By Editor
A District Court Judge’s wife in Sydney Australia was convicted of biting a police officer during a random DUI stop. The woman claimed to suffer from a thyroid complication that affected her ability to swallow and exhale. After attempting to perform a breath test three times, resulting in invalid samples, she refused a fourth attempt, got back in her car, and refused to leave the vehicle. The woman claimed that the officer grabbed the keys and wrestled her from her car, but denied biting the officer’s finger during the struggle.
The woman was cuffed and taken to the police station where she was given a breath test resulting in a valid breath test sample. The breath sample showed a BAC of only 0.01. While the court did not convict her of DUI, she was convicted of assaulting a constable and resisting constables in the execution of their duty. She was fined $900 (Australian). She is expected to appeal.
By Editor
Denver Colorado law enforcement officials are alleging that a driver who is accused of running down a family, injuring the father and killing the mother and her two children, is alleged to have been driving under the influence (DUI) at the time. Denver TV stations have reported that a breath-test given to the driver four hours after the accident showed a BAC of 0.15 to 0.16, twice the legal limit in Colorado. The driver had fled the scene and was picked up hours later at his home in suburban Westminster. His license plate had come off his truck in the accident.
The driver is already facing charges including child abuse resulting in death, and vehicular homicide.
By Editor
The South Carolina Impaired Driving Prevention Council, made up of representatives from various state agencies and organizations involved with highway safety proposed toughening South Carolina’s DUI laws. Proposals include: 1) suspending a driver’s license for a full year upon refusal to submit to a breathalyzer test (up from 90 days), 2) eliminating South Carolina’s requirement that Miranda warnings be given to a suspected drunk driver prior to administering field sobriety and breath tests (S.C. is the only state currently requiring such Miranda warnings), 3) keeping the existing 10?year window for DUI convictions to be considered as prior offenses (rather than reducing the window to 5 years), and 4) allowing magistrates and municipal judges to hear DUI cases that carry a maximum 90?day sentence (up from the current 30?day sentence limit).
By Editor
Getting arrested for a DUI can be a pretty stressful experience for anyone. Enlisting the help of a local DUI attorney is usually easier than handling your DUI charge on your own. It can be difficult for most people to navigate the court system and you shouldn’t have to suffer when an experienced DUI lawyer can assist you with the entire process. After talking with a DUI attorney, you might find out you don’t have to just settle with receiving the maximum penalties. Depending on the circumstances of your arrest, your case might have some weaknesses that a DUI lawyer can argue in order to possibly get the charges reduced.
By Editor
A Pennsylvania man was charged with DUI after he struck an ambulance Monday morning. The driver of a mini-van slammed into an ambulance that was transporting a patient to a hospital. He had to be cut out of his vehicle and is being treated for injuries to his legs and lower body. The patient being transported was not injured.
By Editor
The California Highway Patrol reported that as of Sunday afternoon, only one person had died on Riverside and San Diego County roads around Riverside California over the Thanksgiving weekend. Last year, five people died in traffic accidents during the holiday. As of 6 a.m. Sunday, police in San Diego County had made 129 DUI arrests, 14 more than last year. A San Diego County CHP officer said “You can probably attribute the amount of arrests going up (to the lower number of fatalities). More people may be getting arrested before they can crash.”
Throughout California, the number of traffic fatalities over the Thanksgiving weekend decreased to 38 this year, 14 fewer than last year. CHP officers arrested 1,537 for DUI this year, compared with 1,418 last year.
By Editor
A Pittsburgh Pennsylvania woman pled guilty to DUI in Allegheny County Common Pleas Court. As she was being led to the probation office, an officer gave her a breath test. She was found to have a BAC more than twice the legal limit. She was immediately taken to jail. The defendant admitted that she had been frustrated with her long wait in court and had “a few vodkas” during the lunch break.
This was the second time in a month that a defendant was drunk in Pittsburgh court during a DUI hearing. A man who was drunk at his hearing earlier this month learned that he would be spending another week in jail before he could enter the county’s recovery program. Because of the thank giving weekend he could not be released from jail until Tuesday.
By Editor
South Carolina’s Governor has called for strengthening DUI penalties in the State. A Governor’s study panel is recommending a tiered penalty system. Principally, the new laws would add penalties for driving with an aggravated BAC. The four tiers would be:
(1) Driving With An Unlawful Alcohol Concentration: Driving with a BAC of at least .08 percent but less than .10 percent. Maximum penalties would range from 30 days in jail for a first offense to five years in prison for fourth and subsequent offenses, plus fines.
(2) Driving With An Unlawful and High Alcohol Concentration: Driving with a BAC of at least .10 percent but less than .16 percent. Maximum penalties would range from 30 days in jail for a first offense to six years in prison for fourth and subsequent offenses, plus fines.
(3) Driving With An Unlawful and Gross Alcohol Concentration: Driving with a BAC of at least .16 percent. Maximum penalties would range from 90 days in jail for a first offense to seven years in prison for fourth and subsequent offenses, plus fines.
(4) Driving While Impaired: Driving while “materially and appreciably impaired.” Maximum penalties range from 30 days in jail for a first offense to five years in prison for fourth and subsequent offenses, plus fines. Not dependant on BAC tests.
While the Governor defended his position saying that defense attorneys were profiting from the existing system, at least one DUI defense attorney declared that tougher laws would bring more business to DUI lawyers.
By Editor
A 43 year old Kent Ohio man, already known as one of the worst drunk drivers in Ohio, was arrested for DUI again, for the 16th time. He was arrested after his vehicle was found stuck on a concrete barricade at the railroad tracks near a bridge that was under repair. He had apparently attempted to drive around the construction and had become stuck. The driver was charged with DUI, driving under suspension, and illegal license plates. He refused to take a blood-alcohol test. He pleaded not guilty in municipal court and remained in jail in lieu of a $50,000 cash bond.
The driver has not had a valid driver’s license since 1991 and has been convicted 15 previous times of drunk driving. Courts have suspended his right to drive 30 times. He had been released from state prison only three months before this most recent arrest. Surprisingly, 25 people in Ohio have been convicted of DUI at least 16 times as of December 2005. Two are tied with 19 DUI convictions.
By Editor
The Southern Arizona DUI Task Force announced that an enforcement crackdown on DUI would begin Friday and continue through the rest of the year. Pima County’s Sheriff announced that its department would have two checkpoints and 30-40 officers whose only job would be to catch drunk drivers. Officers will be on DUI patrol every night through the holidays.
The Sheriff said that during the holidays, people who wouldn’t normally drink and drive go to parties without considering how they’ll get home sober. He encourages people to plan ahead when they go to holiday parties and challenged hosts to take some responsibility to provide non-alcoholic beverages for their guests and when needed arrange for ways to get them home or find a place for them to spend the night.