There is no doubt that drunk driving is a societal problem, and there’s also no doubt that deaths do occur at the hands of drunk drivers. But, wrongful convictions are also problematic, and are themselves a symptom of an equally insidious societal problem. Wrongful convictions usually won’t happen provided the drunk driving trial is a fair one. The question posited here however is whether or not it is even possible to have a fair trial in a drunk driving case?
Many defense attorneys believe that the essential problem is that jurors come into the court room predisposed to convict. They come into the court room predisposed to believe the state witnesses including the police and predisposed to believe the breath or blood evidence.
One way to combat this bias is to educate the jury during the trial. Help them understand that they are really there to help protect the Constitutional rights of the accused. This is their job, NOT to help the state gain a conviction. This is what the presumption of innocence, burden of proof and reasonable doubt are all about. For these reasons jurors should stand in the way of a conviction not facilitate the state in obtaining one.
Here is a videotape of Patrick T. Barone discussing these issues:
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baronedefensefirm – who has written 204 posts on .
Patrick T. Barone is the author on two books on DUI defense including the well respected two volume treatise Defending Drinking Drivers (James Publishing), and The DUI Book – A Citizen’s Guide to Understanding DUI Litigation in America. He is also the author of a monthly DUI defense column for the Criminal Defense Newsletter, published by Michigan’s State Appellate Defender’s Office. Mr. Barone is an adjunct professor at the Thomas M. Cooley Law School where he teaches Drunk Driving Law and Practice. He is also on the faculty of the Criminal Defense Attorney’s of Michigan’s Trial Lawyer’s College where he provides trial skills training to Michigan’s criminal defense practitioners. Mr. Barone lectures nationally on various DUI defense topics, and he has appeared in newspapers, on television and on radio as a drunk driving defense expert. Mr. Barone has been certified as an instructor and practitioner of the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and has also attended a 24-hour certification course at National Patent Analytical Corporation (the manufacturer of the DataMaster) and has thereby been deemed competent by the manufacturer to operate, perform essential diagnostic verifications and calibration checks on the DataMaster. Mr. Barone is a Sustaining Member of College for DUI Defense. Mr. Barone is the principal and founding member of The Barone Defense Firm, whose practice is limited exclusively to defending drinking drivers. The Firm is headquartered in Birmingham, Michigan.
