Thousands of drivers are arrested every year across the United States for DUI, and many of them are repeat offenders. We may want to believe that DUI offenders make a simple mistake, one bad decision, one that will not be repeated, but the statistics prove this is not the case. In some states, Minnesota for instance, nearly half of the 30,000 people arrested for drunken driving each year are repeat offenders!

Some of the best and brightest minds in the country- policemen, court officials, mental health doctors and legislatures have united to solve the complicated problem of repeat DUI offenders.

Over the years a wide variety of enforcement programs have been created to address DUI, and while DUI does seem to be on the decline, it is clear that all of their efforts have failed to eliminate the problem of DUI and DUI repeat offenders.

Certain states have begun using more innovative DUI reduction strategies. According to the Tenth District Court Judge James Dehn, the principal developer of several new strategies he has concluded that newer approaches to DUI enforcement have “the advantage of providing clear and certain incentives and punishment at the day of sentencing, distinct from traditional sentencing”.

Court Judge James Dehn has served for 15 years on the district court bench in Minnesota and he has personally sentenced thousands of DUI offenders. Frustrated with the traditional DUI sanctions and penalties, he began to look for more effective legal controls to decrease the recidivism rate for DUI repeat offenders.

While he continues to use the traditional sentencing including incarceration, high fines and parole, he has added less tradition options such as REAM or remote electronic alcohol monitoring which allows the court to request an immediate alcohol reading from a programmed telephone, especially for repeat DUI offenders, who the courts recognize have either a chemical dependency or a mental illness.

Judge Jams Dehn has also continued to use common but less traditional options to control DWI repeat offenders such as counseling, chemical dependency and community service.

Judge Dehn is also the developer of staggered sentencing, which is one more innovative solution to reducing DUI. Staggering sentencing can include a variety of responses to reduce DUI such as:

• A Staggered Incarceration Period
• Remote Electronic Alcohol Monitoring (mentioned above)
• Active participation by the offender
• Clearly Articulated Consequences for Specific Violations

One thing is clear, with officials, judges, legislatures and community groups working on the problem of DUI and stopping repeat offenders better solutions are sure to develop.

What if you are the Victim of DUI?

If you have been the victim of a DUI, there is help for you. DUI attorneys understand the pain and suffering you are experiencing and are ready to dedicate themselves to ensuring you get the help you need.

DUI and DWI are a serious problem, and there are legal ramifications for individuals who continue to make irresponsible decisions about drinking and driving. Contact a DWI lawyer today for more information about what can be done for your DUI case. Many DWI attorneys offer free consultations to claimants to review their DUI claim.

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It is illegal in every state to operate a motorized vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. States use different terms such as DUI (driving under the influence), DWI (driving while intoxicated), DWUI (driving while under the influence) or DUID (driving under the influence of drugs), but regardless of the term, it basically means the same thing.

If you are operating a motorized vehicle while you are impaired by alcohol or drugs you could face severe penalties including: fines, imprisonment, high insurance rates, parole, community service, and forced alcohol education.

So is it okay to have one drink and drive? Maybe you can drink two drinks and still be safe behind the wheel? Alcohol affects individuals differently and may be absorbed at different speeds, causing various levels of impairment. Let’s take a look at the common affects of alcohol at various blood alcohol levels:

• BAC Level .01 to .03%

If you are an average person of average weight and build and your BAC is .01% to .03% you may appear normal. Physical and mental impairments are limited although some specialized DUI tests may detect a small reduction in your ability to multi-task and perform visual tests.

• BAC Level 03 to .06%

If your BAC is between 0.03% and 0.06% you will begin to feel very calm. Concentration, alertness and judgment began to be impaired as you become more relaxed, less inhibited, more talkative or more euphoric.

• BAC Level .06 to .10%

If you reach this level of intoxication there will be clear physical indications that you are intoxicated. Your reflexes and reasoning will be compromised as well as your ability to see distances and peripherally.

It is estimated that once you reach 0.08% BAC, you are more than 11 times more likely to have a DUI accident.

• BAC Level .11 to .20%

If your BAC is 0.11% to 0.20% you are likely to have severe loss of motor control, slow and slurred speech and slow reaction times. You may also experience severe behavioral changes in your mood or expressions. Driving with this level of impairment is extremely dangerous.

• BAC Level 0.20% and higher

If your BAC is 0.20% or higher it can be dangerous, especially as your BAC approaches 0.30% or higher. Death, alcohol poisoning, loss of consciousness, blackouts and substantial motor impairment is not unusual at these BAC levels.

What does this mean for you? You must understand your body and how alcohol, even one drink, will increase your BAC. Absorption rates can be affected by a person’s body mass, muscle composition, metabolism, dehydration levels, age, and tolerance levels.
It can be fine to responsibly drink and have a good time, but drinking too much (which for some people may be only one drink) and getting in the car can have deadly consequences for you or other drivers.

Hiring a DWI Lawyer

If you have been arrested for DUI there may be help for you. DUI lawyers understand DUI laws and have helped thousands of DWI offenders.
DUI laws and penalties have increased over the last several years. Now more than ever it is important to have a DUI lawyer. Even one DUI arrest can severe consequences for you and your driving record.

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Under age drinking a serious problem, especially at high schools and college campuses across the United States. Despite alcohol awareness programs, the incidence of under age drinking has increased over the last several years. Many young students now consider getting drunk and “partying” a ritualistic part of their college experience.

Should we all accept this as a rite of passage or should more be done to stop this epidemic? With parents often hundreds of miles away, it may become the responsibility of colleges, college administrators and law enforcement officers to work together to help curb the problem.

Common Solutions implemented at Colleges

Throwing a weekend party? Some colleges require student groups to submit a guest list by the Thursday before the party, allowing the administration to review it.

• Requiring all campus parties to be alcohol free
• Eliminating the display of beer posters in dorm rooms or any other material that can be viewed as “promotional”
• Removing shot glasses and other alcohol-related items from the campus bookstores
• Random police patrols inside fraternity houses
• Increased marketing campaigns to discourage students from drinking excessively
• Suspensions from school for multiple alcohol offenses
• Increasing intervention, enforcement and education efforts
• Landlords are now frequently checking to see if a student had disciplinary problems or alcohol related issues at the school or in the dorm prior to signing rental agreements
• Encouraging responsible drinking habits
• Talking to students about the dangers of consuming alcohol and drugs
• Having speakers talk to students about the dangers of alcohol
• Increasing the penalties for any under age student caught drinking

No doubt, solving the under age drinking problem is an uphill battle and there is no one size fits all solution. Schools have seen an increase in the numbers of students transported from the campus to the hospital and there has been an upward trend in the level of alcohol that is ingested by the students.

Many schools have decided to notify parents about their student’s drinking problem. This can include sending letters home or encouraging parents to talk to their kids about what is expected from the students while they are attending classes or parties on the college campus.

Unfortunately, many of these efforts should have been done before the kids ever left home. It is estimated that 30% of all 11th graders consume alcohol on a monthly basis. This statistic indicates the problems some students have with drinking may have started before the student even arrived on campus.

It is not unexpected that the incidence of drinking increases when the student, who feels like an adult, gets away from their parents and from the influences of their home and feels like they should be able to make their own decisions, even if those decisions often turn deadly.

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You have three options when it comes to DUI defense: representing yourself, using a public defender, or hiring an experienced DUI attorney. Is representing yourself a good idea in some cases, such as when you can’t afford a lawyer? What can a public defender do to help your case? Your final option, hiring an experienced California DUI attorney, also has many common questions. This guide answers these questions and offers some key tips on defending a California DUI.

Representing Yourself
Unless you’re an experienced DUI lawyer, there are rare if any moments where you should represent yourself in a California DUI case. Why? You won’t know the first thing to do. You won’t understand how to present your case, how to call witnesses, what your legal options are, if you should accept plea bargains, not to mention how to construct your defense. If you are a DUI lawyer, you can effectively handle your case. If you aren’t, you need to hire a California DUI lawyer.

Public Defender
Public defenders, while a better option than representing yourself, are also secondary to hiring an experienced California DUI lawyer. This is because they simply do not have the time to handle your case effectively. It’s also because once you get one, you have no other options. You can’t just fire your public defender and get a new one.

Public defenders don’t have the time to handle your case, do not have the resources to help you win, and are not chosen by you (instead chosen at random). In some cases, you may make too much money to hire a California public defender anyways. But the final option is the best in any case.

Hiring a Professional California DUI Lawyer
While hiring your own lawyer is the best step, there may be some problems. If you hire one for a cheap fee, they could spend about as much time as your public defender. They could accept any plea bargain the prosecution offers so they can move on to their next case. Yes, this is a business, and unfortunately it’s not cheap to win. However, consider the penalties involved if you plead guilty to a California DUI or if you lose. Your license will be suspended, you will be fined, you will likely face jail time, and you’ll be  on probation. Depending on how much you want to avoid these penalties, you can likely see how paying more can lead to better results. You don’t want a cheap doctor to operate on your heart, and you should be willing to pay a lawyer to help you win.

If you want to win your case, you will have to pay for it. And winning is not necessarily “winning.” Your DUI lawyer will be trying to at the least lessen your penalties. If this is your second or third DUI, where you potentially face felony charges, this is quite important. Even for first time California DUI offenders, winning sometimes means negotiating. In some cases, you can beat the charges entirely.

The point of all this is to help you consider your options. While you may have to use a public defender, if at all possible at least query some experienced California DUI lawyers. And never represent yourself.

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Driving under the influence (DUI), the legal term most commonly used to describe the offense of drunk driving, has been attributed by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) of causing 15,387 of the 41,059 deaths by automobile accidents occurring  in 2007. The figure represents 37 percent of the total fatal traffic accidents throughout the United States.

The NHTSA says, “A motor vehicle crash is considered to be alcohol-related if at least one driver  involved in the crash is determined to have had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .01 gram per deciliter (g/dL) or higher. Thus, any fatality that occurs in an alcohol-related crash is considered an alcohol-related fatality.” In 2007, in the state of Texas, there were 1,544 deaths attributed to alcohol which represented 45% of the total that were considered traffic-related fatalities. Non-fatal DUI caused accident statistics are even more startling than the fatality statistics, and they include numerous disabling injuries that have occurred all across our land including places like McAllen, Edinberg, and Mission, Texas.

It is true what some say, it does not pay to drink and drive. With these startling statistics, is there any wonder states are cracking down on the people who drive while drinking? Across the nation, depending on the severity of the traffic violation and including the consideration of a fatality, convictions for drinking and driving can be considered a misdemeanor or a felony, and they can bring a multitude of harsh punishments. With a conviction, a person’s record could permanently brand him or her as a life time criminal. The record is often made public to employers and insurance companies.

Traffic laws have been made to protect the innocent because there usually is an innocent party in most traffic accidents. So, if you are facing a DUI related accident in Texas and have been hurt, disabled, or had a fatality of one of your family members as a result, and you feel like you are the innocent party involved, these types of accidents are too serious and complicated for the average layman to handle by themselves. You will need a legal professional to help advise you on what to do and how to protect yourself. Contact us right now, and we will help you find an attorney in the area where you live that can help you deal with the charges you are facing.

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Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth will likely receive jail time if reports are true that he will plead guilty to intoxication manslaughter  today.

The charge stems from a March 14 incident in which the 28-year-old football player struck 59-year-old Mario Reyes with his Bentley on his way home from a night out in Miami Beach.

A blood-alcohol test taken after the accident showed Stallworth had a level of .126, well over the limit of .08.

Sources are telling reporters that Stallworth will likely serve some time in jail for the crime. I am impressed that Mr. Stallworth is willing to face the consequences of his actions. Many in his position would have held out for no jail time.

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What do you think of when you hear the words DUI (driving under the influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated)? If you are like most people, you think about someone who drives a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol. You probably think about someone who is drunk driving.

Have you ever thought about or realized that these terms DUI, DWI can also refer to driving under the influence of either prescription or illegal drugs. In fact, they can and do refer to a driver who is under the influence (impaired) by prescription or illegal drugs, as well as alcohol.

An issue of ongoing concern to authorities is the person who drives a motor vehicle after using psychoactive drugs. Law enforcement officers, forensic toxicologists, attorneys, physicians and traffic safety professionals in every state in the United States have a continuing concern about this issue of drugs and driving. Documentation and assessment of the impairment displayed by the driver, ways to identify the drug impaired driver on the road, the availability of appropriate chemical tests and the interpretation of the subsequent results are some of the things these professionals are concerned about.

The question may be posed, “Do drugs or medications really impair a driver? Are prescription medications as potentially dangerous as drunk driving?” (more…)

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What comes to your mind when you hear the words DUI (driving under the influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated)? If you are like most people, you probably think about a person who drives a motor vehicle after drinking alcohol. You are probably thinking about someone who is drunk driving.

Have you ever considered or realized that these terms DUI, DWI can also refer to driving under the influence of either illegal or prescription or drugs. The fact is, they can and do refer to anyone who is driving under the influence (driving impaired) by prescription or illegal drugs, as well as alcohol.

The person who drives a motor vehicle after using psychoactive drugs is a matter of ongoing concern to authorities. Law enforcement officers, attorneys, forensic toxicologists, physicians and traffic safety professionals in every state in the United States have a continuing concern about this issue of drugs and driving. Ways to identify the drug impaired driver on the road, assessment and documentation of the impairment displayed by the driver, the availability of appropriate chemical tests and the interpretation of the subsequent results are some of the things these professionals are concerned about.

The question may be raised, “Do medications or drugs really impair a driver? Is operating a car while taking prescription medication as potentially dangerous as drunk driving?” (more…)

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If you drive when you are either intoxicated or drunk, you are placing yourself and others at great risk. Drunk driving or driving with a high blood alcohol content or concentration (BAC) places you and others at a greatly increased risk of highway injuries, car accidents and vehicular deaths.

You may ask, “How is drunk driving defined?” The definition of drunk driving is consistent throughout the United States. Every state and the District of Columbia define impairment as driving with a BAC (blood alcohol concentration) at or above 0.08 percent.

In addition, they all have zero tolerance laws prohibiting drivers under the age of 21 from drinking and driving. Generally the BAC in these cases is 0.02 percent.

If you wonder how big a problem drunk driving is then consider this. The U.S. Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says that there is an alcohol-impaired traffic fatality every 40 minutes in the United States. (more…)

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Drinking and driving have been a serious problem in the United States for many years. The words DUI (driving under the influence) and DWI (driving while intoxicated) are all too familiar to most of us. Drunk driving has been responsible for the loss of thousands of lives in this country.

It may surprise you to find out that these terms DUI, DWI can also be used in regard to driving under the influence of either prescription or illegal drugs. The fact is, they can and do also refer to a driver who is under the influence of (impaired) either illegal or prescription drugs, as well as alcohol.

A person who uses psychoactive drugs and then proceeds to drive a vehicle is an issue of ongoing concern to authorities. It is an issue of continual concern to law enforcement officers, forensic toxicologists, attorneys, physicians and traffic safety professionals in every state in the United States. Some of the things that are matters of concern are ways to identify the drug impaired driver on the road, the availability of appropriate chemical tests, the documentation and assessment of the impairment displayed by the driver and the interpretation of the subsequent results.
(more…)

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