May I move to refresh my drink, your honor?

After a lawyer due to defend a man against a kidnapping charge showed up to court late and smelling of booze, a Clark County District Court judge ordered the attorney to take a Breathalyzer test in open court, then declared a mistrial when the test confirmed her suspicions.

In a remarkable exchange captured by the courtroom’s video camera, District Judge Michelle Leavitt ordered defense attorney Joseph Caramagno to submit to the test after she smelled alcohol on his breath.
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The result indicated that Caramagno’s blood-alcohol level was 0.075. In Nevada, it is illegal to drive with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or higher.

After seeing the test results, Leavitt declared a mistrial in the kidnapping trial of Caramagno’s client, Dale Jakuchunas.

“Mr. Jakuchunas is facing a life sentence, so if you came to court intoxicated, you’ve got a problem,” Leavitt told Caramagno.

“I don’t think you can tell a straight story because you are intoxicated,” Leavitt said.

Caramagno, in an interview Monday, denied being drunk. He said he was in a car accident on the way to court and suffered a concussion, causing him to appear intoxicated when he was not. He said police were not called to the fender bender, so there was no record of it.

“I wasn’t drunk,” he said. “I was ready to go forward.”

“I’ve always considered myself the consummate professional,” he said. “I take all my cases very personally.”

Caramagno is well known in Las Vegas legal circles because he was one of the lawyers who helped secure the acquittal of Rick Tabish on a murder charge two years ago. Tabish and his lover, Sandy Murphy, were acquitted of charges of killing Las Vegas gaming mogul Ted Binion. They were convicted, however, of charges stemming from the theft of Binion’s silver.

On Thursday, Caramagno was scheduled to appear in Leavitt’s courtroom for the first day of witness testimony in the trial of Jakuchunas.

Caramagno arrived about 90 minutes late in the company of a young woman wearing a black halter top and tight pants.