December 2008 - Posts

• Which Are More Important: Breathalyzers or Slot Machines?

  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 of Nevada has access to [...] Posted Dec 29 2008, 01:23 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog, machines, bREATHLAYZERS, Add new tag, CERTIFICATION

• The Brazilian Experience

  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 draw a lesson from our [...] Posted Dec 26 2008, 01:54 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Growing DUI Trend: Cops Armed with Gun, Club…and Needle

  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 a Cop Taking Blood from [...] Posted Dec 18 2008, 12:31 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Here Come the Feds (cont’d): Marines at DUI Roadblocks

  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 DUI roadblocks.  From an official December 10th [...] Posted Dec 16 2008, 11:49 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• DUI Roadblocks: Is the Public Finally Starting to Get It?

  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 following guest OpEd published yesterday in Louisiana: Roadblocks [...] Posted Dec 12 2008, 04:13 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Another “Successful” DUI Roadblock: 3000 Drivers Stopped, 0 DUIs

  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 Roadblocks: "Shock and Awe" and DUI [...] Posted Dec 09 2008, 11:13 AM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Yes: Ohio Bars Defendants from Challenging Breathalyzers

  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 last paragraph in the news [...] Posted Dec 04 2008, 01:46 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog

• Ohio Rejects Popular Breathalyzer: Accuracy Challenged

  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 Code…or Else, and Second Manufacturer [...] Posted Dec 02 2008, 12:10 PM by DUI BLOG Filed under: Duiblog