The Connecticut DUI Trial Handbook

Get the tools you need to win your DUI defense case before you ever step foot in the courtroom. This handbook will walk you through DUI defense in Connecticut. Provided for your convenience are references to important cases, explanations of what the prosecutor can and cannot say, explanations of what the defense can and cannot say, details concerning the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, and more. Prepare for trial to the best of your ability with this informative handbook.

Attorney Ruane started his career as a public defender in Bridgeport, Connecticut. In early 2000, he joined his father, who was then a partner in the Bridgeport firm of Gaston & Ruane, to devote himself full time to the aggressive defense of drunk driving charges. The two opened Ruane Attorneys. Since then, Ruane Attorneys has grown to be the largest criminal defense firm in the state of Connecticut.
 
Since beginning Ruane Attorneys, Attorney Jay has gone on to lecture law students, other attorneys, and judges on the intricacies of DUI defense. He devotes a minimum of 40 hours yearly to continuing DUI defense education, and in November 2001 completed the rigorous NHTSA Standardized Field Sobriety Testing course of study. He has argued or briefed many of the seminal DUI cases to Connecticut's Appeal's courts, including State v. Pjura, State v. Kelley, State v. Pilotti, and State v. Hood. Jay is the Connecticut State Delegate to the National College of DUI Defense, and members of several lawyer organizations, including the DUI Defense Lawyer's Association (DUIDLA) and the Connecticut Criminal Defense Lawyer's Association (CCDLA).


Attorney Jim Ruane has been in practice in Connecticut since 1979. He also began his career as a public defender. An accomplished trial lawyer, Attorney James J. Ruane has achieved certification as a criminal trial specialist by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. Throughout his career, he has liti- gated the issues of DUI Defense, taking the seminal case of State v. Lamme to the Connecticut Supreme Court. In that case, the Court set forth the rule that police officers could testify to their lay observances of the defendant at the time of the person's arrest. Since that, he has con- tinued to try many serious felony and capital murder cases, while also developing a passion for the defense serious motor vehicle crimes which include alcohol and the injury or death of victims.