablonski! The violation description on Host-Jablonski's ticket reads, "Bike rules — riding single file only." But the cited ordinance refers back to a state statute that says bicyclists "may ride two abreast if such operation does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of traffic." Art Ross, the city's bicycle-pedestrian safety coordinator, says it all "depends on how the statute is interpreted." He cites an analysis that suggests riding two abreast is usually legal. Indeed, "There are situations where one could argue it's safer to ride two abreast." Even if it were illegal to ride two abreast, Host-Jablonski denies doing so. She says she was riding behind and a little to the left of another bicyclist: "I was by no means abreast of her." But Officer Kelly's report says Host-Jablonski, asked to diagram her position, placed an X to the left of the other bike, indicating she was in the roadway. But while the legality of Host-Jablonski's conduct seems open to interpretation, the driver's does not. State Statute 346.075 clearly states that drivers must give bicycles at least three feet of clearance when passing. Officer Kelly did not respond to an email contact, but Madison Police spokesman Joel DeSpain says police, on review, "did not find the driver culpable and she was not cited." "Clayton Griessmeyer, a Verona-based attorney who does pro bono work for local bicycle groups, has agreed to represent Host-Jablonski in contesting her citation and hopes the case will help clarify such situations. "A lot of drivers in Wisconsin don't even know the law" about bicycle clearance, he says, noting that this is a subject on which he hears frequent complaints. And this case suggests "some police don't know the law either," or else choose not to enforce it."  (Attorney Griessmeyer won this case at trial.) Story is from the Madison Isthmus 6-10-2010

After Day Host-Jablonski was struck by a car in April, she called the cops. The officer investigated the situation, then, to Host-Jablonski's surprise, handed her a ticket. She fought the ticket, and about a month ago won her case. Host-Jablonski, 32, says she feels that at least a little bit of justice was done. But while her ticket was dismissed, the driver got away with breaking the law. "It felt like they were taking someone else's word over mine," she says of the police department. On April 26 Host-Jablonski was biking home from work on Paterson Street on Madison's east side. She stopped at the stoplight at East Washington Avenue, and when it turned green she crossed the busy intersection. She was behind another other biker, riding a couple of feet to the left. "I was trying to stay close to her so we would be sort of one visible unit," she says. "And then I made sure that I was a little staggered to her left so that if she stumbled for any reason she wouldn't be right in front of me and we wouldn't have an accident." But as Host-Jablonski crossed the 62-foot intersection, a 44-year-old Madison woman drove up behind and honked her horn. The driver then followed Host-Jablonski as she continued south on Paterson, the other biker still ahead of her. That's when the driver passed her, hitting her on the wrist with the passenger-side mirror. According to Host-Jablonski, the driver pulled over and said, "Bikes shouldn't be in traffic." Host-Jablonski replied, "Bikes are traffic." Host-Jablonski, who wasn't seriously hurt, rode off, then later called the cops. Officer Shawn Kelly investigated the case and determined that Host-Jablonski was illegally riding two abreast. Her attorney, bike injury lawyer Clayton Griessmeyer, contended that the driver should have gotten the ticket for not giving Host-Jablonski 3 feet of clearance before passing, which is required by state law. Neither Kelly nor the driver responded to messages seeking comment. It didn't hurt Host-Jablonski's case that the city attorney's office forgot to subpoena the driver. "I had to proceed with just the defendant as a witness, and as you might imagine that didn't go very well," says Lana Mades, the assistant city attorney prosecuting the case. After hearing testimony from Host-Jablonski, Municipal Judge Daniel Koval threw the case out. Griessmeyer says he's not even sure Kelly, the officer, or for that matter many other Madison cops, are aware of the 3-foot law. "At least now they know it exists," Griessmeyer says. Capital Times-October 5, 2010, by Steve Elbow.

"Clayton Griessmeyer, a competitive cyclist, and Verona attorney who specializes in bicycle injury law, says: “Some people who ride their bicycles take advantage of the position they’re in and do things they shouldn’t do and upset drivers and create problems. From my point of view, it’s more prevalent in terms of drivers creating problems for cyclists. But I do recognize that it goes both ways.” Griessmeyer says hostility toward bicyclists occurs more often than most people would ever imagine. “I run into a lot of people who want to know what rights they have against someone who threw something or spit on them, or reached out and slapped them on the back of the head from a window,” he says. “Things like that. It’s unbelievable how often it happens.”"   From the Capital Times July 28, 2010 BY Steve Elbow.

"My kudos to Madison-area lawyer Clayton Griessmeyer who added the detail of Armstrong's bike: a Trek District." From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel blog Off the Couch authored by Tom Held August 30, 2010.

"But those that do tend to “involve drivers who never see the bicyclist,” said Clay Griessmeyer, an attorney in Madison who specializes in representing cyclists. “A lot of drivers are only looking for large car-size objects and do things like roll through right turns, fail to stop when leaving a driveway or turn left in front of bikers going straight.” Griessmeyer said distracted driving is a serious problem. “A huge number of people talk on phones, text, check GPS and e-mail behind the wheel,” he said. A state law against texting while driving will go into effect December 1. Drivers also need to be made aware they are required to maintain a minimum of three feet of space between them and a bicyclist when passing, Griessmeyer said. He said close calls happen all too frequently, especially in congested areas." From Silent Sports Magazine, Justice Delayed, by Mike McFadzen

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