Thursday, July 29, 2010

You are here: Home >

Posts tagged as:

Drunk Driving

Radio Frequency Can Cause Falsely High Breath Test Results

December 21, 2009

In reviewing videotapes of our client’s DUI arrests we often see cell phones being used in the booking room at the same time that the breath test is being administered.  The problem is that cell phones create radio waves, and these waves can interfere with the breath test.  Here is a videotape regarding this problem.  [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

United States Tax Law Encourages Drunk Driving

December 16, 2009

Depending on the facts of your case, it may indeed be possible to drive drunk, damage your car and then write the whole thing off on your tax return.   The caption for the interesting and unusual case that stands for this proposition is: JUSTIN M. ROHRS, Petitioner v. COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE, Respondent Docket No. 14109-08S. [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Violation of Breath Testing Adminstrative Rules Might Lead to Suppression of Results

December 1, 2009

The Michigan administrative rules for breath testing require that the breath test operator in a drunk driving case observe the suspect continuously for 15 minutes prior to administering the breath test. The reason the 15 minute rule exists is because it takes about 15 minutes for mouth alcohol to evaporate.  If mouth alcohol exists then [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

What do Global Warming and Drunk Driving Defense Have in Common?

December 1, 2009

Answer: Scientists involved in the prosecution of drunk and drugged driving and global warming both use science and scientific principles to make their case.  Some also believe that both misuse science and hide the truth in order to mislead the public. Regarding global warming this point is made in an article entitled Secrecy in science is a [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Prosecutors Find Operating Under Influence of Drugs Cases Difficult to Prove

November 25, 2009

In Michigan more people are prosecuted each year for the charge of operating under the influence of drugs.  These charges continue to be difficult for prosecutors to prove.  This is because unlike alcohol, there are no legal limits for drugs. In Michigan, there are two ways to prove the charge of OWI – Drugs.  The [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Hospital Bans DUI Blood Tests

November 18, 2009

In Michigan nearly all blood testing is done by one central lab run by the Michigan State Police.  This “whole blood” testing is performed at the State Lab using a process called headspace gas chromatography (GC). Rarely in Michigan do DUI lawyers see non-whole blood or “serum” testing.  If serum testing is performed in Michigan, [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

DUI Blood Testing by Gas Chromatography

November 12, 2009

Chapter Two of Defending Drinking Drivers (Barone/James Publishing) covers chemical testing. This chapter has been nearly completely re-written for the 2010 update.  A portion of the newly updated section on gas chromatography follows: The process of gas chromatography involves the use of an instrument called a gas chromatograph (GC) to separate and analyze compounds that [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Drunk Driving Traffic Stops and Interlocks

October 22, 2009

As originally conceived the United States Supreme Court was intended to be a final check on the police power.   And to a lesser extent, so it is with all judges, who collectively form one of our three branches of government. The central goal behind the idea of having three branches of government is that a [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Thousands of Breath Tests Improperly Admitted in Michigan DUI Trials

October 7, 2009

In a Michigan drunk driving case it is typical for the breath test results to be entered into evidence based solely on the testimony of the breath test operator.  The precedent “foundation” for the admission of the breath test results usually includes only the admission of the simulator logs.  According to Michigan’s administrative rules governing breath [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

NHTSA Field Sobriety Tests Fatally Flawed

October 2, 2009

If you have been arrested for drunk driving in Michigan then you probably submitted to one or more field sobriety tests.  The problem with these tests is that they are not reliable indicators of intoxication and they are almost never administered properly by the police.  Because arrests for DUI in Michigan are almost always based [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

A DUI Prosecutor Must Help Prove That You Are Not Guilty

September 22, 2009

In a Michigan drunk driving case the prosecutor is legally and ethically required to provide the evidence that shows that you are not guilty.  Unfortunately, not all defense lawyers know how to make sure the prosecutor provides this favorable evidence, and not all prosecutors follow the law or ethics. Both the prosecutor and the defense attorney [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

In DUI Breath Testing a “Long Blow” Can Falsely Raise Result

September 20, 2009

You’ve just been arrested for drunk driving and the police officer asks you to blow “long and steady into the machine until told to stop.” Why did the drunk driving task force officer use that peculiar language?  Well, it may just be that the officer is trying to justify his decision to arrest you for [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

Five Reasons Retrograde Extrapolation Should Not Be Allowed In DUI Cases

September 18, 2009

I have written previously in this blog about the unreliability of retrograde extrapolation in drunk driving cases.   This is an important topic because state experts in drunk driving cases often will come into court and try to convince the jury that the driver’s blood alcohol at the time of the driving was higher than at [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

BAC Tracker Upcoming Training and Certification

September 15, 2009

In February 2009 the National Academy of Science (NAS) published a report entitled: Strengthening Forensic Science in the United States: A Path Forward identifying shortfalls in the forensic science discipline. The NAS report cited the lack of standard reporting and testimonies by many forensic laboratories in the United States as a major concern. The report [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

GERD Can Falsely Raise Breath Test Results

September 14, 2009

It is possible for a person arrested for drunk driving who is suffering from GERD to have a breath test result that is way too high.  So what does ”way too high” really mean?  It’s impossible to say, but with GERD the breath test result could be as much as 100% too high.  It is more likely however that the breath test result is [...]

  • Share/Bookmark

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →