Hard-hitting penalties for violating Washington state DUI probation.
June 27th, 2009
The word is out that the punishment for Washington state DUI laws is among the toughest in the nation. However, what is not well known is that the mandatory minimum confinement penalty for a single violation of DUI probation is harsher than the manda…
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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
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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Debunking the DUI "Eye" Test
November 29th, 2008
In February of this year, the long anticipated decision in State v. Baity, 140 Wn.2d 1 (2000) was published and the battle over the admissibility of Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) was thrust to the forefront. HGN is the side to side jerking of the e…
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A Slight Omission Leads to Injustice
November 29th, 2008
There are those who call it nitpicking when DUI defense attorneys ask judges to throw a breath test out of court for what looks like a trivial error in approved scientific protocol and procedure. Preventing injustice is not nitpicking. When scientifi…
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Driver's License Death Spiral
November 29th, 2008
I think it was Steve Miller who famously stated, “My Mazerati does 185, I lost my license, now I don’t drive…” While Steve Miller was correct that speeding is one way to lose your license, there are other ways as well. Consider a…
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Washington State Blood Tests Are Subject To Challenge
November 29th, 2008
It seems that drug based DUI cases are on the rise and every year I see more and more of these types of cases. In a drug based DUI, Vehicular Assault or Vehicular Homicide case the blood test is critical evidence, yet it is subject to a motion to sup…
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Categories: DUI Arrests
Is the .08 Law a Half Truth?
November 29th, 2008
Washington State has done a good job of publicizing that if you drive at .08 or higher, you will be prosecuted. What the average driver does not know is that Washington has in fact abandoned the concept of a “legal limit” in favor of prosecuting…
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Categories: DUI Arrests
