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 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 May 16, 2010
New Legislation in the form of House Bill 2465 is Titled “BREATH TEST INSTRUMENTS–RESULTS—ADMISSIBILITY” and it becomes effective this summer, June 10, 2010. The legislation affects the current statute RCW 46.61.506 which is the law that plays a role in determining whether a breath test will be admitted into evidence in a DUI trial and a civil Department of Licensing hearing. The actual change in the law appears fairly minor. These important changes are underlined: Prior to the start ofRead More