Case that had 50 continuances finally goes before a judge

A case that has had 50 continuances filed in it, and that dates back to 2012, finally got before a judge on Monday in Carbon County court. For the defendant, the wait was well worth it.

Cyndi Dopsovic, 54, of Palmerton, appeared before Judge Steven R. Serfass to plead guilty, but only to summary offenses. She was originally charged with two counts of driving under the influence, and one count each of possession of drug paraphernalia, possession of a small amount of marijuana and three motor vehicle code summary offenses. She was arrested on July 28, 2012, by state police at Lehighton along White Street in Bowmanstown. A test revealed the presence of a controlled substance.

The case finally made it into the county system in 2013, and from that point on the continuances flowed like a river. Over 10 trial dates were set and continued. There was a change of defense attorneys. Numerous motions were filed by her defense counsel, including omnibus pretrial and suppression motions. Then a move to have the charges dismissed based on a United States Supreme Court decision called Birchfield, in which the high court ruled that an arresting police agency must obtain a search warrant for any blood test given a defendant in a DUI case. At one point she entered into a stipulation to plead guilty in June 2013, but later withdrew from that agreement before it was heard by a judge.

But through all that the wait benefited Dopsovic. On Monday she pleaded to the three summary motor vehicle code violations of obedience to traffic-control devices, careless driving and failure to use safety belt - driver and front seat occupant. The two DUI and drug counts were dropped in a plea agreement with the district attorney’s office.

Serfass imposed fines total $185 and costs of about $1,000.