COLUMBUS, Kan. — Cherokee County Magistrate Judge Bill Lyerla has dismissed a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol against a Picher, Okla., man.
The charge against Charles Ortberg, age unavailable, alleged that he was driving under the influence on Sept. 29, 2007, after two previous convictions on the charge. Charges of driving with a suspended license and refusing a breath-screening test also were dismissed.
Lyerla ruled that Ortberg was held unlawfully by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Department by being denied the opportunity to post bond for six hours. He wrote that the Kansas Supreme Court had ruled in 2001 that the practice violated the state constitution. Several DUI cases in Cherokee County have been dismissed recently for the same reason.
