Convicted Drunk Drivers Viewed as “A Significant Public Safety Threat” by the Department of Homeland Security

Convicted Drunk Drivers Viewed as “A Significant Public Safety Threat” by the Department of Homeland Securitycategories: DUI

Immigration authorities announced Monday that over 2,000 foreigners who had criminal convictions had been arrested during a five day nationwide operation in early March. This “sweep” was conducted primarily by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency. Alejandro Mayorkas, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, conducted a news conference in Washington, saying, “It had focused on deporting people who were the department’s top priorities because they posed serious public safety or national security threats.” Security officials went on to state that of the more than 2,000 people arrested “hundreds of them had convictions of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.” Advocates for immigrants have asked for leniency for immigrants with drunk driving cases, saying that oftentimes they were workers supporting their families. But immigration officials said Monday that they regarded those drivers as “a significant public safety threat.”Read More

A central part of President Obama’s immigration policy is showing tough immigration enforcement. President Obama’s controversial executive actions that protect millions of immigrants from deportation has been controversial – and has currently been placed on hold by a federal judge in Texas.

The significance of this story is that a cabinet leveled agency has now defined and labeled drivers convicted of DUI/drunk driving as “a significant public safety threat.” It has never been more important to hire an experienced and aggressive DUI/drunk driving defense team to work for you if you have been arrested and charged with DUI. Remember – “an arrest is not a conviction!”

Greenville, South Carolina DUI Attorney Steve Sumner primarily handles misdemeanor and felony DUI/drunk driving cases. Steve is a former DUI prosecutor and has been in private practice since 1994. Steve has been recognized as a South Carolina Super Lawyer® in the field of DUI defense since 2013. He is a member of the National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers™ for criminal defense. He is a member of the National College for DUI Defense and has held a judicially endorsed AV-Preeminent rating from Martindale-Hubbell® and a “Superb” (10.0 out 10.0) ranking with Avvo since 2011.
Link to Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/10/us/us-immigration-authorities-arrest-foreigners-convicted-of-crimes.html

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Racecar Driver Al Unser Jr. Convicted of Second DUI in Five Years

By guest-writer

Racecar legend Al Unser Jr., who is the youngest member of the iconic Unser racing family, was convicted for his second DUI in less than five years, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times.

Unser, who has won the Indianapolis 500 twice, pled guilty this week to Albuquerque prosecutors’ charges that he was drag racing while intoxicated during an incident last September.

During that incident, New Mexico state police saw Unser, who was driving a 2011 Chevrolet Suburban, racing another car on a state highway at roughly 3 a.m. The two cars were traveling at speeds of more than 100 mph in a 60 mph zone, according to the police report.

While the other car evaded police, officers eventually caught Unser, who had a blood alcohol level that was twice the legal limit. Sources say that, when police arrested him, Unser lamented that they had “caught the slower driver.”

Sources suggest that Unser pled guilty to a few lesser counts in order to avoid being tried for charges of aggravated DUI and reckless driving.

As part of his plea agreement, Unser was sentenced to three months in jail, but a friendly judge reduced this sentence to a year of supervised probation. As a result, Unser will remain a free man, but he will have to report frequently to his probation officer.

The 49-year-old racecar driver was lucky to avoid jail time after being convicted for his second DUI, especially given the extreme nature of his arrest. Speeding down a road at 100 mph while drunk is often a ticket to extended jail time.

In 2007, Unser was involved in a crash on another New Mexico freeway after which police discovered that his blood alcohol level was three times the legal limit.

After this accident, Unser lost his driver’s license for 90 days, paid a $1,000 fine, and attended a few classes that discussed the perils of drunk driving.

Not surprisingly, some observers are upset with what they perceive as preferential treatment for Unser, whose family is from Albuquerque and considered local racecar royalty.

According to Anna Duerr, a spokeswoman for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, “[c]elebrities and sports figures need to be treated just like any other driver” because drunk drivers “kill 10,000 people each year and injure 350,000.”

In response, the DUI attorney for Unser says that his client has apologized for his poor judgment and is “taking steps to make sure it doesn’t happen again.” Of course, an attorney for Unser made a similar statement after the incident in 2007.

View the original article here

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