Criminal Law

Reactions to the Fed?s New .05% Limit

Posted on May 16, 2013
A couple of days ago I commented on the just-released recommendations by the National Transportation Safety Board for a new drunk driving blood-alcohol limit of .05%.  Following are a few of the reactions…. Feds Float Lower DWI Limit; Some Say It Will Reduce Fatalities; Others Say It's a Money-Grab Newsday, New York...

Federal Agency Recommends New DUI Limit: .05%

Posted on May 14, 2013
They've finally done it.  The National Transportation Safety Board today recommended lowering the blood-alcohol level for drunk driving to .05%.   Washington, D.C.  May 14 — A common benchmark in the United States for determining when a driver is legally drunk is not doing enough to prevent alcohol-related crashes that kill about 10,000 people each [...

Law Trumps Science in DUI

Posted on May 13, 2013
It is an unfortunate fact that law and politics repeatedly trump science when it comes to prosecuting citizens accused of drunk driving… In People v. Bransford, to cite one notable example, the California Supreme Court was confronted with a defendant who was challenging his conviction for driving with over ...

U.S. Supreme Court Cites My Book

Posted on May 06, 2013
On April 17, 2013, the United States Supreme Court issued its long-awaited decision in the case of Missouri vs. McNeely.   The DUI case involved the right of police officers to forcefully take a blood sample from a driver without his consent or a search warrant...

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Driving Under the Influence of?a Breath Mint?

Posted on May 01, 2013
Just when you thought things couldn't get any more ridiculous, a Texas court of appeals has ruled that evidence a driver took a breath mint provides sufficient additional evidence to support an arrest for drunk driving — even though the officer admitted he had insufficient evidence before that...

Double Jeopardy and Multiple Punishment in DUI Cases

Posted on April 28, 2013
When a person is arrested for DUI, his driver's license is confiscated by the arresting officer and he is given a notice of "administrative suspension"�. He is also given a citation to appear in court to face criminal drunk driving charges...

Can You Be Charged with Attempting to Drive Drunk?

Posted on April 16, 2013
Let’s say you’ve had too much to drink, and you get into your car, put the key into the ignition and….the car won’t start:  the battery is dead.  About that time, an officer arrives and asks you to step out of the car for some field sobriety tests…...

?Immaculate Intoxication?

Posted on April 13, 2013
Can alcohol be created by the human body itself — without any drinking? Apparently so. In an interesting scientific article, two physicians at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore reported that they detected the odor of beer in three of their patients...

Field Sobriety Tests Are Designed to be Failed

Posted on April 10, 2013
Roadside field sobriety tests ("FSTs") are commonly used by police officers in DUI investigations to determine whether a driver is under the influence of alcohol. Typically, they consist of a battery of 3-5 excercises, such as heel-to-toe, one-leg stand, "nystagmus" ("follow the pencil with your eyes"), finger-to-nose, alphabet recitation, "Rohmberg" (eyes-closed, modified position-of-attention), etc...

When is a Refusal Not a Refusal?

Posted on April 04, 2013
When a DUI suspect is arrested, he is asked to submit to a blood, breath or urine test. If he refuses, his license will be suspended — for a considerably longer time than if a test had shown .08% or higher.  In California, for example, the suspension is for one year — compared to 4 [...

Big Brother Is Watching You?Drink

Posted on March 26, 2013
Remember when you could go to a pub or bar and have a drink with a friend in privacy? San Francisco Club:  Police Tried to Force Us to Install Surveillance Cameras to Spy on Our Customers San Francisco, CA.  Mar. 21 — According to a San Francisco nightclub, the city’s police department has been manipulating [...

What Does a DUI Cost?

Posted on March 19, 2013
I've often been asked, "If I get arrested for drunk driving, what will it end up costing me?"  The question assumes a conviction, of course, and an acquittal or plea to a lesser offense are common.  But assuming a conviction…...

DUI?on a Skateboard?

Posted on March 15, 2013
It just keeps getting more ridiculous…. Salem Man Cited for DUI Skateboarding After Crash Salem, OR.  Mar. 12 – A skateboarder was struck by a van in Salem Monday night, police said. The 20-year-old suffered serious injuries, but was expected to survive, according to Lt...

Driver Arrested for Having Green Tongue

Posted on March 05, 2013
So how ridiculous is this entire "War on Drunk Driving" getting?  Well….. Man Arrested for Suspected Pot DUI Over Color of His Tongue? Puyallup, WA.  Feb 26  – Pot may be legal in Washington state, but Kent police recently arrested a Puyallup man for driving under the influence because, he said, he had a green film [...

Police Commander Falsifies 122 DUI Arrests to Get Federal Overtime Funds

Posted on February 26, 2013
In the ongoing "War on Drunk Driving", the latest news from the front….  High-Ranking Cop Caught Lying About DUI Arrests Des Plaines, Iowa.  Feb. 26 — A former police commander in Des Plaines, Illinois was brought up on charges last Wednesday by prosecutors who say he lied about drunk-driving (DUI) arrests...

Officially OK for Cops to Be Half-Drunk on Duty?

Posted on February 19, 2013
In today's double-standards department… Many Suburban Cops Allowed to Work "Half Drunk" Chicago, IL.  Feb 15 — Do you think your police department has a zero-tolerance policy for alcohol? Think again. Many suburban departments actually have clauses in their union contracts which prevent any kind of discipline for officers with substantial amounts of alcohol in [...

The Quick and Easy Solution to the ?Stoned Driving? Problem

Posted on February 15, 2013
As I've noted in the past, driving under the influence of marijuana ("stoned driving") is becoming increasingly common — and difficult to determine what levels cause impairment and for how long.  See, for example, Identifying and Proving DUI Marijuana...

New Study: Diet Drinks Increase Alcohol Levels

Posted on February 08, 2013
A new study recently reported in Science Daily indicates that the mixer used in an alcoholic drink can increase the individual's blood-alcohol level as well as his degree of intoxication:  Alcohol Mixed with Diet Drinks May Increase Intoxication More than Alcohol and Regular Drinks  Feb...

Busted for Drunk Driving?.in an Electric Shopping Cart?Inside a Walmart

Posted on February 06, 2013
I've posted in the past about how cops and prosecutors are pushing the envelope ever further  – well beyond the point of absurdity.  See, for example, DUI on a Lawnmower, DUI in a Wheelchair, DUI on a Scooter and DUI on a Horse...

Why Cops Lie Under Oath

Posted on February 04, 2013
As I've written previously, it is far more common to encounter lying cops than the public suspects — particularly in drunk driving cases.  Half of the prosecution's case consists of the claimed observations and subjective opinions of the arresting cop...

Film a Cop?Go to Prison

Posted on January 30, 2013
Most people don't realize that in most states it's a serious crime to take a picture or film a police officer.  Recording a cop with your cell phone while he's busily beating a helpless citizen, for example, means you go to jail — not the cop! So…...

The Unknown Variable in DUI Cases: The Cop

Posted on January 28, 2013
The single most important factor in whether an individual will be arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) is not the evidence. It is the individual human differences of the officer himself. A study by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration [U...

The Burden of Proof is on?.the Accused?

Posted on January 20, 2013
Our drunk driving laws make it a criminal offense to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) or while having a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher. It is not, however, a criminal offense to be under the influence or to have a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of ...

Supreme Court Ponders Forced Blood Draws in DUI Cases

Posted on January 10, 2013
Four days ago I posted about a case, Missouri v. McNeely, that was to be argued to the United States Supreme Court.  See The Slow Death of the 4th Amendment in DUI Cases.  The case involved the forceful use by police of hypodermic needles on drunk driving suspects...

Judge Finds Breathalyzers Are Inaccurate, Throws Out DUI Case

Posted on January 08, 2013
Breathalyzer evidence is critical in any drunk driving case — and mandatory in a .08% charge.  Yet, as I've written repeatedly in the past, these machines are neither accurate nor reliable.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work — and Why They Don't, Inaccurate Breathalyzers Cast Doubt on 1,147 DUI Cases in Philadelphia and Report: Breathalyzers Outdated, [...

The Slow Death of the 4th Amendment in DUI Cases

Posted on January 07, 2013
Because of their unpopularity, drunk driving cases are often used by police and prosecutors to chip away at the constitutional guarantees of our citizens.  See The DUI Exception to the Constitution.   Every once in awhile, however, the media shows a little courage and gets it right...

Study Shows Field Sobriety Tests Overestimate Blood-Alcohol

Posted on December 31, 2012
Proponents of the so-called “standardized” field sobriety tests (SFSTs) have long pointed to field studies which indicate a high correlation between performance on the tests and actual blood alcohol concentrations (BAC).  A new study now calls those conclusions into question...

Are ?Sobriety Checkpoints? Really Constitutional?

Posted on December 24, 2012
The Constitution of the United States pretty clearly says that police can’t just stop someone and conduct an investigation unless there are “articulable facts” indicating possible criminal activity….So how can they do exactly that with DUI roadblocks? Good question...

Guilty?of Not Being Average?

Posted on December 14, 2012
One of the greatest sources of error in breath-alcohol testing is the consistently recurring fallacy that the individual tested is perfectly average in certain critical physiological traits. Put another way, obtaining an accurate blood-alcohol reading in a DUI case is completely dependent on the validity of a number of assumptions...

DUI Suspect Resisting Forced Blood Draw is Tasered, Dies

Posted on December 08, 2012
Maybe MADD's "War on Drunk Driving" has gone a bit too far…. D.A. Reviewing Death of West Allis Man After Taser Incident Milwaukee, WI.  Dec. 6 — Prosecutors are investigating how West Allis police officers handled a drunken-driving suspect found dead the day after they used force and a Taser on him to obtain a [...

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