Posted by Jonathan Rands on September 23, 2010
Yesterday, September 22, 2010, a King County District Court 3 Judge panel found that breath tests, previously held to be inadmissible for any purposes, opened the door to permitting the test once again. However, before they can be admitted the Judges required that uncertainty must be provided in discovery and to the jury or, upon motion, the breath test results will be suppressed. In the Court’s Decision the Judge’s wrote: For the reasons stated below, we hold that historic standardsRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on August 21, 2010
This week the Court Of Appeals issued a ruling that appears to lessen the prosecutions burden when it decided the issue of prior offenses for the purposes of the felony DUI statute. The ruling came from Division One of the Appeals Court, State v. Paul 2010 . Division One’s decisions are binding authority on all lower courts (Superior, District, and Municipal) that are geographically located north of Interstate 90 and east to the mountains. The only higher state court is theRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on August 14, 2010
This week in Whatcom, Skagit, Island, and many other counties in Washington State, the “Drive Hammered get Nailed” campaign begins and continues through Labor Day. While the message is clear, — You’ll likely get Nailed by local and state law enforcement if you drive hammered, the actual effect is such that some legally sober driver’s will be caught in this overly wide “net” that is cast by law enforcement. There is no doubt that the enforcement of laws is aRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on August 8, 2010
Recently it was reported that, the woman in charge of examining dead bodies for local criminal cases was arrested in July on suspicion of driving under the influence of pain pills, according to an incident report filed by the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office. While many question the wisdom of making such an arrest newsworthy, it demonstrates that members of law enforcement are not immune to DUI and also identifies interesting issues that many are unaware of: DUI means Alcohol and/orRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on August 5, 2010
Last Friday the Bellingham Herald ran the following headline and story: Calibration error puts DUI tests across Alaska in doubt. The article written by James Halpin originated from the Anchorage Daily News and states that “Nearly 2,500 breath-alcohol tests conducted in drunken-driving cases across the state over a period of nearly four years used equipment with flawed quality control standards. As a result defense attorneys say the flawed practice calls into question the accuracy of the test. State officials acknowledgeRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on July 26, 2010
Although July 4th is a nationally recognized holiday celebrating the freedom and civil liberties of those within the land, July 1, 2010, the State Supreme court celebrated early. In the recently issued case of, State v. Afana, the State Supreme Court followed the US Supreme Court reasoning in Gant (police may search a vehicle incident to a recent occupant’s arrest only if the arrestee is within reaching distance of the passenger compartment at the time of the search) and then added anotherRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on July 19, 2010
Next week, the U.S. House of Representatives is expected to vote on a bill that is described as technology that can help eliminate drunk driving by “turning cars into the cure” through the development of advanced alcohol detection technology. This technology is known as Ignition Interlock Devices (IID). MADD is calling this bill “life-saving.” MADD suggests that it is working to “turn cars into the cure” by supporting advanced alcohol detection technology which will one day allow cars to determineRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on June 20, 2010
Recently, Skagit County District Court Judges David Svaren and Warren Gilbert heard testimony from expert witnesses in support and in opposition to a defense challenge to the admissibility of breath tests due to the lack of adherence to scientific principles. Their ruling requires State Prosecutors to provide evidence of uncertainty in DUI prosecutions where a breath test was given. (Skagit Co Uncertainty Ruling) The defense expert witness, Ashley Emerey, a UW professor, testified that the generally accepted principles in the scientific communityRead More
Posted by Jonathan Rands on June 14, 2010
You may have seen or heard about Washington Roadside DUI “Sobriety Tests” and that officers use them not just here, but nationwide to justify their arrests. In Washington the law allows use of the tests as “evidence” to help prosecute drivers for DUI. In Washington state, the prosecuting attorneys does not need a breath test to move forward with DUI prosecution if the driver performed these roadside tasks. However, these tests do not account for the disability of ADD/ADHD that is recognized by theRead More
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