In the current climate of political correctness, drunk driving is approaching the status of child molesting — and legislators, police, prosecutors and judges seem hell-bent on expanding the offense far beyond any reasonable interpretation. A recent example: Appeals Court Nullifies Drunk "But Not Yet Driving" Offense Pewaukee, WI.  July 14 — A state appeals court nullified a [...]

 Earlier this week I posted about the increasing practice of police officers in DUI investigations to write arrest reports before the arrest — in fact, before the suspect is even seen driving.  This has gotten to the point that computer templates are increasingly used: the officer simply inputs the suspect’s name, address, etc., and prints out [...]

In recent years, there has been a growing trend among law enforcement to use pre-written arrest reports in drunk driving cases. In other words, they are writing out a batch of phony reports — including "observed" driving symptoms, slurred speech, failed field sobriety tests, admissions of drinking — and then just filling in the names, [...]

Last week I granted an interview which touched on a broad range of interesting subjects.  Videotapes on YouTube of the 50-minute interview may be of interest to readers of this blog, both attorneys and laymen….       DUI: The nature of the crime  (5:29)      What is wrong with the present system of drunk driving laws and law enforcement?  (3:48)    [...]

Police agencies across the country continue to deny that they employ DUI quotas — which force officers to make unjustified stops and/or arrests.  See, for example, DUI Quotas, Yes We Have No DUI Quotas and "Inside Edition" Documents DUI Quotas Across the U.S.   A few agencies, however, actually brag about them.  Deputies Get Quota for Hoopfest DUI Patrols Spokane, [...]

About 20 years ago, I coined the phrase "The DUI Exception to the Constitution" to describe a disturbing but growing treatment of DUI as a "politically incorrect" offense.  Created and fostered by the demonization of the crime  by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, the pressures on legislators and judges — most of whom face MADD’s wrath [...]

How does a police officer testifying in a drunk driving trial recall every detail of a DUI investigation months earlier? When an officer stops a motorist and suspects that he may be under the influence of alcohol, he begins to mentally record various observations….Was the driving erratic, and in what way? What was [...]

When a person is arrested for DUI, his driver’s license is confiscated by the arresting officer and he is given a notice of "administrative suspension". He is also given a citation to appear in court to face criminal drunk driving charges. These are usually two very different procedures: (1) the administrative suspension for [...]

As every experienced DUI attorney (and patrol cop) knows, DUI quotas commonly exist — despite the repeated denials of police bureaucrats.  See my past posts DUI Quotas, "Inside Edition" Documents DUI Quotas Across U.S. and "What DUI Quotas?".  They may be unwritten, or disguised as "suggestions" or "guidelines", but the intent to the patrol cop is clear:  make [...]

I’ve posted well over 100 times during the past six years on this blog about the multitude of reasons why breath alcohol machines are both inaccurate and unreliable.  See, for example, How Breathalyzers Work (and Why They Don’t), Breath Alcohol Testing: "State of the Art"?, Breathalyzer Inaccuracy: Testing During the Absorptive Stage, "Close Enough for [...]

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 test [...]

When the police administer a breathalyzer, the suspect’s breath sample is analyzed — and then destroyed by purging it into the air. Although it is easy and inexpensive to save the sample so that it could later be independently analyzed by the defense, the U.S. Supreme Court in California v. Trombettaruled that there is no right [...]

It always surprises me how many people are outraged that I would defend someone accused by the police of a crime – and particularly of drunk driving. Arrest increasingly means guilt, and there is a public perception of criminal defense attorneys as being obstructionist, nefarious and somehow unethical. Certainly, every defense attorney tires of the [...]

Over five years ago, I gave a lecture to a national organization of attorneys during which I was asked, among other things, to anticipate the future course of DUI laws in the United States.  B earing in mind the words of Adlai Stevenson ("We can chart our future clearly and wisely only when we know the [...]

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 conviction for driving with over .08% blood in his blood [...]