Criminal Law

?I observed the defendant weaving within his lane?

Posted on January 10, 2011
Undoubtedly the most common observation of impaired driving that officers make — and the one most commonly used to justify stopping the driver — is that the suspect was "weaving within the traffic lane", sometimes combined with "erratic driving"...

A Fading Constitution?

Posted on January 05, 2011
I believe in the Constitution.  And I have railed long and hard in books, lectures and this blogsite about the damage being done to that great document in the name of fine-sounding schemes like "homeland security" and the so-called "war on drunk driving"...

Are DUI Roadblocks Constitutional?

Posted on January 02, 2011
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...

The DUI Double Standard In China

Posted on December 27, 2010
I’ve posted often in the past about the hidden double standard in enforcing drunk driving laws against cops, judges and politicians.  See, for example, The DUI Double Standard, The DUI Double Standard II, The Blue Cover-Up, Guarding the Guardians and Who Will Guard the Guardians?...

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Blood Sample Analysis: .15%?.But Was It Yours?

Posted on December 23, 2010
Let me tell you about one of my law firm’s DUI cases that ended up in a Los Angeles Times article entitled “DUI Case Botched by Blood Mixup”. One of the attorneys in the firm had a young client who had been arrested for drunk driving by the Los Angeles Police Department and had a blood sample drawn from his arm...

The Blue Cover-Up

Posted on December 20, 2010
I’ve often posted in the past about a double standard when it comes to enforcing drunk driving laws against police officers.  See, for example, Who Will Guard the Guardians?, The DUI Double Standard, The DUI Double Standard II, Guarding the Guardians...

MADD?s Futile ?War on Drunk Driving?

Posted on December 13, 2010
MADD continues to claim victory in it’s aging "War on Drunk Driving", citing its own self-serving statistics.  See for example, Lies, Damned Lies and Madd Statistics, MADD "Statistics Again Debunked and A Closer Look at DUI Fatality Statistics...

Entrapment in DUI Cases

Posted on December 07, 2010
Suppose a police officer asks or orders an individual to drive a vehicle — and then arrests him for DUI when he complies? This situation comes up more often than you might think. Take, for example, the following case that eventually made its way to the New Jersey Supreme Court…...

New Defense Unveiled

Posted on December 06, 2010
Not recommended here in the Colonies, but…. Huddersfield, England.  A self-styled British witch doctor has been fined pound stg. 250 [$583] after refusing to give a blood test when suspected to be driving under the influence of alcohol...

The Field Sobriety ?Eye Test?: Science?or Fraud?

Posted on December 01, 2010
The critical part of any pre-arrest drunk driving investigation is the administration of the "field sobriety tests" (FSTs).  These usually consist of a battery of excercises involving balance, coordination and mental agility — and are difficult to perform for even a sober person under ideal conditions (see "Field Sobriety Tests: Designed for Failure?")...

Another Vigilant ?DUI SuperCop?

Posted on November 22, 2010
I’ve posted repeatedly in the past about so-called "DUI Super Cops".  These are officers who rack up record numbers of drunk driving arrests — and are rewarded with MADD awards, departmental awards, promotions and astronomical overtime pay for court testimony...

New Police Tactic

Posted on November 18, 2010
In today’s news, the latest insanity from the front lines…. Huntington Beach Might Post DUI Arrests on Facebook Huntington Beach, CA.  Nov. 18 – Huntington Beach is considering a new tactic in its crusade against drunk driving: public shaming on Facebook...

MADD Lobbying for Breathalyzers as Standard Equipment in All Future Cars

Posted on November 15, 2010
In the wake of their recent success in requiring mandatory ignition interlock devices (IIDs) in the cars of drivers who have been convicted of drunk driving, Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been planning the next push: requiring IIDs in all cars. In other words, no car could be sold in the U...

Should We Punish Drivers Who Pull Over To Sleep It Off?

Posted on November 10, 2010
I continue to receive queries concerning a news article I commented on a long ago, "Parking Under the Influence". And the answer is….Yes, you can be arrested in many states for "sleeping under the influence" in your parked car — on the shaky theory that you were probably driving some time earlier and were probably intoxicated at the time...

Is the Tide Turning?

Posted on November 06, 2010
 I’ve railed long and hard in the past about MADD’s neo-prohibitionist goals and its costs to our Constitution.  And it is no coincidence that the organizations’s founder, Candi Lightner, resigned years ago in disgust, saying that MADD had strayed from its original goal of saving lives and become prohibitionist...

Coming To You Soon: Limitless Police Stops and Breath Tests

Posted on November 05, 2010
How would you like to be stopped by the police anytime, anywhere, and tested on a breathalyzer — for no reason except that the cop felt like it?  MADD Would Like to See Random Breath Tests for Drivers Toronto, Canada.  Nov. 2 –  If Mothers Against Drunk Driving CEO Andrew Murie has his way, drivers [...

Videotaped Falsification of Breath Test Documents

Posted on November 02, 2010
In my last post I presented a videotape from breathalyzer expert Stephen F. Daniels showing the falsification of monthly breath machine reports in the Hillsborough County (Florida) Sheriff’s Office.   The following is another videotape from Mr...

Videotaped Manipulation of Breathalyzer Inspections?

Posted on October 27, 2010
I have written ad nauseum about the inaccuracy and unreliability of breathalyzers.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work (And Why They Don’t). Sources of inaccuracy occur, among other reasons, because of inherent design defects, defective and inaccurate software, physiological variability of subjects tested, improper administration by police, and unreliable maintenance and calibration...

A Voice of Reason

Posted on October 25, 2010
I posted a few days ago about yet another example of MADD’s influence in pressuring legislators to pass ever-more Draconian laws:  proposed DUI laws in Manitoba giving police unlimited power to pull over any driver they wish and administer field sobriety tests – regardless of whether there are any indications of drunk driving...

?I Don?t Need No Stinkin? Convictions!?

Posted on October 21, 2010
  What’s wrong with this picture…besides the macho "top gun" stuff? Local Officers Honored as "Top Guns" for DUI Arrests York, PA.  Oct. 20 – Local law enforcement officers will be honored for taking more than 380 impaired drivers off York roads last year...

Goal: Eliminate Drinking?or Dangerous Driving?

Posted on October 18, 2010
Two stories in today’s newspapers say a lot about where the focus is for saving lives on the highways: Random Tests Go Too Far Winnipeg, Canada.  Oct. 18 — Police powers to check for impaired driving have encroached relentlessly upon civil liberties, such that innocent motorists are randomly, routinely pulled [...

How Body Temperature Changes Breathalyzer Results

Posted on October 13, 2010
As I have said in earlier posts, law enforcement investigation techniques depend largely upon the fictitious premise that all humans are physiologically identical (see “Convicting the Average DUI Suspect"). Without that presumption, field sobriety and breath alcohol tests would not be possible...

The March Toward .05%

Posted on October 07, 2010
As I’ve explained in past posts, the original legal limit for drunk driving was set in 1938:  0.15%.  This was based upon studies and recommendations from the American Medical Association.  Many years later, this was lowered to .10% and finally, after intensive lobbying by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, to 0...

DUI As Murder

Posted on September 29, 2010
I’ve mentioned in past posts the growing trend among prosecutors around the country to elevate drunk driving fatality cases from the crime of manslaughter to the crime of murder, usually resulting in life imprisonment.  See for example, DUI Murder?, How to Convict a Drunk Driver of Murder and The Death Penalty for DUI?...

A Look Into Our Future

Posted on September 24, 2010
From our neighbors to the north, a preview of things to come… Cops Now Judge, Jury, Prosecutor Vancouver, B.C.  Sept. 24 –  B.C.’s tough new drunk-driving laws are giving police too much power and are putting a serious chill on the restaurant business, critics say...

79 DUI Cases Thrown Out: False Police Reports

Posted on September 22, 2010
Drunk driving is one if those crimes which is highly susceptible to falsifying evidence.  This is because the offense is highly dependent on the cop’s own observations and opinion.  Typically, proving "driving under the influence of alcohol" depends upon the officer’s testimony of such symptoms as weaving on the highway, odor of alcohol on the [...

Film a Cop and Go to Prison

Posted on September 17, 2010
I posted a couple of weeks ago about the disturbing trend toward prosecuting citizens for recording cops with such devices as cell phones — even if they are engaged in illegal conduct such as beating a helpless person.  See Taping a Cop Making an Arrest is a Felony...

Breathalyzers: When Alcohol Is Not Alcohol

Posted on September 13, 2010
Breathalyzers don’t actually measure alcohol. That’s right.  What these machines actually detect and measure is any chemical compund that contains the methyl group in its molecular structure. There are thousands of such compounds — including quite a few which can be found on the human breath...

Arrested Driver Liable for Costs of Car Impound ? Even if Not Guilty

Posted on September 07, 2010
So you were arrested for drunk driving, and your car was impounded by the police.  And you had to pay a chunk of money to get your car back.  But you were later found not guilty of the offense, so you get it back, right?  DUI Fees Still Apply if Driver Acquitted of DUI? Riverside, CA...

Big Brother Is Watching You

Posted on September 03, 2010
Although the following news story doesn’t directly involve DUI, I think it should be of concern to any citizen in this country who has the uncomfortable sense that our constitutional rights are slowly being whittled away and we are drifting toward a police state...

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