Statistics from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health show a decline in DUI throughout the United States. In 2014, the latest year for which data was available, the rate of drunken driving hit a 13-year low. 11.1% of Americans 16 years and older told interviewers that they had driven under the influence of alcohol within the past year, compared to 15.3% in 2002. Despite the decline in DUI, according to the NHTSA, 10,265 people were killed in crashes involving alcohol impaired motorists in 2015. Statistics also show that American drivers are on the road more than in previous years. Young adults, especially men ages 21-25 had the highest rates of driving under the influence. More than 1 in 5 of these men drove under the influence of alcohol in 2014 and almost 1 in 7 drove under the influence of drugs. However, young adults have also seen the greatest reduction over the past 13 years, a drop of more than 10% for drivers 21-25 and a drop of more than half…
DUI Numbers Hit New Low
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Top-Ten Recent SSRN Downloads in Criminal Law eJournal
are here. The usual disclaimers apply. Rank Downloads Paper Title 1 156 Extreme Prison Sentences: Legal and Normative Consequences Melissa Hamilton University of Houston Law Center Date posted to database: 7 Nov 2016 2 152 Bail Nullification Jocelyn Simonson Brooklyn...
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New Year’s Eve & DWIs
There are roughly 10,000 annual drunk-driving-related deaths nationally, and New Year’s Eve is especially troublesome with fatalities increasing two- to three-fold compared to the average. Accordingly, state agencies go on high alert to avoid these tragedies. Those who choose to get behind the wheel after a night of drinking will face intense scrutiny from police officers on the hunt for intoxicated drivers. “There will be extra enforcement throughout the state,” said Captain David McKichan of the Austin Police Department, referring to over 300 agencies working together within the Zero Deaths Campaign, according to the Austin Daily Herald. Austin is attempting to further discourage drunk drivers by offering free Capital Metro transit on MetroRail, MetroRapid and MetroBus from 6:00 p.m. on New Year’s Eve to the wee hours of New Year’s Day, when the majority of accidents happen. And since Uber and Lyft have left town (due to a driver fingerprinting…
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Great report on Texas justice reviewing why Lone Star State is a "leader in criminal justice reform"
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Palm Beach Couple Accused of Child Neglect, Drug Offenses
Often, when people think of “child neglect,” they think of someone who has either left a young child alone or who willfully fails to feed, shelter or clothe them. However, it can also mean a failure to properly supervise that child or, as noted in F.S. 827.03, it can mean not providing services necessary to maintain a child’s physical and mental health. This kind of broad interpretation is meant to give authorities leverage to ensure children are safe. The state has a valid and vested interest in this, of course. However, the charge is often filed in many drug cases to be used as leverage against defendants. The accused individuals may be offered deals to plead guilty to certain drug offenses, in exchange for prosecutors dropping the child neglect charge, which may complicate matters of child custody and haunt them into the future. Prosecutors know a conviction for child neglect carries a heavy social stigma, and is much more difficult to explain away to a…
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"Lava Jato, Odebrecht" y la Fiscalía de la Nación
El Comercio – Edición digital LUNES 02 DE ENERO DEL 2017 | 12:00 “A lavar la jato… si queremos vivir en ella”, por José Ugaz Cuando los ricos hablan o escriben enmudece el villorio por que no está preparado para comprender la brillante inteligencia de quién, sin desearlo, sobre ellos hablan o escriben. El artículo del señor José Ugaz Sanchez Moreno que podríamos complementar con el del señor Rolando Arellano en el mismo Diario, fecha y edición bajo el título “Don pésimo no quiere a nadie”. En ambos casos, con las diferencias, limitaciones, defectos y virtudes de cada quién, el primero termina el artículo con el siguiente párrafo: “Al empezar un nuevo año tenemos la oportunidad de construir un país íntegro, esta vez marcado por un antes y un después de Odebrecht. Es…
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What to do if you were Arrested for DUI Over the Holidays?
Arrested for DUI Over the Holidays? If you or someone close to you was one of the unlucky people who were arrested for DUI this holiday season, then you are in good company. The task forces were out in force and the number of people arrested is quite high. Remember that the best way to deal with a DUI arrest is to deal with it immediately and not ignore it. First, read all the paperwork you got when you were arrested. If you or your loved one is still in jail, call me and we can talk about ways to get them out including bail or bail reductions or other options. Next, if your court date is more than seven days away, call me so that we can schedule a DMV hearing and preserve your driving privilege. Once we have contacted DMV then we can begin to address your court case. The time to request any DMV hearing is very limited. Don’t wait. When is court? Where is court? Do you have to be there with me or not? These and many more questions can be answered in…
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Wrongfully Accessing and Taking Property From a Vehicle: Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle or “Merely” Larceny
Depending how aggressive or creative a District Attorney gets, sometimes what is one simple act becomes multiple criminal charges from the onset of an arrest or at some point during the prosecution. While the law allows an Assistant District Attorney in New York to supersede an information (criminal complaint) or present criminal charges to a Grand Jury that were not initially on a felony complaint, when such actions are taken a criminal defense lawyer must be on his or her respective “game.” Why? Some charges may be obvious on their faces but others not so much. Complicating matters, what may seem like a simply case with limited exposure can ultimately involve a crime with potentially significant consequences. People v. Gavrilov, 2015 Slip Op. 51562 (App. Term 2nd Dept. 2015) is such a case where the conduct and the charged crimes did not exactly coalesce. There, the defendant entered a vehicle and stole some property. Charged with Petit Larceny, New York…
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Minnesota Judge Orders Government To Stop Installing Ignition Interlock Devices
It's an issue we've been talking about for months, and now, a Minnesota judge has taken action. As reported by Eyewitness 5 News (KSTP) the Minnesota Department of Public Safety has just been ordered to stop their plan to GPS track every Minnesota driver (or at least, every Minnesota vehicle) that has the ignition interlock device installed. The ignition interlock program has its good sides and its bad sides. As a huge positive, it allows people who have been charged or convicted of a DWI to continue to drive to work, to school, and even to chemical dependency treatment. It also enforces sobriety -- each driver needs to provide 30 tests a month, and the vehicle should not even start if the driver has been drinking. It also has some bad aspects; false positive tests, very strict maintenance and calibration requirements, and the possibility of having a license revocation period extended by years due to equipment malfunction or false positive tests. We fight these types…
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Latest SCOTUS short-list speculations and suggested nomination timeline
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Palmer on Suicide and Fatal Illness
Sir Geoffrey Palmer QC (Victoria University of Wellington - Faculty of Law) has posted Law and Life on SSRN. Here is the abstract: In this paper, the author considers the case of Lecretia Seales, a senior legal and policy advisor...
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The Frightening Link Between Fatal Crashes and Unlicensed Drivers
A recent report issued by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety titled “Unlicensed to Kill” focuses on unlicensed drivers on America’s roadways. According to the report, approximately one out of every five fatal vehicle crashes involves an unlicensed driver, or a driver whose license is in question by law enforcement. The report goes on to say that about 8,500 fatal car accidents are caused by unlicensed drivers annually. If you have been injured in a motor vehicle accident involving an unlicensed driver. The Link Between Fatal Crashes and Unlicensed Drivers Research has revealed that individuals with license suspensions and cancellations are more likely to use excessive speed, drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and to be distracted while driving. Of the fatal accidents caused by unlicensed drivers, about 30 percent are caused by drivers who have had at least three license suspensions or cancellations in the previous three years. “It’s…
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What Happens When We Step Back the Police?
Murderers have a field day.This is perhaps the single most important lesson from Chicago, an ongoing tragedy of violence. The city had a mind-numbing increase in murder -- over 50% -- in 2016.The usual suspects cannot be blamed: Poverty, class structure, racism, gangs, callousness in the powers that be, lax gun laws. Assuming arguendo that all those things exist and cause crime, there's no evidence that any of them got worse last year, and still less got 50% worse. (As to gun laws in particular, Chicago has among the strictest in the country, and there is no evidence that more guns came into the city in 2016 from outside jurisdictions than in 2015).So what gives?By far the biggest change in Chicago was the shackling of its police, through consent decree, by the supposedly compassionate ACLU. The Wall Street Journal's editorial tells the story, "Murder and Policing in Chicago" (emphasis…
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What is a Subpoena?
When I’m conducting a trial or preliminary hearing, I make sure to have the Crown prosecutor disclose which witnesses they’ve called to court. This gives defence a chance to organize its case according to the witnesses that are showing up to give evidence. Witnesses are called to court using a document called a Subpoena.... Read More
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Judge Orders Halt Of GPS Tracking Ignition Interlock Devices
A Hennepin County judge has issued a temporary stop to the installation of ignition interlock devices with GPS tracking capabilities on vehicles of offenders convicted of a DUI. We’ve been chronicling this story over the last few weeks, and it’s not surprising that we’ve reached this point. The Minnesota Department of Public Service announced earlier this year that all future ignition interlock devices would need to be outfitted with GPS tracking technologies. This was a law passed by the DPS without going through the normal channels, and when lawmakers and legal minds heard about the new rule, they grew concerned about the potential legal consequences of the technology. Two weeks ago we shared a story of how there was bi-partisan support for removing the new law, but the DPS said they were not going to back down. Lawmakers took the next step in the process of revoking the law by filing for an injunction, which was granted by a Hennepin County judge on…
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Cunneen et al. on Justice Reinvestment
Chris Cunneen, David Bentley Brown, Melanie Schwartz, Julie Stubbs and Courtney Young (University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences and Faculty of Law, University of New South Wales (UNSW) - Faculty of Law, University...
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WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU'RE ISSUED A NOTICE TO APPEAR FOR A CRIMINAL CHARGE IN CLEARWATER, FLORIDA
In some nonviolent misdemeanor criminal cases Florida law enforcement officers may give what is known as a Notice to Appear to a defendant rather than making a formal arrest. Although there's no arrest in the case Florida's archaic and chaotic criminal justice system treats every criminal charge as significant. It's important to understand that even in a criminal case that did not initially result in an arrest may be punished with jail time, probation or hefty fines. For example, lately the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the Largo Police Department and the Clearwater Police Department are apt to give a Notice to Appear rather than making an arrest in possession of small amounts marijuana cases yet it's still important to make a priority of avoiding harsh punishments in drug cases as they can result in jail, probation and fines not to mention the loss of employment opportunities. In Pinellas County your Notice to Appear will give a date and time…
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Eighth Circuit panel reverses district court findings of substantive due process problems with Minnesota's sex offender commitment program
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Eleventh Circuit Judge, and SCOTUS short-lister, William Pryor named Acting Chair of the (now hobbled) US Sentencing Commission
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Welcome, Phil Dixon
I want to kick off 2017 by welcoming the School of Government’s new Defender Educator, Philip R. Dixon, Jr. Today is his first day on the job. You can already reach him at dixon@sog.unc.edu and 919.966.4248. Like his predecessor Alyson Grine, Phil will be responsible for developing criminal law training for indigent defense attorneys, writing practice guides and manuals, and sharing his knowledge through teaching and consulting. Expect his byline on this blog soon. With Phil’s help, we will continue to offer our array of programs and resources, shown here, which gives me a chance to put in a plug for our annual training for new felony defenders on April 3 through 5 this year (registration to open soon). As with others who have joined the School, Phil will have the opportunity to pursue his own educational and research interests to assist criminal justice practitioners. Please let him know your priorities and the issues you’re seeing. Phil brings valuable North…
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