http://www.newyorkdui.informee.com DUI and DWI legal information for New York Tue, 06 Jan 2009 00:36:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en So you got arrested for drunk driving — after crashing into a parked police car, injuring the cop, making racist remarks to him, and then blowing .16% on the breathalyzer.    So you’re looking at, what…60 days in jail?  120 days?  Maybe felony drunk driving? Not if you’re a judge….. Cofield Accepted Into Alcohol Rehabilitation Program Hartford, ... http://www.duiblog.com/2009/01/05/who-judges-the-judges/ I’m not sure if this is a sad commentary on our criminal justice system or on the values of society generally, but…the following is from a recent Washington Post comparison of Las Vegas slot machines and electronic voting machines.  I’ve taken the liberty of substituting breathalyzers for voting machines: SOFTWARE SLOT MACHINES:  State ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/29/which-are-more-important-breathalyzers-or-slot-machines/ As I’ve mentioned repeatedly in past posts, simply creating harsher drunk driving laws and penalties and increasing enforcement has not proven effective.  The simple fact is that despite MADD’s hysterical "War on Drunk Driving", the DUI-related fatality statistics have remained unchanged over the past dozen years.  See MADDness and MADD Statistics Again Debunked. Perhaps we can ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/26/the-brazilian-experience/ I’ve posted in the past about the emergence in Texas and Utah of a new practice in drunk driving law enforcement: bypassing a licensed blood technician and letting the cop draw the blood himself — on the highway.  See Blood Draws in the Back Seat by the Dashboard Light, Would You Want ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/18/growing-dui-trend-cops-armed-with-gun-cluband-needle/ I’ve posted in the past about the increasing federalization of drunk driving laws and law enforcement procedures.  See Here Come the Feds and The Future of DUI.  But even I wasn’t ready for the latest development… The U.S. Marines have landed…and are apparently manning "sobriety checkpoints" in San Bernardino County in California.  Yes, Marines.  Yes, civilian ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/16/here-come-the-feds-contd-marines-at-dui-roadblocks/ For years, MADD has loudly and widely extolled the virtues of "sobriety checkpoints" – despite clear evidence to the contrary.   See, e.g., my posts Do Roadblocks Work?, Do Roadblocks Work? (Part II), and DUI Logic: Roadblocks Effective Because They’re Ineffective.   Now, finally, there may be a glimmer of light out there.  Consider the ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/12/dui-roadblocks-is-the-public-finally-starting-to-get-it/ I’ve railed long and hard in past posts about the unconstitutionality of DUI roadblocks ("sobriety checkpoints") — as well as about their ineffectiveness and growing abuse.  See, e.g., Do Roadblocks Work?, Do Roadblocks Work? (Part II), DUI Logic: Roadblocks Effective Because They’re Ineffective, Police Using DUI Roadblocks Illegally, Purpose of DUI ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/09/another-dui-roadblock-3000-drivers-stopped-0-duis/ I’ve received a lot of email from readers who think there was some misunderstanding at the end of my last post, that it could not possibly be true: It looks like Ohio is asking themselves the same question I’ve been asking:  "What are they hiding?".  Oh, and let me repeat that ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/04/yes-ohio-bars-defendants-from-challenging-breathalyzers/ As readers here know, I’ve posted extensively in recent months about the need to know the secret software controlling various breath-testing machines – and the growing number of courts across the country that are ordering the manufacturers to divulge this critical information.  See, for example, Judge Orders Secrets of Breath Machine Revealed, Judge: Divulge Breathalyzer ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/12/02/ohio-rejects-popular-breathalyzer-accuracy-challenged/ As everyone knows, in our federal system of government most laws are enacted and enforced by the individual states.  Burglary, murder, rape, larceny — all are defined, enforced and prosecuted by the state or local governments.  Until recently… The laws, evidence and procedures concerning drunk driving are increasingly coming under the control of ... http://www.duiblog.com/2008/11/28/here-come-the-feds/