April 2008 - Posts

• Do DUI Roadblocks Work? (Part II)

  As I discussed in a recent post, the fatalities statistics used by MADD and government agencies to justify DUI checkpoints are flawed. In fact, the statistics can be viewed as indicating quite the opposite. Well, all right, so checkpoints may not reduce fatalities — but, according to MADD, they certainly result in more DUI arrests. [...] Posted Apr 29 2008, 08:20 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• New MADD Strategy: Shut Down the Lawyers

  The latest weapon in MADD’s “War on Drunk Driving”: Senate Measure Would Ban Lawyers from DUI Advertising Nashville, TN.  AP, April 22 – Defense attorneys would be banned from advertising their expertise with drunken driving cases under a bill advancing in the Senate. Sen. Rosalind Kurita, a Clarksville Democrat, successfully added the provision to a bill that would create [...] Posted Apr 23 2008, 08:28 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• The Sacred Breathalyzer

  I’ve written repeatedly in the past about the inaccuracy and unreliability of the various breath machines used to estimate blood alcohol concentrations.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work (and Why They Don’t), Why Breathalyzers Don’t Measure Alcohol and Breathalyzer Inaccuracy: Testing During the Absorptive State.  I’ve also pointed out how our laws now ignore scientific truth and presume that the [...] Posted Apr 20 2008, 07:31 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• The Latest DUI SuperCop…

  I’ve posted repeatedly in the past about the dangers of MADD’s so-called “DUI SuperCop” awards, encouraging police to make greater numbers of arrests — legal or otherwise.  See, e.g., How to be a DUI Super Cop,  Supercops..and Supercons and Another DUI SuperCop.  In yesterday’s news, the latest example:  Cop with Most DUI Arrests Charged with Misconduct, Other Felonies [...] Posted Apr 16 2008, 10:31 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Are DUI Roadblocks Effective?

  For many years now, MADD has focused much of its considerable manpower (over 600 chapters), resources (revenues of over $51 million a year) and political influence on the proliferation of DUI roadblocks (or, to use the politically correct phrase, “sobriety checkpoints”). To justify this invasion of our privacy, we have been repeatedly assured that “checkpoints” [...] Posted Apr 10 2008, 08:45 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Law Trumps Scientific Truth in DUI Cases

  It is an unfortunate fact that law and politics repeatedly trump science when it comes to prosecuting citizens accused of drunk driving…..   In People v. Bransford, to cite one notable example, the California Supreme Court was confronted with a defendant who was challenging his DUI conviction on the grounds that he was not permitted to [...] Posted Apr 05 2008, 10:20 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• How to Overcome Scientific Facts: Pass a Law

  The drunk driving laws make it a criminal offense to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol (DUI) or while having a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher. It is not, however, a criminal offense to be under the influence or to have a BAC of .08% while taking a breath or [...] Posted Apr 02 2008, 10:32 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog