Acknowledgements

• Pages: 10-10
• Author: Jonathan Dichter

Innovative DUI Trial Tools F-8

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The previous version of this book was updated amidst the aftermath of the global pandemic of the early

2020s. This new version comes in the midst of yet another unprecedented time in our World. We and our practice

area have changed forever - and the changes are coming faster and faster as technology and articial intelligence

integrate themselves into every area of our lives and practices. This has to be acknowledged up front. Next, I’m

supposed to talk about the people who’ve helped me make this happen and inspired me along the way personally

and professionally. It’s impossible to mention every single person whose inuence and support helped create the

perfect storm that allows me to share these strategies with you. But, since doing the impossible is what we do

every day in defending drunk drivers, let’s give it a shot. First, I have to thank my mother and father. Neither of

them were lawyers. Both of them were movie and theatre lovers. They created the landscape I grew up in and

showed me how powerful the stories told by strangers can be. They sat with me as I cried when E.T. was ghting

for his life, cheered when Inigo Montoya nally achieved his revenge, and found strength with me when Lt. Dan

Caey nally got Colonel Nathan R. Jessup to admit he ordered the code red. I reference movies and media a lot.

You have been warned.

My rst supervisor as a legal intern, David Kirshenbaum, told me on my rst day on the job: “All of us possess

two characteristics in common—fragile egos and long memories. Remember that.” I always have. Thanks Dave.

When I became a lawyer, I worked as a public defender for James Schlotzhauer. At our rst holiday dinner

in 2003, he had just seen me try one of my rst cases for his oce. He gave me a small handwritten slip of paper

that to this day, wrinkled and battered, I still keep in my wallet. “Jonathan—Stay focused and motivated and you’ll

be unstoppable.”

In 2009, I opened my own rm, and my DUI defense took a quantum leap forward through the guidance

of two men: Mark Garka, an attorney who would also become my landlord and dear friend, and Thomas Missel

who we unfortunately lost in 2024—a private DUI investigator who showed me just how powerful knowing a

NHTSA manual can be. Speaking of NHTSA, the next quantum leap came when I nally met and was taught by

the incomparable Bob LaPier, who taught me SFSTs so thoroughly that I’ve taken three more courses from him

and would never study under anyone else.

I’ll specically mention the inspiration and wisdom I’ve learned through the years from some select mentors

like: Diego Vargas, Bill Kirk, Jon Fox, Francisco Duarte, George Bianchi, Mark Mestel, Anna Alexander, Andrew

Mishlove, Joshua Karton, Virginia Landry, Joseph St. Louis, and James Nesci to name just a few. I would be

remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing amount of inspiration and ideas I’ve gotten from getting to know Patrick

Barone, whose technology newsletters and substack have informed a large portion of what I’ve been researching

and learning lately.

I’ve adapted countless arguments and examples and scripts from these giants over the years to battle for my

clients. In fact, there are literally hundreds of lawyers who I’ve known over nearly 20 years in practice who I’ve

learned from, chatted with, argued about, blissfully stolen content from, and more. There’s no way to name, or

indeed even remember them all. As often as possible, if I’m able to do so, I’ll give credit to who I can—but even

then, I can’t promise I’m not just naming the person I stole an idea from and not the person who originally thought

of it. That being said—these ideas and strategies are now fully yours for the stealing—so I’ll just pay it forward

by writing this book.

Finally—I have to recognize my families. Yes, I said families. First, the DUIHeroes family—my managing

attorney Rachel, whose never-ending dedication to the rm and its excellence has helped this rm evolve further

and faster than ever expected; Kaia, our senior associate, who is one of the most tenacious defense attorneys I’ve

ever met; Chris, who I knew rst as a performance colleague, then a friend, and now an associate attorney, who

with his experience of over a decade at the King County prosecutor’s oce, brings a perspective to our serious

felony cases that is unmatched; Lexi, my law clerk, who as of this writing is only two months away from being

able to hold a limited license and practice in courts of limited jurisdiction; and Alexis, our dedicated legal assistant.

Secondly, and more importantly, my wife (and our Director of Operations) Alexandra and our daugh- ter

Elizabeth—my home, heart, and soul. I can’t say the right things, so I’ll just say thank you both for existing.

Lastly, our two oce pooches, Nahla and Bernie, both of whom are lying down on my feet as I type these words.