Home Resources Blog - DUI In The News
Blog - DUI In The News
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Wednesday, 26 December 2007 |
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Anthony "Tony" D. Palacios of the Georgia Police Academy Traffic Section DRE/SFST at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth, Georgia has resigned to consult privately on DUI standardized field sobriety evaluations and on drug recognition techniques. Tony began his career in the Lumpkin and Towns County Sheriff's Department and spent five years as a DUI Task Force Officer and Training Coordinator at the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office. He then became an instructor at the Georgia Public Safety Training Center in Forsyth known as the "Mecca" for DUI field sobriety evaluations training in Georgia under the National Highway Transportation and Safety Administration (NHTSA). He rose to state coordinator of field sobriety evaluations in Georgia. Tony's can be found at his website: www.impaireddrivingspecialists.com
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Saturday, 22 December 2007 |
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The Dawson Times reported on December 21, 2007 that the Governor's Office of Highway Safety is increasing DUI prosecutions by coordinated DUI patrols and roadblocks through out the holiday season. State officials claims that the DUI Surge is for to save lives and not write tickets. However, their own statistics undermine their claims. Last year during the Christmas "traffic period," there were 22 fatalities on Georgia Highways and 6 were alcohol related. First, "alcohol related" means alcohol on the breath of the driver and could mean alcohol was found in the vehicle and no one was drinking! But even accepting this logical, roughly 25% of fatalities were related to alcohol. This means that 75% of fatalities were related to speeding and other forms of unsafe driving. However, there is no mention of increased patrols for speeders and other dangerous drivers. This begs the question: Why are we focusing so much money and resources on 25% of the problem. The Answer seems to be that DUI arrests produce more revenue and political capital than cracking down on speeders. A day on Atlanta Freeways and Georgia country roads can be like a lap at the Indy 500. You are unsafe if you travel under 70. Lets get back to basics and arrest speeders and reckless drivers instead of taking traffic enforcement officers off the road for 2 and 3 hours to process unimpaired drivers who have had two or three beers based on some randomly chosen blood limit which doesn't take into account the fact that alcohol effects different people differently. The people of Georgia need help on the highways not hypocrisy in the headlines. Read the article
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Monday, 17 December 2007 |
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The Aiken Standard recently reported that the out of pocket costs for a
dui with license reinstatment, court fines, probation fees, insurance
costs, and expenses related to conditions of probation can exceed
$10,000.00. So ask yourself is it worth investing $1500-$3500
for a qualified Atlanta DUI lawyer to investigate your case to avoid
out of pocket expenses that exceed $10,000.00. Go to Story
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Thursday, 29 November 2007 |
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The Henry County Police Department held roadblocks this past weekend
on either end of Industrial Blvd. in McDonough, GA effectively block
all exits from the Double D's bar in McDonough, Henry County,
Georgia. Reportedly over 60 people were arrested for DUI and a
special mobile breath testing vehicle was brought in from Union City
along with a tent to process all the DUIs in the rain. One person
commented it was like a "DUI circus."
During the first 3
quarters of 2007 Henry County Police averaged between 168 and 203 DUIs
a quarter or between 56 and 67 DUIs a month. This means that
Henry County arrested a month's worth of DUI's in one weekend. It
also coincides with "95.5 the Beat," Atlanta's Premier Hip Hop Radio
Station, DJ night at Double D's on November 23, 2007. Draw
your own conclusions.
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Thursday, 29 November 2007 |
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The Hartford Courant reported that a ConnecticutI
Administrative Law Judge is hearing the fate of the infamous breath
test device Intox 5000 to determine whether it is accurate enough to
hold up in court. The State's biggest concern is what to do with
169 Intox 5000's costing $5000.00 a piece. How 'bout a paper
weight? The Intox 5000 is also the test used and approved in the
State of Georgia for Georgia DUIs. Blowing into the Intoxilyzer 5000 is
law enforcement's primary instrument in measure blood alcohol.
Why measure blood alcohol with breath when you could just measure the
blood? Atlanta DUI lawyers and lawyers from across the country
have been asking this question for years now finally a judge is asking
the question. A reading from the state's breath-testing device is
the chief weapon
for police officers in proving that someone was driving under the
influence.
But in a daylong hearing Tuesday, November 27 at the Connecticut
Department of Motor Vehicles in
Wethersfield, Connecticut three DUI lawyers argued that the
device is
fundamentally imperfect in measuring blood-alcohol content and can even
be biased against women, small men and people with respiratory
conditions such as emphysema and asthma.
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Read more...
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Monday, 12 November 2007 |
The number of women arrested for driving under the influence in the U.S. rose 11 percent in the last four years. Twenty years ago, under eight percent of D.U.I. cases prosecuted in the U.S. involved female defendants; however, that number has climbed to more than 15 percent.
Men get arrested for driving under the influence far more often than women, that's why they're the primary target of ads and enforcement efforts. But the number of women with DUIs is rising. Last year, 160,000 women were charged DUI.
Experts say men don't feel the effects of alcohol nearly as much as women. Women's bodies have less water content, so they can get more intoxicated on fewer drinks. Women have fewer of the enzymes necessary to break down alcohol in the body. And hormonal changes, even from birth control pills, can increase a woman's response to even a single drink. Breath testing machines are calibrated to measure blood alcohol from a 180 pound man. The machines don't take in to account the physiological differences of men and women or between individuals. It makes about as much sense to use the same breath device on men and women as it does to measure the blood alcohol level from breath of Lance Armstrong and Drew Carey. They just have different body physiology, red blood cell counts, and lung capacity. Many juries in Metro Atlanta DUIs have released female defendants when presented with the facts on gender differences and breath testing.
See the TV news report
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Sunday, 04 November 2007 |
The Georgia State Patrol reported that on November 3, 2007, Judge Carlton Vines, Chattooga County judge, after witnesses reported to 911 that a truck registered to the Judge struck another vehicle and left the scene was arrested for DUI. Judge Vines was arrested at his Trion home, and he refused a blood test. Apparently, no wtinesses can put the Judge behind the wheel or even establish that the Judge was driving prior to drinking or drinking while driving. Is he DUI because he had a prior DUI or because he drank after he got home? Did anyone see he drink alcohol before the accident? Given the overwhelming reasonable doubt, it is unlikely on these facts that the Judge could be convicted of DUI. Remember, all Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasaonable doubt in court by a jury of their peers. Something about this case smells like a set up or political pay back.
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Saturday, 03 November 2007 |
An Illinois State Police trooper, Jasen Woo of Chicago, was
arrested on suspicion of drunken driving after crashing his squad car
in August into a utility pole. He had an odor of alcohol about
his person and red and glassy eyes. Of course, knowing that
voluntary field sobriety evaluations like the HGN, Walk and Turn and
One Leg Stand are the rough equivalent of tossing a coin he
refused. Suprising, not really most cops know better than to take
field evaluations even when they know they are sober. He refused
the breath test. Suprising, not really, it does have a 25% margin
of error on an .08 legal limit. Whoops, he was driving a state
vehicile. DOT regulations require a chemical test. He takes
the test and registers a .04 or the rough equivalent of a beer or a
beer and a half. This is easily less than half of the legal
limit. The reality of the currentl state of DUI law enforcement
is that an odor of alcohol is a presumption of DUI impairment.
People have the right to refuse an inaccurate breath or blood tests,
but it is becoming more apparent that with an odor of alcohol you must
prove your innocence. If the police can't tell if you are
impaired without a test, you should be released -bottom line.
Steve Weinhoeft, first state's attorney, called the case ironic.
"Had he taken the breath test on the front end, he never would
have gotten a DUI (charge) to begin with," Weinhoeft said. "He wouldn't
have gotten the summary (license) suspension, we would have all gone on
our way and he would have saved himself some attorney's
fees." What
if the inaccurate test indicated he was impaired and a subsequent test
that he was sober. Simply stated the current state of DUI
enforcement could be titled "the death of common sense?" Atlanta
DUI Police and Georgia State Patrol Dui police patrolling Buckhead in
Atlanta a DUI hotspot. Regularly, arrest people for DUI they classify
with normal speech, moderate odor of alcohol and no unsteadiness or
swaying. Let the citizen beware.
Person arrested with DUI with 0.00 test for alcohol and no drugs present. In
Corvallis, Ore., the local police department have placed an Officer Cox
on administrative leave while they look into his arrests as Cox arrested a person for DUI, even
though he tested 0.00 for alcohol and negative for druges. The arrested
driver had watery eyes as a result of a cold. Arrests like this
are a probelm because, even if the suspect is
never charged or convicted, the arrest still shows up on their criminal
record as an arrest. When will the madness end. We had a
client arrested several years ago in Forsyth County for DUI and the
blood test came back 0.00 for alcohol for and negative for drugs.
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Tuesday, 23 October 2007 |
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Access North Georgia reported from Cleveland Georgia that combined
roadblocks from the White County Sheriff's Department and Georgia State
Patrol (GSP) nabbed 26 people for Driving Under the Influence
(DUI). The GSP in conjunction with the Governor's Office of
Highway Safety has instituted a statewide program of DUI enforcement
called "Operation Rolling Thunder" where roadblocks are set up
periodically throughout the state to beef up DUI enforcement. It
is unclear whether the White County/Cleveland Georgia DUI Roadblocks
were a part of the "Rolling Thunder" operation.
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Saturday, 20 October 2007 |
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In Florida in 2005, a judge threw out the case against a
46-year-old woman accused of operating her electric wheelchair while
under the influence of alcohol.
Judge Peyton Hyslop reasoned,
"While sitting at home in a wheelchair taking prescribed
medication, a person could be charged and convicted of DUI," said
Hyslop. "A wheelchair-bound person overindulging in alcohol at a
wedding, in a restaurant, at a professional football game or in the
sanctity of her own home would also be subject to arrest for DUI."
The ruling came on the Judge's final day as a county judge in Florida, the end of
a colorful and controversial 15 years on the bench. Defeated last fall
by a tough on crime, take no prisoners, and give no quarter former prosecutor, the Judge was often viewed as
too lenient.
The Death of Common Sense is all too real in the American Judiciary
as Judges become politicized and zealously prosecute DUIs instead of
balance the rights of Defendants against the overwhelming resources of
the State, while State prosecutors paralyzed by fear of political
retribution refuse to exercise discretion and practice a "we'd rather
try'em and lose'em than reduce them" philosophy.
This isn't an isolated incident. In Peachtree City
Georgia, golf cart drivers are regularly arrested for DUIs and the
police hold roadblocks on the golf cart paths. In North Georgia a
electric wheel chair operator with MS is charged with DUI in his wheel
chair. A friend is arrested in Athens Georgia for DUI on his
mountain bike, although the charges were later dismissed. When
did we all go crazy. We need to let prosecutors, police and judges
exercise independant discretion and not pass the buck to the jury which
is both expensive and time consuming. We could spend that money
on better things like schools.
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