Island County Judge Requires Prosecution To Disclose DUI Breath Test “Bias & Uncertianty” Disclosed To Jury.

Posted by on August 30, 2010

Recently, Island County Judge, P. Strow found in favor of all DUI defendant’s when he ordered the production of breath testing bias.  The order for production came in lieu of a order to suppress the tests which is what the defense originally requested when the prosecution had not provided information and calculations regarding the limitations of breath testing.  Furthermore, it was ordered that such information be disclosed also to the jury during a DUI breath test trial. The ruling cameRead More

Bad Facts Make Bad Law: Felony DUI And Proof Beyond A Reasonable Doubt Reduced.

Posted by 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

Lewis County Deputy Coroner Arrested For Pain Pill DUI.

Posted by 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

DUI Or ADD/ADHD? A Case Of Wrongful Arrest & Prosecution.

Posted by 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

Jonathan Rands Speaks With Tracy Ellis About DUI Law Bi-Weekly On KGMI’s “Legal Docket.”

Posted by on May 29, 2010

On May 9, 2010 KGMI introduced the Sunday morning talk show of “The Legal Docket.”  Bellingham DUI lawyer Jonathan Rands, talks with Tracy every other Sunday in hopes of educating the public about the little understood legal dangers of DUI as well as the widely known and publicized social dangers.  In the the debut edition, Jonathan’s advice is straight forward and simple in explaining how to best avoid a DUI: “Don’t drink and drive.”  While the advice is good, the simple factRead More