DUI Toolbox Includes Jury Trial
May 18th, 2009
In DUI cases it may seem to the uninitiated that a trial would not be wise. After all, how can a jury find someone Not Guilty of a DUI charge when the evidence seems overwhelming and it includes a breath test over the legal limit? There are, in fact,…
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Accidents More Likely Because of Ignition Interlocks?
May 17th, 2009
Installation of an ignition interlock device (IID) in a driver’s car is the intended result of Washington State DUI laws. The ignition interlock device is required to be installed if a driver’s license is suspended due to a DUI arrest or convicti…
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Why Aren't All DUI Arrests Videotaped?
May 16th, 2009
In past years it was common procedure for Washington State DUI arrests to be recorded on police video. Jurors have come to expect this, based upon TV shows such as “Cops.” Video recording a DUI arrest is good public policy because the video const…
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Categories: DUI Arrests
When a Pilot gets a DUI
May 10th, 2009
A pilot who is arrested for a Washington State DUI faces not one, but three separate challenges: (1) the Department of Licensing will administratively suspend the license to drive, (2) the court will impose jail, fines, alcohol programs, etc, and (3)…
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Categories: DUI Arrests
You Are Being Watched: DUI Pretrial Conditions
May 6th, 2009
Technology is wonderful. However, it can be liberating or it can be a ball and chain. In DUI cases, more and more frequently these days, judges are using technology to monitor people who were arrested and charged with DUI, but who have not yet been f…
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Grading Field Sobriety Tests: "Fail" equals Jail.
May 5th, 2009
Every DUI stop, whether a DUI in Seattle, Bellevue, King County, or a DUI stop elsewhere in Washington State, is likely to involve field sobriety tests. Most people submit to the field sobriety tests on the assumption that (1) they are required to ta…
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WSP Sued- Everybody Goes to Jail?
May 4th, 2009
Once a DUI arrest has been made and the processing has been completed (breath testing, fingerprinting, etc.) the arresting officer has the authority to decide whether the suspect will be booked into jail or released. Some jurisdictions routinely rele…
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Did You Pass the DUI "Eye Test?"
May 2nd, 2009
Most people are familiar with the “usual” balancing and coordination field sobriety tests that are given to a driver who has been detained on suspicion of DUI. These tests include “walking the line,” balancing on one leg, and sometimes the fi…
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Arrested for a Green Tongue by Washington Police Officers?
April 27th, 2009
There is a nationwide push to detect and prosecute DUI cases where the driver is impaired by drugs, not alcohol. In King County and elsewhere in Washington State, DUI defense attorneys are seeing more and more drug DUI arrests that have resulted from…
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Ambien Overdose Leads to DUI Conviction
April 18th, 2009
Whereas it is well known that driving while impaired by alcohol is against the law, the law also criminalizes driving while under the influence of drugs. DUI/drugs can be accomplished with legal, prescribed drugs that impair the ability to drive. DUI…
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