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As of July 1, 2010, repeat DUI / Drunk Driving offenders will be eligible for early license restrictions. A person convicted of a second DUI / Drunk Driving offense will be eligible for a restricted driver’s license after completing a 90 suspension provided the person installs an ignition interlock device on any vehicle the person owns and/or has access to for a period of 12 months. A person convicted of a third DUI / Drunk Driving offense will be eligible for a restricted driver’s license after completing a 6 month suspension provided the person installs an ignition interlock device on… Read More

The New Jersey Supreme Court recently held that a Spanish speaking driver arrested for DUI / Drunk Driving should have had the requirements that he submit to a breath test and the consequences for refusing to submit read to him in Spanish. As a result, his DUI / Drunk Driving conviction was overturned. After the driver was arrested for DUI / Drunk Driving, the police read a statement requiring a breath test and the consequences of refusing to the driver in English. However, at trial, the driver testified through an interpreter he did not understand. According to a spokesman for… Read More

As of July, 1, 2010, all first time DUI / Drunk Driving offenders who are convicted in Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento and Tulare counties will be required to install an ignition interlock device (IID) on any vehicle they own or have access to for five months. This is a pilot project that was finalized just days before July 1. The Department of Motor Vehicles will be required to send notices to the first time convicted DUI / Drunk Driving drivers that the IID must be installed with 30 days. This is a very unfair law. It applies to people who… Read More

The Supreme Court of Michigan recently reversed a driver’s conviction while allegedly driving under the influence of marijuana because having the presence of carboxy in the system in not a crime in Michigan. Carboxy is a metabolite that is created when THC (an active ingredient in marijuana) breaks down. Experts have shown that carboxy can be found in the system for weeks and does not indicate a driver is impaired for DUI prosecutions. The court ordered prosecutors to stop prosecuting drivers for DUI based on the presence of carboxy in the drivers’ system. The recent Michigan Supreme Court decision reversed… Read More

Recently, the Arizona Supreme Court held that police can only get a blood sample from a DUI / Drunk Driving suspect as long as the suspect consents or the police obtain a warrant. In the case decided by the Arizona Supreme Court, the driver only spoke Spanish and he was not spoken to in Spanish. He neither consented to nor resisted the blood draw after his DUI / Drunk Driving arrest. The blood draw was done by the Arizona police officer while the driver was sitting on the steps of the police van after vomiting. Recently, I blogged that Arizona… Read More

As a result of corruption, incompetence and scientific fraud, the National Research Council of the National Academies have issued a report urging reform in the forensic science field for crime labs across the United States. Crime labs are routinely relied on in DUI / Drunk Driving prosecutions across the country. The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers also supports the creation of an independent science-based federal agency. Crime lab witnesses are notoriously known for testifying in DUI / Drunk Driving cases favorably for the state with opinions that are at odds with numerous scientific studies and voluminous research. Taking crime… Read More

According to a recent editorial (5/27/10) in the Los Angeles Daily News by Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute in Washington, D.C. it may be time to rethink the usage of DUI / Drunk Driving checkpoints. Ms. Longwell states that it is not unusual for an all-night checkpoint to stop 1,000 drivers and make only one or two – frequently zero – drunk driving arrests. She also states that speeding has now replaced drunk driving as the No. 1 cause of fatalities on the highway. Finally, Ms. Longwell questions why local governments pour money into costly and… Read More

It has been reported the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office failed to disclose to the defense the criminal histories of 80 police officers who may have testified in criminal cases including DUI / Drunk Driving cases. Apparently, any prior convictions of testifying police officers were not brought to the attention of the District Attorney’s Office.buy lasix online no prescription As a result, apparently police officers with criminal histories may have been allowed to testify without being asked by defense attorneys about their criminal histories which may have included DUI / Drunk Driving cases.buy flagyl online https://blackmenheal.org/wp-content/languages/new/us/flagyl.html no prescription Unfortunately for… Read More

San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris announced she is creating an independent crime lab separate from the police department as a result of the recent problems surrounding the San Francisco crime lab. As you may recall, one of the crime lab technicians was alleged to have drug problems and used inventoried drugs personally while working at the crime lab. So far, about 550 drug cases have been dismissed. In DUI / Drunk Driving cases, both blood and on occasion urine tests are routinely analyzed and tested by law enforcement crime labs. In addition, technicians or chemists from these crime labs… Read More

Britian’s new DUI / Drunk Driving laws are changing to lower the legal limit to the equivilent of .05% alcohol level in a driver’s blood or breath. Once an average man drinks 3 beers, he could most likely be a .05% or greater. An average women would need to drink even less to be at a .05% or greater. However, the new law may only asses points against a driver’s license but not subject the driver to a DUI / Drunk Driving criminal prosecution. In another area, Britian is looking to make it illegal to drive with any illegal substance… Read More