DUI Checkpoint in Pottsgrove and Coventries

Police in Lower, Upper and West Pottsgrove, North and East Coventry, Douglass,  and Upper Providence townships will be out in full force for DUI enforcement efforts this week. The multi-jurisdictional group called “Team DUI” will conduct DUI check points at several unspecified locations across western Montgomery County beginning on  Friday (June 29) and continuing through the Independence Day (July 4) holiday.

If you are stopped at a DUI checkpoint and need legal advice, call the Pennsylvania DUI hotline at 1-866-MCSHANE.

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Oakland Raiders Wide Receiver Plans to Fight DUI Charges at Trial

By guest-writer

Oakland Raiders wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey plans to fight his recent DUI charge at trial, according to a recent San Jose Mercury News report on the NFL player’s legal troubles.

This offseason has been full of drunk driving arrests by NFL players, and the league and its teams have started to take notice. Both the NFL and several teams have threatened to increase penalties for such legal troubles, but they must first wait for the legal system to sort out the players’ alleged crimes.

In this case, it appears that Heyward-Bey is planning to fight his charges, which include one count of driving under the influence of alcohol.

Sources say that the wide receiver told a San Francisco judge last week that he was planning to plead not guilty to the charge, and that he intended to have his guilt determined by a jury trial. That trial is slated to begin on July 23.

The majority of DUI cases in most states are usually handled through plea bargaining, which saves the defendant and the state time and money, but many people who are arrested for drunk driving opt to fight the charges during a trial.

According to sources, Heyward-Bey’s DUI attorney believes that there may have been some procedural errors during the wide receiver’s arrest that invalidated the charges.

In his attorney’s words, “[a]fter investigating all the procedures and all the chain of events, it appears not everything was done according to the rule of law, and there may be some questions that need to go before a jury.”

Common procedural errors that may occur during a DUI arrest include a failure to read the arrestee his or her Miranda rights, improper use of breathalyzers or other equipment used to detect blood alcohol levels, and other police mistakes.

If one of these mistakes occurred during Heyward-Bey’s arrest, it’s entirely possible that his DUI arrest could be deemed unlawful, and he would escape punishment for his alleged drunk driving incident.

Still, the 25-year-old wide receiver has a tough task ahead of him, as sources say that his blood alcohol content at the time of his arrest was 0.12, which is well above the legal limit of .08.

In the meantime, the Oakland Raiders are withholding judgment on their player’s actions until they know the outcome of his trial.

According to his coach, Dennis Allen, the team is “monitoring” the situation and will wait and see “how the whole legal proceedings carry out.”

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Orange County Holiday DUI Checkpoint Results – July 4th Edition

A Fourth of July fireworks display at the Washington Monument.

The Fourth of July Holiday ‘Avoid the 38’ DUI Campaign period has ended with the deployment of a Sobriety Checkpoint, special DUI Saturation Patrols and officers on  routine patrol focused on impaired drivers to lower deaths/injuries on streets and highways in Orange County.

For the 48 hour effort from 12:01 AM Tuesday, July 3, 2012 through Midnight Wednesday, July 4, 2012, officers representing 38 county law enforcement agencies arrested 78 individuals for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In 2011, 107 DUI arrests occurred during the final 2 days of the July 4th state holiday. There were no DUI fatalities reported.

As others have reported, looks like DUI arrests are plummeting.  If you have questions for our Orange County DUI Lawyers, call me at (877) 568-2977.

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New York Giants Lineman David Diehl Apologizes to Fans for DUI Arrest

By guest-writer

New York Giants offensive lineman David Diehl made a savvy public relations move this week by issuing a sincere public apology just hours after being arrested for a DUI, according to a recent report in the New York Post.

Sources say that Diehl crashed his BMW into two other vehicles on Sunday night after he had spent several hours drinking at an Astoria bar in New York City.

At the time of his arrest, the police measured his blood alcohol level at .18 percent, which is well above the legal limit of .08 percent.
Diehl was released from jail shortly after his arrest, but he faces his next court date on July 26, which is when the Giants are supposed to report to training camp.

Diehl is one of the most popular Giants players, and sources say that he has mostly stayed out of trouble during his 10-year tenure with the football team.

In order to protect his public image, Diehl quickly went on the offensive Tuesday morning, as he issued a heartfelt apology while standing in front of his locker on the first day of the Giants’ summer mini-camp.

In his own words, Diehl said, “I’m going to make sure I learn from this, it’s a mistake I guarantee will never, ever happen again. I’m going to make sure I help people never make the same decision I made. I’m going to become a stronger person because of it.”

Diehl had the full support of his head coach, Tom Coughlin, who said that his player was “very remorseful” and offered his full support. Coughlin also described Diehl as “an exemplary citizen” and a “very good spokesperson” for the team.

Sources indicate that Diehl will face a fine from the NFL for his actions, but will likely not have to serve a suspension.

Diehl’s arrest is another in a long line of DUI troubles faced by NFL players in the past few years, and sources suggest that the league may soon begin leveling harsher penalties against players who are arrested for drunk driving.

One notable recent incident involved Justin Blackmon, a former collegiate star at Oklahoma State who was arrested for his second DUI last week after being drafted in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Blackmon registered an alarmingly high blood alcohol level at the time of his arrest, and his legal troubles led to cries from observers for more action by the NFL to protect the livelihood of its players.

For its part, the NFL is weighing whether to increase the potential penalties faced by players who are convicted for a DUI, but, as it currently stands, most teams simply prefer to let the court system handle the bulk of the punishment.

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Police On the Lookout for DUI's On the July 4th Holiday

The July 4th holiday is a time for many to barbeque, light fireworks, and to spend time with their family and friends. However, the July 4th holiday tends to be one of the heaviest days of the year for DUI arrests.

As a result the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) will be ramping up DUI sobriety checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols for the July 4th holiday period.

Here are the latest Los Angeles DUI sobriety checkpoints that are scheduled for this week and into the weekend. For more information, you can contact the local law enforcement agency a couple of hours before the reported time to learn the exact locations of some of the more general posts.

Wednesday 7/4
The LAPD will conduct a saturation patrol from noon to 8 p.m. in the Harbor patrol area.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) will also conduct saturation patrols in the South Los Angeles patrol area, Baldwin Park patrol area, and the Alta Dena patrol area.

Thursday 7/5
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) will conduct a DUI sobriety checkpoint in Norwalk patrol area.

From 7 p.m. July 5 to 3 a.m. July 6, the LAPD will conduct a DUI sobriety checkpoint in the Olympic patrol area at Vermont Ave. and Sixth St.

Friday 7/6
From 7 p.m. July 6 to 3 a.m. July 7, the LAPD will conduct a DUI sobriety checkpoint in the Southeast patrol area at Rosecrans Ave. and Menlo Ave.

From 7 p.m. July 6 to 3 a.m. July 7, sobriety checkpoints will be operated in the Pacific patrol area at Lincoln Boulevard and Maxella Avenue.

Saturday 7/7
LAPD will operate sobriety checkpoints from 7 p.m. July 7 to 3 a.m. July 8 in the Foothill patrol area at Laurel Canyon Boulevard and Paxton Street.

LAPD will operate sobriety checkpoints from 7 p.m. July 7 to 3 a.m. July 8 in the Mission patrol area, at Roscoe Boulevard and Noble Avenue.

Sunday 7/8
A DUI saturation patrol will be conducted by LAPD from noon to 8 p.m. in the Rampart patrol area.

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PA DUI Checkpoint Alerts: Weekend of July 13-15

Here is a round-up of DUI checkpoints announced for the weekend of July 13-15.  If you are arrested for a DUI please call PA DUI Attorney Justin McShane at 1-866-MCSHANE

Police in Lower Merion  police will hold DUI checkpoints and roving patrols this weekend in an effort to stop drunk driving, according to a township release.

The efforts will be conducted Friday, July 13 through Sunday, July 15.

The Pennsylvania State Police, along with municipal police departments, and the Bradford County DUI Task Force are conducting “Pennsylvania State Police Checkpoint Strike Force II.  The areas covered are Bradford, Sullivan, Wyoming and Luzerne counties.  Under this initiative, DUI checkpoints or roving patrols will take place every weekend for the rest of the year.

A DUI checkpoint will be help in York County and a roving DUI patrol will he held in Lancaster County this weekend between 6 p.m. Friday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

If you would like to stay up-to-date on DUI Checkpoints in PA, subscribe to our our Pennsylvania DUI Checkpoint Feed.

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Bay Area Police Reconsider Controversial DUI Arrest Procedure

By guest-writer

A traffic court judge near San Francisco ruled last week that Pinellas County police officers cannot perform a key DUI test off camera, according to a recent report from Bay News 9.

During DUI stops, police officers in Pinellas County keep onboard cameras rolling during the entire arrest process, with one key exception.

Sources say that the officers do not film an important roadside test called the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus, which is also known as HGN and is considered the most important roadside test to determine a driver’s sobriety.

During this test, officers look at a driver’s eyes to determine whether he or she is drunk. If the drivers are inebriated, their eyes will jerk from side to side during the test. But this test is the only part of a DUI arrest that isn’t filmed.

Last week, a judge ruled that this practice was unlawful after hearing a complaint from Christopher Hastings, who was arrested for a DUI last year and challenged the legality of the arresting officer’s decision to make him perform the HGN test off camera.

At trial, the state prosecutor asked the arresting officer why he chose to perform the test off camera, and the officer claimed he was just abiding by the police department’s policy. This statement proved true, as the police department does ask officers to keep the HGN tests off video.

This practice, however, was attacked by the defendant’s DUI attorney, who claimed that the policy was intentionally implemented to exclude evidence from trial. The DUI attorney also claimed that the policy was “crazy and archaic.”

The judge sympathized with this perspective, and ruled that it is unfair for the police department to exclude proof of the HGN test from trial but still go to court and testify about the results of the test.

As a result, the prosecutor cannot use the results of the HGN test to convict Hastings. Of course, Hastings allegedly had a blood alcohol content of 0.16 at the time of his arrest, so he still faces a tough battle in court.

But Hastings and his attorney may have stumbled into a watershed moment for DUI laws in California, despite skepticism from some law enforcement officials.

Some observers claim that filming the HGN test will not show a person’s eyeballs moving back and forth, but supporters of the new rule claim that the video can show if police violate procedures during the test. This, perhaps, would be the most important benefit of filming the HGN process.

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The Cop Who Can’t Be Fired

I’ve often written in the past about the "Blue Code" — that is, the double standard we apply to police officers and their apparent immunity from suffering any consequences for their actions.  See, for example, Guarding the Guardians, The Blue Code, The Blue Cover-Up and Crossing the Thin Blue Line.

Have you ever noticed how hard it is today to get rid of a bad cop?

The South Florida Cop Who Won’t Stay Fired

Miami, FL.  June 30 – Opa-locka has the dubious distinction of employing the cop who can’t be fired. Though the city keeps on trying.

Sgt. German Bosque of the Opa-locka Police Department has been disciplined, suspended, fined and sent home with pay more than any officer in the state.

He has been accused of cracking the head of a handcuffed suspect, beating juveniles, hiding drugs in his police car, stealing from suspects, defying direct orders and lying and falsifying police reports. He once called in sick to take a vacation to Cancún and has engaged in a rash of unauthorized police chases, including one in which four people were killed.

Arrested and jailed three times, Bosque, 48, has been fired at least six times. Now under suspension pending yet another investigation into misconduct, Bosque stays home and collects his $60,000-a-year paycheck for doing nothing.

Before he was ever hired in Opa-locka 19 years ago, Bosque, whose nickname is GB, was tossed out of the police academy twice and fired from two police departments. Each time he has faced trouble he has been reinstated with back pay. He boldly brags about his ability to work a law enforcement system that allows bad cops to keep their certification even in the face of criminal charges….

By no means is Bosque the only police officer in South Florida to straddle both sides of the law, but his disciplinary record and his city’s inability to get rid of him are a study in how legal loopholes allow troubled cops to stay on the street…

I can just imagine cops like this out there filling their DUI quotas….

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 1st, 2012 at 11:00 pm and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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DUI Blood Tests Impacted by Lab Errors

More sloppy lab work leads to more uncertainty about DUI convictions.  This time it’s Colorado again:

At issue is the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment’s testing for blood-alcohol content, which many law enforcement agencies rely on to establish if someone is over the legal limit for driving, .08 percent.

In early May, the Denver Post reported that the department’s forensic toxicology lab in Denver would retest 1,700 samples after learning that a former employee had failed to follow test protocols, opening the door for attorneys to challenge drunk-driving cases.

The lab has since reanalyzed 1,300 of the 1,700 samples and identified 11 samples with “significant” errors, all in the defendants’ favor, said David Butcher, the department’s director of laboratory services.

The lab technician blamed for the mistakes, Mitchell Fox-Rivera, was fired in March for unsatisfactory performance, his former supervisor said in an email obtained by The Gazette, and Butcher said the lab has moved to introduce peer-review measures in which lab technicians randomly retest each other’s samples for mistakes.

Some attorneys have had their clients’ samples retested at independent labs and the results have shown significant errors:

(Attorney Steven) Rodemer said preliminary results by ChemaTox Inc., a private lab certified through the Department of Public Health and Environment, came up with a result that was 19 percent lower for one client – dropping his BAC from .206 to .167 percent.

That meant his client was below two important legal thresholds that help determine penalties for drunken drivers, Rodemer said.

In Colorado, anyone convicted of drunk driving who scores above a .20 percent must serve 10 days in jail.

At .17 percent, a driver is considered a high blood-alcohol offender. Such drivers often end up with an ignition device on their vehicle for more than two years, at an expense that can top $2,000.

As we have discussed in many previous posts, the forensic labs carrying out DUI blood tests suffer from many problems which compromise the integrity of the evidence.  These problems include a lack of oversight, under-trained lab technicians, and overwhelming workloads.

If you have DUI blood test evidence against you, you should have your case reviewed by a qualified DUI attorney who has expertise in handling DUI blood cases.  If you are in Pennsylvania call The McShane Firm at 1-866-MCSHANE. Attorney McShane has lectured on DUI blood testing on several occasions and has written a number of publications on the subject as well. (See Attorney McShane’s Qualifications)

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Proposed New Jersey DUI Law Would Greatly Stiffen DUI Penalties

By guest-writer

Several states have taken active measures to increase the severity of DUI laws in the past few years, but a proposed series of new regulations in New Jersey establish a new precedent for tough DUI enforcement, according to a report from the Newark Star-Ledger.

This week, the New Jersey Legislature will vote on a bill that would require all drivers convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol to install an ignition interlock device that would keep their cars from starting if they have been drinking.

In years past, these tools have only been used for people who have been convicted of multiple DUI offenses, but many states are now turning to ignition interlock systems for first-time DUI offenders, as well.

In New Jersey, for example, current DUI laws only require the installation of the Breathalyzer-like devices for people who have multiple DUI convictions, or for drivers who were arrested with a blood alcohol level at more than twice the legal limit.

While this law has been in place, roughly 2,500 ignition devices were installed, but if the new law is passed, this number could double in just 12 months, according to Frank Harris, a lobbyist for Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

In defense of the proposed law, Harris also said that “[r]equiring ignition interlocks for all convicted drunk drivers provides multiple benefits to society (by) teaching offenders to drive sober which helps prevent repeat offenses and in turn saves lives.”

Harris also noted that the threat of a fine or license suspension does not deter drivers from driving intoxicated again.

In response, some critics of the bill claim that ignition interlock devices aren’t worth the expense, given that they typically cost drivers several hundred dollars, which can be a significant financial burden for many drivers.

John Bowman, a spokesman for the National Motorists Association, also told reporters that these devices don’t really help to deter first-time offenders because most of these drivers learn their lesson and refrain from driving drunk again.

But despite reservations from groups like the National Motorists Association, the national trend seems to be leaning towards the installation of ignition interlock systems for every convicted drunk driver, regardless of the nature of their offense.

In the last few years, sixteen states have enacted laws requiring these systems for all drunk drivers, and Missouri will soon become the seventeenth, according to sources. So the momentum seems to be swinging in favor of the proposed New Jersey bill.

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Breathalyzer Results Affected by How You Breathe Into It

As I’ve indicated with numerous examples in earlier posts, these breath machines which determine guilt or innocence in drunk driving cases are not exactly the reliable devices that law enforcement would have us believe. Yet another example of that unreliability is the fact that the results will vary depending upon the breathing pattern of the person being tested. This has been confirmed in a number of scientific studies.

In one, for example, a group of men drank moderate doses of alcohol and their blood-alcohol levels were then measured by gas chromatographic analysis of their breath. The breathing techniques were then varied. 

The results indicated that holding your breath for 30 seconds before exhaling increased the blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) by 15.7%. Hyperventilating for 20 seconds immediately before the analyses of breath, on the other hand, decreased the blood-alcohol level by 10.6%. Keeping the mouth closed for five minutes and using shallow nasal breathing resulted in increasing the BAC by 7.3%, and testing after a slow, 20-second exhalation increased levels by 2%. “How Breathing Techniques Can Influence the Results of Breath-Alcohol Analyses”, 22(4) Medical Science and the Law 275.

For another study with similar findings, see “Accurate Measurement of Blood Alcohol Concentration with Isothermal Breathing”, 51(1) Journal of Studies on Alcohol 6.

Dr. Michael Hlastala, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Medicine at the University of Washington, has gone farther and concluded:

By far, the most overlooked error in breath testing for alcohol is the pattern of breathing….The concentration of alcohol changes considerably during the breath…The first part of the breath, after discarding the dead space, has an alcohol concentration much lower than the equivalent BAC. Whereas, the last part of the breath has an alcohol concentration that is much higher than the equivalent BAC. The last part of the breath can be over 50% above the alcohol level….Thus, a breath tester reading of 0.14% taken from the last part of the breath may indicate that the blood level is only 0.09%.” 9(6) The Champion 16 (1985).

Many police officers know this. They also know that if the breath alcohol test contradicts their judgement that the person they arrested is intoxicated, they won’t look good. So when they tell the arrestee to blow into the machine’s mouthpiece, they’ll yell at him, “Breathe harder! Harder! Keep breathing until I tell you to stop!” As Professor Hlastala has found, this method of breathing ensures that the breath captured by the machine will be from the bottom of the lungs, near the alveolar sacs, which will be richest in alcohol — giving a higher (but inaccurate) reading.

This entry was posted on Friday, July 13th, 2012 at 3:21 am and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Montgomery Township DUI Checkpoints

Police officials from  the Montgomery Township Regional DUI Enforcement Team  have confirmed DUI checkpoints to be held between Friday and Sunday.

Checkpoints will be conducted on State Routes 309, 202, 463, 63, 414, 114, 611, Upper State Road, and County Line Road.

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Another Misguided DUI Driver Makes a Failed Attempt to Bribe a Cop

By guest-writer

Just one week after one drunk driver made headlines for trying to bribe his way out of a DUI ticket, another intoxicated driver made an unsuccessful attempt to purchase a “get out of jail free” card.

Ashley Anderson, a 21-year-old resident of Orlando, Florida, was pulled over by police for driving while intoxicated at about 3:00 a.m. Thursday morning, according to a report from the Orlando Sentinel.

Anderson was initially pulled over for traveling 12 miles per hour about the speed limit. And sources say that she could have simply been charged with a misdemeanor if she had handled the arrest in a responsible fashion. Anderson, however, did not handle the arrest in a wise manner.

After police pulled her over, she refused to leave the car, forcing the officer to ask her multiple times to leave her vehicle.

When she kept refusing to leave her 2008 Nissan Altima, the arresting officer reached for her ignition, grabbed the keys, opened her door, and pulled her out by her left arm. The officer later stated in his report that he feared that Anderson would try to flee the scene.

When he pulled Anderson from the car, the state trooper reported that he smelled an “obvious odor” of alcohol on her breath, and he also claims that she stumbled on the ground when she left the car and had difficulty walking to the police cruiser.

A quick search of the Altima after the arrest revealed a nearly empty bottle of tequila in Anderson’s car. Carrying an open bottle of liquor in a car is illegal in almost every state.

But despite her arrest, and the discovery of the tequila in her car, Anderson was still only facing a misdemeanor DUI charge. That is, until she opened her mouth.

Sources say that when the trooper put Anderson in the back of his car, she made several attempts to offer him $3,000 in exchange for letting her go. According to the police report, she told the officer, “[w]hatever I owe you, I can just pay you in cash.”

In an effort to convince the officer, Anderson claimed that she had escaped a previous DUI charge by giving the officer $2,000, although there is no way to confirm this story.

Needless to say, the officer in this case declined her offer, and prosecutors will now level an extra charge against Anderson for attempting to bribe a law enforcement officer, which is a felony in Florida.

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Chicago Driver Arrested After Trying to Bribe his way out of DUI

By guest-writer

A Chicago driver made life a bit more difficult for himself after he made an unsuccessful attempt to bribe his way out of a DUI arrest, according to a recent report from the Chicago Tribune.

Of course, trying to bribe the police officer may not have been the dumbest move Martin Johnson made on that fateful night.

Sources say that Johnson was arrested after allegedly speeding past a police station while under the influence of alcohol. When police finally caught up to his car, a brief search of the vehicle revealed that Johnson had an open bottle of liquor in the front seat.

Then things got really interesting. According to the police report, after the police pulled him over, Johnson said, “I’ll give you $5,000 if you’ll let me go.”

In response, one of the officers asked Johnson where he planned to get the money, at which point he handed over a flash drive and told the police officers to look into it.

When the police later went through the flash drive, they were surprised to discover extensive lists of credit card numbers, Social Security identities, and other types of sensitive financial information.

When the police asked Johnson where he had obtained the information, he finally made a wise choice, and simply told them to “talk to my lawyer.”

For his actions, Johnson will be charged with one count of bribery, one count of driving under the influence, and another county of driving on a revoked license.

Remarkably, Johnson has been arrested eight times since 2001 for driving with a revoked license, so he may be facing an eventual permanent driving ban if he finds the right judge.

In addition, Johnson has also been arrested for a DUI three times before. These arrests occurred in 2001, 2003, and 2006, according to a spokesman for the Illinois Secretary of State’s office.

And Johnson could face further charges stemming from his possession of all the financial information on the flash drive, although police authorities have not yet decided what they will charge him with.

The lesson other drivers can learn from Johnson’s mishap is that, if you are arrested for a DUI, it’s in your best interests to simply be a good sport and not give the police officers any trouble.

Attempts to bribe the police or escape from them altogether almost never have happy endings, and only compound the legal troubles that the arrestee will eventually face.

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Field Sobriety Test Studies Found to Be Flawed

Proponents of the so-called “standardized” field sobriety tests (SFSTs) have long pointed to federally-funded field studies which indicate a high correlation between performance on the tests and actual blood alcohol concentrations (BAC). 

Subsequent studies, however, have called those conclusions into question.

Originally, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) paid a private group, the Southern California Research Institute, to conduct studies to find which among the various field sobriety tests used by police were most effective and to develop a standardized 3-test battery.  SCRI subsequently reported to NHTSA that a battery of walk-and-turn, one-leg-stand and nystagmus provided a strong correlation with breath test results.

Confronted with questions about those conclusions, NHTSA later commissioned the same researcher who had conducted the original studies, Marcelline Burns, to  corroborate the accuracy of her own tests of the SFSTs – rather than commission an independent source. 

Burns accompanied a small number of San Diego officers conducting actual DUI investigations in the field.  After administering the SFSTs, the officers were asked to guess whether suspects had blood alcohol  concentrations (BAC) over or under .08%.   Burns reported a 91% correlation between SFSTs and BAC over-under estimates, thereby validating the battery of tests she had helped create.

A subsequent scientific article challenged Burns’ corroboration of her own research.  In Hlastala, Polissar and Oberman, “Statistical Evaluation of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests”, 50(3) Journal of Forensic Sciences 1 (May 2005), the raw data used in the validation study were obtained from NHTSA through the Freedom of Information Act.  The methodology used was then reviewed and the data subjected to statistical analysis.

The methodology was found to be seriously flawed in a number of respects.  For one thing, many of the suspects had very high BACs, making estimates of whether a suspect was over .08% obvious regardless of SFST performance.  For another, there was no attempt to isolate the influence of SFST performance from other factors:  officers estimated BACs after the field sobriety tests, but they also took into account earlier observations, such as erratic driving, slurred speech, odor of alcohol, flushed face, admissions as to amount of alcohol consumed, etc.

The most glaring defect in Burns’ corroborative study was that “all police officers  participating in the study were equipped with NHTSA-approved portable breath testing devices”.  In other words, the San Diego officers already had the results of portable breath tests before they were asked to estimate the BACs later obtained at the station!

After reviewing the flawed methodology, the raw data was then statistically analyzed.  The conclusions:

If we consider three ranges of MBAC [measured blood alcohol content], 0.00% to 0.04%, 0.04% to 0.08%, and 0.08% to 0.12%, the officers’ EBAC [estimated blood alcohol content] overestimated the MBAC 76%, 67% and 48% of the time, and underestimated it 14%, 26% and 28% of the time. 

In other words, officers relying upon field sobriety tests were far more likely to overestimate  BACs than underestimate — particularly with those suspects having very low BACs. 

(T)he utility of the SFST depends very much on how intoxicated an individual is.  Accuracy (and specificity) are low when individuals are close to 0.08% MBAC, but if the individuals are quite intoxicated, such as above 0.12%, then accuracy is high.

In borderline cases involving persons at or under the legal limit, then, officers were very poor at estimating blood-alcohol levels based upon SFSTs.  And it is these cases, of course, that are critical.  Suspects with high BACs are relatively easy to single out without the help of field tests; it is for the closer cases, particularly those who are innocent (below .08%), that the SFSTs are designed.  And it is with these very cases that the tests apparently fail. 

Put another way, accuracy in using field sobriety tests is high when they are not needed — and low when they are.

For another independent study conducted by Professor Spurgeon Cole of Clemson University, in which he found field sobriety tests to be worthless, see Are Field Sobriety Tests Designed for Failure?.

This entry was posted on Monday, June 18th, 2012 at 12:29 am and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Civil Compromise in California Hit & Run Cases

If you are charged with a Hit and Run under California Vehicle Code 20002(a), one of the options you should think about having your lawyer pursue is what is known as a "Civil Compromise". A civil compromise allows the parties to agree to dismissal upon monetary compensation for reasonable damages. It is one of the rare situations in which an alleged victim can "drop the charges" against an accused.

I recently employed this strategy in a recent Hit and Run Case out of the West Covina Courthouse. My client had already compensated the other party for her damages. I contacted her and explained the civil compromise arrangement - now that she had been compensated, I asked if she would be willing to dismiss the charges against my client. She was reluctant to do so and wanted to think about it. I informed her that was ok and she could call me back when she had an answer.

I didn't hear from her for a couple of weeks and decided to follow up. I received no call or email in return. At this point I did not want to continue to ask her because I didn't want to seem like I was harassing her. I realized she did not want to cooperate and agree to a dismissal, but I had to think of another way to get this misdemeanor dismissed for my client - Hit and Run is 2 points with the DMV and he needed to avoid those extra points because he drove a lot as part of his job.

My next strategy was to approach the District Attorney with my client's witness statements as well as proof that the alleged victim had been fully compensated and we had attempted to do a civil compromise with her. After some negotiation, he agreed to dismiss the Hit and Run charge against my client and have him plead to an infraction with no DMV points and a small fine. My client was very happy and this definitely suited his situation.

Civil Compromises aren't just available in Vehicle Code 20002(a) Hit and Run Cases, but they are also available in other types of cases such as vandalism and even embezzlement. Even though I was unable to get a straight dismissal for my client, I did not give up and pursued another course of action that still resulted in a dismissal of the misdemeanor.

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Independence Day DUI Checkpoints

With Independence Day falling in the middle of the week, many people will be enjoying festivities starting this weekend.  Pennsylvania State and local police have planned accordingly and will be conducting DUI patrols and DUI checkpoints (actually they are DUI roadblocks) all across Pennsylvania.

It’s ironic and sad that while we celebrate our independence from imperial tyranny in the state where the Declaration of Interdependence was signed, we, the common citizens still face these humiliating assaults on our liberty.  We are subject to unwarranted searches and treated like criminals by the government and police who hide behind the facade of “DUI Enforcement.”  Their real motivation has nothing to do with the public good, rather these checkpoints are a cash cow for police departments.  They are compromising our independence and disregarding the spirit of our Founding Fathers to satisfy their own greed.

This is why we make an effort to publish DUI checkpoint alerts to inform all of those who would rather do without the government intruding in their lives.  We have already received information about the following checkpoints:

If you would like to stay up-to-date on DUI Checkpoints in PA, subscribe to our our Pennsylvania DUI Checkpoint Feed.

We also encourage you to read:

If you have any questions and need to talk to an attorney, please call 1-866-MCSHANE.  Our lines are open 24/7.

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Prosecution’s Alcohol & Drug Expert a Fraud

The prosecution’s evidence in many drunk driving cases relies heavily upon the testimony of a forensic toxicologist — an expert in blood and breath alcohol analysis.  In most cases, these "experts" are not independent witnesses, but either work for the police crime lab or have lucrative contracts with law enforcement.  

Increasingly over recent years, the role of these witnesses — who are presented to juries as objective and impartial scientists — has shifted from objectivity to one of being "team players" who will testify in support of the government’s case, regardless of the facts.  And, unfortunately, the defendant is rarely able to afford a truly independent expert to present a more objective view of the blood or breath alcohol analysis.

Just as the objectivity of the prosecution’s "expert" has shifted, so has the incidence of these professional witness’ fraudulent qualifications… 

Court’s Drug Expert Called a Fraud

Dallas, TX.  July 2 – A presumed expert in alcohol, DNA and drug testing, who has testified in hundreds of family and criminal cases, is an unqualified imposter with no college degree, according to a class action in Dallas County Court.

Lead plaintiff B.W.D. sued James W. Turnage, his company Forensic DNA & Drug Testing Services, and Medtox Scientific, in Dallas County Court.

B.W.D. claims that as a result of Turnage’s flawed testimony, thousands of parents have lost access to their children and countless citizens are behind bars…

B.W.D. says Turnage holds himself out as an expert in drug testing and evaluating drug test results, and that Turnage has been appointed to do drug tests in custody disputes and criminal matters in Dallas, Tarrant, Collin and Denton counties for years.

"Turnage, however, lacks even the minimal educational requirements to work in any technical job in a licensed drug and alcohol testing laboratory," the complaint states. "Turner has no college degree and is not a toxicologist; he is an imposter. He has masqueraded for years as a technical or scientific expert in the field of toxicology or drug and alcohol testing and has presented himself to the public and the courts as an expert witness by disseminating non-peer review papers to the legal community that contain false scientific information and data cut and pasted without cited references."

The plaintiff claims that Turnage is qualified only to be a specimen collector, and has failed to distinguish between that job and that of a forensic toxicologist, who is a qualified expert with years of scientific training.

"The impact of Turnage’s unsupervised, unchecked, unregulated mishandling of specimens and his unregulated and unqualified interpretations of test results or deliberate manipulation of the process has a far reaching effect on the citizens of Dallas, Collin, Denton and Tarrant Counties," the complaint states.

"Literally thousands of mothers and fathers have been denied possession of their children and countless number of citizens are behind bars based on Turnage’s handling of the specimens and his interpretation of the test results."

B.W.D. says he submitted urine specimens to Turnage for drug tests, for a child custody matter in March 2010.

Five months later, B.W.D. claims, Turnage testified that a urine specimen he submitted that was analyzed by Medtox was invalid due to dilution.

B.W.D. claims Medtox’s results did not indicate dilution and that because of Turnage’s misrepresentation, he was forced to agree to weekly random urinalysis for alcohol and drugs, installation of a breathalyzer in his car for a year and other onerous terms, to maintain joint custody of his daughter…

B.W.D. claims he has taken about 60 tests with other labs contemporaneously with Turnage’s tests and passed all of them, yet several of Turnage’s test results have come back with false positives, have been resubmitted for retesting, have been tainted or invalidated or were sent to Medtox well beyond 24 hours after collection…

This was a civil child custody case, but as indicated in the story, the same "expert" testifies for the prosecution in criminal cases as well — presumably, to help convict citizens accused of drunk driving.

(Thanks to attorney Michael Kessler of Florida.)

This entry was posted on Thursday, July 5th, 2012 at 11:26 pm and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Orange County DUI Checkpoint – Costa Mesa tonight

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have a tip just in… Costa Mesa DUI checkpoint at Bristol & Baker right now (8pm) today, Friday, June 1, 2012.

Be careful out there and avoid long traffic delays!  If you need to speak to a DUI expert, call me at (877) 568-2977.

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DUI Suspect Forced to Have Penis Catheterized

Just when you thought MADD’s "War on Drunk Driving" had reached the limits of sanity…. 

Man Sues Police Over ‘Forced Catheterization"

Salt Lake City, UT.  May 24 - A 22-year-old college student has filed an $11 million federal lawsuit against police in central Utah, claiming they forced a catheter in him after he refused to consent to a search for marijuana…

“I don’t think it’s right what they did,” Cook told FOX 13 on Thursday. “I’m pretty sure they’re doing it to other people. They made me feel like an animal.”

The former Snow College student said he was smoking cigarettes with friends back in 2008 when police approached their car, parked on a roadside in Ephraim. His lawsuit, filed in February in U.S. District Court, claims police searched the young men and their vehicle. The police claimed they could smell marijuana, but could not find any during a search, Cook claims.

After a K-9 still could not find marijuana, an officer popped the trunk and found a glass pipe inside. Cook claims the officers then asked him to drive his friend’s car to the police station.

“If somebody’s under the influence of marijuana, the last thing you want to do is put them in a car and drive,” said Cook’s attorney, Lindsay Jarvis. “That goes against every statute the state has, and so that’s where it gets a little frustrating and it gets out of control from there.”

Cook said he believed that after driving his friend’s car to the police station, he thought he would be free to go. Instead, he was put in a holding cell and officers demanded he take a drug test.

“I asked for an attorney because I didn’t know if this was right what they were doing,” he said. “Once I did that, they said ‘We’re getting a search warrant so we’re going to have your urine by the end of the night.’ “

Police obtained the warrant, his lawsuit claims, and they drove him to Sanpete Valley Hospital. After being told that a catheter would be inserted into his body to obtain urine, Cook said he said he would consent to giving a sample but became “nervous” and could not urinate.

“The nurse told (an officer) to hold my shoulders, so he held my shoulders and then the nurse undid my pants, wiped me down with iodine and put the tube in me,” Cook told FOX 13. “And then they took me to jail.”

Cook was arrested for marijuana possession and resisting arrest. Jarvis said the resisting arrest charge was for refusing to give a urine sample. She accused police of “bullying” people with forced catheterization.

“This is being used as a punishment to try and get them to comply,” she said. “Rather than employ a simple blood test, they’re forcibly catheterizing these people.”

Forced catheterization is a relatively new issue in the courts. A similar lawsuit was filed by a woman in 2008 against police in neighboring Sevier County. It was dismissed after a federal judge ruled the officers acted without malice and their intent was to “bring her to justice” for the charges she was facing at the time…

“I want them to be accountable for what they did,” Cook said.

If you think this incident in 2008 is an isolated one, you may be surprised to discover that forced catheterization for urine samples is a growing DUI law enforcement technique.  See, for example,  Catheter Forced Up Penis After DUI Arrest (Washington) and DUI Cops Inspired by CIA? (Indiana).  Forced draws of blood with syringes have already become a staple in the "War" – including draws with syringes used by the cops themselves:  Taking Blood by Force, Forced Blood Draws by Cops Spreading and Blood Draws in the Backseat by the Dashboard Light.     

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 7th, 2012 at 9:42 am and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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South Carolina State Rep. Ted Vick Facing Gun and DUI Charges

By guest-writer

A South Carolina state representative who is currently running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives has been arrested for drunk driving and illegally carrying a handgun, according to a report from Columbia’s WACH News.

Ted Vick, a 39-year-old resident of Chesterfield, South Carolina, was being held earlier in jail this week on charges of speeding, committing a DUI, an carrying a pistol without a valid permit, sources say.

Shortly after his arrest, Vick was given a personal recognizance bond on the speeding and DUI charges, but the court has not yet set a bond for the weapons charge.

Vick was arrested by the Columbia Police Department after he was caught driving more than 10 miles per hour over the speed limit.

When the officer pulled him over, he detected a “strong high odor of an alcoholic beverage” coming from the car, according to the police report.

When asked to perform a field sobriety test, Vick refused. The state representative also refused to take a breathalyzer test before he was hauled off to jail.

Police also found a .380 semiautomatic pistol in Vick’s front right pocket, and they eventually learned that his concealed weapons permit had expired in 2007. In addition, Vick did not tell the officer who pulled him over that he had the handgun in his pocket.

The police report written after the incident says that Vick had a few drinks with a female student from the University of South Carolina at a local pub before heading to another bar, where they continued to drink.

Needless to say, the DUI and weapons charge, as well as the information that Vick was drinking with a young college student, amount to a public relations nightmare for a man who is running for federal office.

His campaign, however, did not immediately offer any comments on Vick’s arrest, and sources do not say whether he has hired a DUI attorney.

According to his campaign website, Vick has a wife and two daughters. His website also describes him as a “trained minister” who “is a strong believer in traditional southern family values.”

Vick is one of five Democrats who are vying for the nomination to represent the 7th Congressional District, a newly minted political district.

For his alleged crimes, Vick is facing potentially hefty fines, a possible loss of his license, and perhaps even jail time, although it’s too early in the process to gauge exactly what his punishment will be. In the meantime, Vick will have to determine whether he should continue his campaign.

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Disturbed DUI Suspect Spits Blood on Face of Arresting Officer

By guest-writer

A wild DUI arrest occurred this week in Orland when a doctor allegedly bashed his head against the back seat of a police cruiser and spat blood in an officer’s face, according to an alarming report from the Palm Beach Post.

Sources say that video footage from inside a police cruiser capture Zach Bird losing his temper after officers from the Florida Highway Patrol threw him into the back of their car.

Bird, who works as an anesthesiologist in central Florida, reportedly had $40,000 in cash that police officers found after searching him. The police also found “unknown” pills and two handguns in Bird’s car when they conducted their search after his arrest.

In the video recording, Bird can be heard yelling, “[a]ll the officers are stealing my money!” After making this announcement, Bird started kicking and screaming, and eventually began beating his head against the Plexiglas divider in the police cruiser.

After several bashes against the divider, the video shows blood running down Bird’s face as he continued to accuse the police of stealing his money.

The arresting officers, quite naturally, were worried that Bird would injure himself, so they pulled him out of the cruiser and back onto the road.

According to the police report, when Bird was escorted out of the cruiser, “he swallowed, took a deep breath” and “spit blood all over” one of the arresting officer’s faces. Needless to say, this was not a wise decision.

Sources say that, in addition to his DUI charge, Bird now faces an additional charge of resisting arrest with violence, as well as a charge of property damage, due to the damage he inflicted on the glass in the police car.

The price tag on the damage to the car alone may be very steep, as the Florida Highway Patrol had to hire a team of biohazard specialists to clean the interior of the car.

And Bird’s odd behavior did not start after his arrest. According to sources, Bird was initially pulled over by police after he almost ran a state trooper off a local highway. When he was pulled over, Bird immediately failed a sobriety test, which is when police took him into custody.

Interesting, police also found an extra $14,000 in Bird’s car, which was separate from the $40,000 he had in his pockets. It can fairly be said that Bird may have to answer for the gun, cash, and drugs in his car, as well as his behavior after the arrest.

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Another Reason to Fight Your DUI: Increased Car Insurance

Increased insurance rates can cost you thousands over time.

There are many reasons why you should fight your DUI charges. A professional DUI attorney can guide you and help you calculate the penalties involved.  One of the long-term costs associated with a DUI conviction are increased auto insurance premiums.

Especially for those who do not have a perfect driving record, a DUI can really make their rates sky-rocket.  In some cases, people convicted of DUI have not been able to find coverage for an extended period of time.  Since it is illegal to drive without insurance, this serves as an additional de facto license suspension.

The best-case scenario (which isn’t very good at all) is that you get to keep your insurance but have to pay much, much more.  Over time this adds up and could end up costing you tens of thousands of dollars.

If you are charged with a DUI in PA call now to get the facts so you can make the right decision.  Call 1-866-MCSHANE to learn more about how a DUI can affect your future.

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