Newnan DUI arrests soar from 139 arrests in 2003 to about 300 this year
Published 10/08/06 in The Times-Herald
By ELIZABETH RICHARDSON

Last year, the Newnan Police Department set a goal to arrest 271 impaired drivers in 2006 — an increase of 10 percent from 2005.

In 2003, the police department was responsible for making 139 arrests involving drivers under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In 2004, that number jumped to 224, followed by 246 in 2005.

From the beginning of this year through September, Newnan officers have made 227 DUI arrests within city limits. Police not only expect to meet their goal, but if they keep up their average of 25 arrests per month they could make as many as 302 DUI-related arrests in 2006.

Is Foley This Cycle’s “DUI?”
October 03, 2006
Courtesy of the National Journal

In the final days of the 2000 WH race, Pres Bush was confronted with an unexpected revelation from his past. It was disclosed that in 1976 Bush had been pulled over and arrested for DUI. The news threw the otherwise well-oiled Bush campaign and, as described by John F. Harris and Mark Halperin in their new book, “The Way To Win,” the “classic scramble that ensued set off a…frenzy.”

Questions about the genesis of the leak emerged almost instantly, but such curiosities were far outweighed by the damage within the story itself. For conservative-leaning voters, the DUI set off alarms about just what was in the background of the once-wild Texas governor who was still something of an unknown quantity. Five days after the bombshell broke, Bush could only eke out an electoral tie. The GOP base, the story goes, was depressed by the DUI.

There was a case in State Court last week that went before a jury trial where a man was charged with DUI and two counts of child endangerment with his children in the car, interfering with police and driving without a license. This person refused a breathalyzer and refused to cooperate with law enforcement officers while they were trying to conduct field sobriety tests. The police officers testifying had video footage of his arrest clearly indicating his impairment but he was still found not guilty of all charges except driving without a license. So, is there any justice? Can we all just refuse a breathalyzer? It appears the court system is eliminating our efforts of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers.

In a letter to Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson wrote: “I believe trial by jury is the only anchor yet imagined by man which can hold a government to the principles of its constitution.”  The jury in this case held the government to the Constitution.  The jury held the State to its burden of proof-beyond a reasonable doubt.  The jury found the person not guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of less safe driving.  Apparently, Mad Mothers would propose eliminating our right to refuse test, have jury trials, and be presumed innocent.  Apparently the jury did not find the video coverage so indicative of impairment.

Lawyers see DUI report, grand jury differences
By Kim Smith
ARIZONA DAILY STAR

Two local defense attorneys believe hundreds of felony drunken-driving cases could be dismissed because of the way they were presented to Pima County grand jurors.

Prosecutors disagreed with the estimates on affected cases.

Law partners James Nesci and Joe St. Louis recently discovered a handful of Tucson Police Department cases where the evidence presented to the grand jury did not match police reports. In each case, a detective told the grand jurors the suspect failed field sobriety tests and exhibited other signs of intoxication when, in fact, they had not.

The Arrest Process – Through the Eyes of a “Lawbreaker”
by Mike Russo

Driving through Monroe at one time or another, we have all seen the Monroe Police Department in action. We have all been guilty of becoming mesmerized by the red, white, and blue lights flashing atop the police cruiser, and slow down to catch a glimpse of the drama unfolding as the patrolman interrogates the occupant about a defective tail light, an obstructed windshield, or failing to come to a complete stop at an intersection. More often than not, the perpetrator escapes with just a written warning. Sometimes it is serious - much more serious.

In June 2003, an Athens County jury acquitted an Athens area woman of aggravated vehicular homicide in connection with a car crash that killed a Shade man.

A blood test allegedly showed that Farah Holter had chemical byproducts of recent cocaine use in her system at the time of the crash. Her attorney, however, using expert medical testimony, persuaded the jury that those byproducts, or “metabolites,” were not impairing Holter’s ability to drive.

Holter was convicted of only a misdemeanor charge of negligent manslaughter. If her case came up today, however, the outcome might be different.

Largo, Florida — Largo Police responded to a crash at Huntington and East Bay.Police say 55-year-old Alfredo Villada Martinez made a U-turn in front of another vehicle and caused the crash. Police say Martinez’s actions and responses afterwards demonstrated impairment.

Martinez kept asking the officer why he was pulled over and had no idea he had been in a crash.

While attempting to do a field sobriety, he bent forward and pitched head first into the sidewalk. He was transported to Largo Medical Center for treatment, since he indicated he was not well after his fall.

At the hospital, his blood alcohol content registered .413! A person is considered impaired at .08 in the state of Florida. He was likely to be admitted, so the officer got consent to take legal blood and charges are pending results of that test.

This is Martinez’s 4th DUI charge.

Supreme Court: DUI test results should not have been suppressed

COLUMBIA, S.C. The state Supreme Court says a lower court will have to review evidence of prejudice in the administration of a breath-test in a drunken-driving case.

In a ruling released today, the high court says a trial judge erred in supressing the results of Ronald Landon’s breath test in 2002 without finding that the testing was unfair. Justices upheld Circuit Judge G. Thomas Cooper’s 2005 decision that Richland County authorities were failed to keep adequate records of maintenance and testing on the DataMaster machines used to administer the tests.Under state law, both local agencies and the State Law Enforcement Division are responsible for keeping records on the state’s 158 DataMasters.Defense lawyers say the machines routinely break down and give false blood-alcohol readings. Shoddy record-keeping, they argued, gives the impression the machines are more reliable than they are.

You are presumed innocent.  The breath test is presumed accurate.  You have the right to remain silent but if you don’t hire a lawyer and a breath test expert - you lose.  Figure that one out.  Could it be a Constitutional exception for DUI cases.

New Police Flashlight Sniffs As Well As Shines
Saturday, 19 August 2006 9:16AM

CHICAGO (WBBM) — As police gear up their publicity machine to battle drunk driving over the Labor Day weekend, they’re also gearing up with new flashlights that sniff as well as shine.

WBBM’s John Cody has the story. The sniffer light is billed as just another tool in the arsenal against drunk driving.

Illinois Department of Transportation official Clinton Harris says the state is buying 150 of the $750 sniffer flashlights for highway patrol use and distribution to local agencies. They have meters that range from green to red, depending on how much alcohol they sniff.