Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Madison County DUI Attorneys will be busy after Fourth of July Weekend

The Huntsville Police Department will be proactive in enforcing Alabama DUI laws over this July 4th holiday period. The department received grant enforcement money provided by the Northeast Alabama Traffic Safety Office (N.A.T.S.O.) allowing officers to set up traffic safety checkpoints. "Our officers are highly motivated by the importance of this mission," said Sgt. Jeffery B. Rice Sr., the supervisor of the DUI Task Force.

Using crash data from the State of Alabama Critical Analysis Reporting Environment (C.A.R.E.) data program, the Huntsville Police Department's DUI Traffic Task Force will be setting up announced and unannounced random safety check points. When driving up on a safety checkpoint, citizens will be asked for a current driver's license, proof of insurance and vehicle registration. Contact your Madison County DUI Attorney.
Former Melrose Place actress Amy Locane is being held on a $50,000 bond after police say she collided with another car while driving drunk, killing the passenger and critically injuring the driver. According to Acting Somerset County Prosecutor A. Peter DeMarco Jr., the fatal accident wasn't her first of the night.


Police say that Locane-Bovenizer, who changed her name after getting married in 2008, was driving drunk Sunday night when she smashed her SUV into the passenger side of a sedan as it was turning into a driveway in Montgomery Township, N.J., about 10 miles north of Princeton. The driver, Fred Seeman, was hospitalized in critical condition; his wife Helene died at the scene.


DeMarco said responding officers smelled alcohol and reported that the "Melrose Place" actress's eyes were bloodshot and glassy, and her speech was slurred. She was arrested and transferred to University Medical Center in Princeton, where her blood was tested, according to the New Jersey Star-Ledger.


A witness told police that just prior to the incident Locane-Bovenizer was involved in a hit-and-run in Princeton. That witness told police that the "Cry Baby" actress rear-ended a car at a Princeton intersection several miles from the fatal crash site. The witness said that when they tried to call police, Locane-Bovenizer got back in her SUV and drove away, the Star-Ledger reported. The other driver followed her telling police that she was "swerving and knocking down several mailboxes" just before the fatal crash. Locane-Bovenizer allegedly admitted to police later Sunday evening that she had downed several glasses of wine prior to driving, according to the paper.


Locane-Bovenizer, who has two young children with her husband Mark, a wine specialist, now faces charges of vehicular homicide and assault by auto. She could get at least 10 years in prison if convicted. For further information, contact your New Jersey DUI Attorney.

Gwinnett County DUI Attorney and Charles Bannister

Gwinnett County Commission Chairman Charles Bannister was charged with DUI Monday, but he insists he will be “completely exonerated.”

Bannister was driving a county-owned car when he was arrested at about 8 p.m. on Monday by a Gwinnett County sheriff’s deputy; he was booked into the county jail on two charges – DUI and improper turning, jail records indicate. According to an AJC report, the deputy responded to a tip that Bannister had a number of beers at a Lilburn restaurant.

“I regret that this matter has occurred,” Bannister said in a statement. “I am making the results of the state-administered breath test results public which indicates that the machine was working properly and the test results were 0, which indicates no presence of alcohol in my system.

“I apologize to the residents of Gwinnett County, my colleagues, and my family for any embarrassment this has caused,” he added. “In the end, I am confident I will be completely exonerated.”

According to the police report, Banister indicated he had a beer at the restaurant. “I can't believe this is all over one to two beers,” Bannister said at one point, according to the police report, which also indicates the chairman was unable to successfully complete field sobriety tests. He needs a Gwinnett County DUI Attorney for his representation.

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

DWI Court and your Hennepin County DWI Attorney

Early last year Hennepin County created a new specialty court that targets people with serious alcohol issues who are likely to drink and drive, time and time again. Results are now in for the first year of this new DWI Court and they show an impressive trend.

Over 100 repeat DWI offenders have entered the new DWI Court and only one has been convicted of re-offending. That compares to a 60 to 80% rate of re-offending, called the recidivism rate, for repeat DWI offenders using the traditional probation supervision model. Before DWI Court a very large percentage of repeat DWI offenders were likely to go back to their old ways, to the danger of us all. Now, through DWI Court many offenders have gone on to productive lives, holding down good jobs, while repairing their family rifts.

From a taxpayer standpoint, these early results from DWI Court present equally good news. The traditional probation supervision model costs all of us taxpayers about $80 to $100 dollars per day, for the mandatory 90 days of incarceration. Instead of up to $100 per day for weeks on end, the supervision component of the DWI Court costs the taxpayers about $2,000 per participant. As a further boon to taxpayers, Judge John Holahan, who leads the court, procured a significant federal grant to cover most of the court side costs through 2009.

The bottom line: the new DWI Court is enjoying great success in keeping repeat DWI offenders from drinking and driving, while doing so at a fraction of the traditional supervision model for responding to this serious problem. How? DWI Court's success begins with the man who led the effort to establish such a court, Judge Holahan. As Judge Holahan has said, "We'd like to have offenders maintain sobriety. But if we have to choose between sobriety and stopping them from drinking and getting behind the wheel of a car, we will choose the latter every time."

To that end, DWI Court involves intense supervision. Once repeat offenders have been admitted into the program, they are placed on a rigorous schedule of judicial supervision for at least 18 months. During the first 6 months of Phase I, the participants must come to court each and every week to have their progress monitored. During the next 6 months of Phase II, they come to court every other week, and during the Phase III, they return every 4 weeks. Those who are doing well receive praise from the judge, while those who are not doing well receive sanctions.

Nor could the new court be successful without the cooperative efforts of local prosecutors, the public defender's office, private lawyers, community corrections, and many others in the community who are equally committed to freeing our streets of repeat DWI offenders.

This new DWI program benefits all of us in yet another significant way. Repeat offenders lose their license, but typically continue to drive without a license or insurance. Thus, when they harm an innocent victim, there is often no insurance coverage. As part of the DWI Court program, agreements have been reached with the Commissioner of Public Safety that allow the participants to reinstate their licenses on a limited basis in half the time, which allows them to drive to work, court, AA, and aftercare, but with significant safeguards for the public. In order to obtain their limited driving privileges, the offenders must have insurance and use an ignition interlock that monitors alcohol consumption and prevents them from driving if they have been drinking again.

The DWI Court is one way in which the Hennepin County court in partnership with other participants in the criminal justice system is striving to reduce recidivism rates. Repeat offenders are a very legitimate concern. They add to the court's already extremely busy caseload, represent a constant drain on our decreasing resources, and are often demoralizing to those of us who work in the justice system and seek an answer to the question: "Why can't the criminal justice system do something to stop criminals from offending time and time again?"

Should its success continue, DWI Court may prove to be one answer to that question.
For further information, please visit Local Hennepin County DWI Attorney.

http://www.mncourts.gov/default.aspx?siteID=4&page=3276&fontsize=0

Motley Crue's Lead singer arrested for a DUI

Vince Neil, Motley Crue's lead singer, was arrested in Las Vegas on a drunk driving charge early Monday. The 49-year-old rocker was released on $2,000 bail after being held at the Clark County jail.

In 1984, Neil was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with a crash that killed his passenger, Hanoi Rocks drummer Nicholas ``Razzle'' Dingley. For furhter information, contact your Local Clark County DUI Attorney.

Monday, June 28, 2010

DUI Arrests Down over Memorial Day Weekend in Washington

The Washington State Patrol released violation statistics Wednesday from Memorial Day weekend. Statewide, arrests were down across the board from last year for DUI, speeding, seatbelt safety and fatal collisions. There were two fatal collisions this year, as opposed to the five last year, and 138 DUI arrests this year, compared to 348 last year.

As for speeders, 2,798 tickets were issued in 2010, nearly half of the 5,663 last year. The WSP has emphasized its Clickit or Ticket seatbelt program. But there still were 851 citations written this year, compared to the 912 in 2009. WSP's Keith Leary believes the main reason for the reduction in numbers and citations was the inclement weather. For further information, contact your Local Whatcom DUI Attorney.

Wisconsin Increases OWI Penalties

The first significant changes to the state's drunken driving laws since the state lowered the legal limit in 2003 are set to take effect Thursday.



Whether the new penalties – which include increased jail time, higher fines and ignition interlock devices for some first-time offenders and all repeat offenders – have the deterrent effect legislators intended will not be known for a few months, but those who work within the criminal justice system believe the changes are a step in the right direction.
Under the legislation Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law in December, jail time and fines increase for offenses. Those sentenced to jail will also have to report immediately to serve their sentence. Under the old laws, they were given a report date that was up to 60 days in the future.
The new laws also call for an ignition interlock device to be installed any vehicle owned by or registered to owners who are convicted of a repeated OWI, first-time offenders whose blood alcohol concentration was 0.15 or higher or those who refuse a preliminary breath test or blood draw to determine alcohol level.
Wisconsin remains the only state in the nation where first-time drunken driving is not a criminal offense. However, under the new regulations, if a passenger in the vehicle is under 16, it is a criminal offense punishable by up to six months in jail and a fine ranging from $350 to $1,100.
The laws were strengthened in an effort to combat Wisconsin's drunken driving issue. Alcohol-related crashes killed 238 people and injured 3,793 in 2009, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. About 45,000 drivers were convicted of drunken driving statewide in 2009. In Winnebago County, the district attorney's office prosecutes between 1,200 and 1,400 drunken drivers per year. For further information, contact your Local Winnebago County OWI Attorney.

Major concerns for DUI arrestes in Washington D.C.

Nearly 400 people were convicted of driving while intoxicated in the District since fall 2008 based on inaccurate results from breath test machines, and half of them went to jail, city officials said Wednesday.

D.C. Attorney General Peter Nickles said the machines were improperly adjusted by city police. The jailed defendants generally served at least five days, he said.

Nickles's office has begun notifying the drivers, a move that immediately triggered at least one lawsuit against the District and could lead to requests for expungements, new trials and even deeper skepticism about the integrity of testing. Challenging test results is at the heart of drunken-driving cases, and this revelation will only strengthen those challenges, defense attorneys said.

The District's badly calibrated equipment would show a driver's blood-alcohol content to be about 20 percent higher than it actually was, Nickles said. All 10 of the breath test machines used by District police were wrong, he said. The problem occurred when the officer in charge of maintaining the machines improperly set the baseline alcohol concentration levels, Nickles said.

The flawed testing does not jeopardize cases involving accidents or injuries, including fatal crashes, because blood or urine samples would have been taken as additional evidence, Nickles said.

Nickles said he does not believe the new findings will change the results of the routine DWI cases, either, because officers often relied on field sobriety tests and other observations for their arrests. Still, Assistant Police Chief Patrick Burke said he could see "reduced charges in cases."
For further information contact your local DUI Attorney.

Task Force in North Carolina nabs more DWI offenders

A Wake County task force created a little over a year ago is catching drunken driving suspects and arresting fugitives from the law.

In just the past three months, the Wake County Traffic Safety Task Force has made about 500 arrests, including 36 for driving while impaired and seven on outstanding warrants.

Run by the sheriff's office and smaller police forces, the task force conducts periodic, unannounced traffic checkpoints to catch suspected drunken drivers and speeders, serve outstanding warrants and to enforce other traffic laws.

"We're out there to make sure you have your seat belt on and you're in compliance with the law," Officer Benjamin Deese of the Garner Police Department said.
For further information, contact your local Wake County DUI Attorney.

New DWI proposed for New York

Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo was joined by Broome County District Attorney Gerald Mollen and Broome County STOP-DWI coordinator James May at a press conference today to urge the state legislature to pass a bill she recently introduced to help counties pay for the implementation of Leandra's Law. The bill would redirect $6.8M in surcharge money from the state General Fund to the STOP-DWI Programs across New York.

Leandra's Law increases penalties for driving drunk while transporting children under age 16. The law is named after 11-year-old Leandra Rosado of the Bronx, who died last year in a car crash.

Counties are concerned with an unfunded provision of the law that requires all drivers convicted of misdemeanor or felony driving while intoxicated (DWI) to have ignition interlocks devices that drivers breathe into to determine their blood-alcohol content (BAC) installed on their cars. This provision will take effect on August 15, 2010. At least 25 counties have already asked for a two-year moratorium on the ignition interlocks until a funding stream has been established.
For further information, please visit your Broome County DWI Attorney.

Friday, June 25, 2010

DUI Charges dismissed against Judge in Horry County

Prosecutors have dismissed a DUI charge against a Conway magistrate judge.

Attorney Bert von Herrmann said his client, Judge Brad Mayers has also forfeited bond on a traffic charge. Judge Mayers was charged with driving to the left of the centerline and was given a DUI charge in Myrtle Beach back in April.

Mayers has now resumed his duties as a judge, because “of his great reputation as a magistrate in the area”, said von Herrmann. Mayers paid a $133 fine for the driving left of the centerline. Von Herrmann said he didn’t know if his client was offered a field sobriety test, but said, “the tests are only accurate 70-80% of the time anyway.” For further information contact your Local Horry County DUI Attorney.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Michael Jackson's estate to keep stake rights in Beetles song.

Executors of Michael Jackson’s estate have decided to keep a 50 percent stake in a music publishing venture with rights to more than 250 songs by the Beatles, two people with knowledge of the situation said.

Since Jackson’s death a year ago, the executors had considered selling the stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, the estate’s most valuable asset, to address about $500 million of debt the late pop singer left, according to the people, who declined to be identified because deliberations aren’t public. for further in formation, contact your local Estate Attorney or your local California Estate Attorney.

Personal injury claims for motorcycles drastically rise.

Insurer Aviva claimed that personal injur claims are up 57% since 2005.
The insurer has also seen motorcycle claims costs increase 51% since 2005, with the insurer’s statistics indicating that this is a consequence of more riders having passengers.

Motorcycle accidents remain a major concern for road safety groups. Motorcyclists account for 34% of fatalities on our nation’s roads while only accounting for 1% of the overall traffic. for further information, contact your local Personal Injury Attorney or your local Kane County Personal Injury Attorney.

Lawrence Taylor indicted for rape

On Wednesday, Pro football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was indicted by a suburban New York grand jury on charges of third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute.

The indictment follows his May 6 arrest at a Holiday Inn in Ramapo, New York, where prosecutors say he paid a 16-year-old girl $300 for sex.

Taylor had been charged previously in Ramapo Town Court, but the indictment transfers the case to Rockland County. He is scheduled to appear July 13. For further information, please visit your Local Felony Attorney or your Local Rockland County Felony Attorney.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Corey Dillon, former NFL running back arrested for DUI

Corey Dillon, former pro and Washington Huskies football player, was charged with two misdemeanors in California. Corey Dillon, 35, a former NFL running back who was a standout for the Washington Huskies and Franklin High School in Seattle, has pleaded not guilty in Malibu, California, to two misdemeanor DUI charges stemming from his April 21 arrest. For further information, please visit your Local Kittitas DUI Attorney or your Local California DUI Attorney.

Timberwolves Basketball player sentenced in DWI charge.

Timberwolves big man Al Jefferson pleaded guilty Thursday to fourth-degree driving while impaired, according to the Star Tribune.
Jefferson was arrested February 28 near Minneapolis and has already served a two-game suspension. Jefferson was sentenced to perform 40 hours of community service, participate in a one-day seminar and pay $300 in fines. He also got 30 days in jail, which he won't have to serve if he stays out of trouble. For further information, contact your Local Aitkin County DWI Attorney.

Request to Delay Trial of DWI machine

Although defense attorneys have finally obtained full access to the brains behind the state’s drunken-driving breath-test machine, they are now asking for more time to analyze the computer code.

Thousands of drunken-driving cases across the state have been put on hold as defense attorneys seek to challenge the reliability of the Intoxilyzer 5000

Computer analysis was supposed to be completed by July 1 in preparation for a trial on the machine.

One of the problems with the Intoxilyzer alleged by defense attorneys is a technical glitch that causes the machine to report that someone refused to submit to the test if the suspect blows to hard.

Initially, the machine’s manufacturer, CMI, refused to release the computer code, called the source code, that controls the machine.

Well over 100 drunken-driving cases have been dismissed across Minnesota when the state was unable to provide the source code, said Marsh Halberg of Chaska, one of three lead attorneys for a coalition of DWI attorneys challenging the machine.

Although a federal lawsuit finally forced to the manufacturer to make the code available, it took months of legal wrangling before the company would provide the code in a format that defense attorneys found useful for analysis.

District Court Judge Jerome Abrams has been assigned all the source-code challenges in the state from drunken-driving defendants. This case implications for DWI attorneys throughout the nation. Please visit your local Minnesota DWI Attorney for further information. For information regarding a DWI in Chaska Minnesota, please visit your local Chaska DWI Attorney.

For full article please visit http://www.shakopeenews.com/news/general_news/judge_asked_delay_trial_dwi_machine-106
A St. Louis man who served only 120 days in shock incarceration for his fifth drunken-driving offense received a 28-year sentence Tuesday for killing three people in his sixth case. He will have to serve 85 percent of that sentence.

Newton M. Keene, 47, pleaded guilty Tuesday to three counts of aggravated driving under the influence resulting in a death and one count of aggravated driving under the influence causing great bodily harm. He pleaded guilty but said nothing when given the opportunity to make a comment as distraught family members watched the court hearing. Mr. Keene's blood-alcohol level was above a .20 from the blood test adminstered after the accident.

State’s Attorney William Mudge personally handled the proceedings. Mudge stated that the 28-year sentence, the maximum under the law, is the only way to keep people like Keene from doing more harm.

The fact that more than one person died made Keene eligible for the extended maximum term of 28 years, but all the sentences will run concurrently. "History has shown us that keeping Mr. Keene behind bars is the only way to keep him from harming others on our roadways. This crash was horrific on many fronts, and the sentence, although for the maximum term of years allowed by law, is inadequate when considering the losses suffered by the Jackson family," Mudge said.

He said the sentence, although the maximum, is probably not enough to deter future drunken driving deaths, but it may serve to remind some people of the dangers.
For further information contact your Local DUI Attorney.