Fight A DUI

The Kent County Times has an article about political fighting caused by a paperwork snafu that led to the dismissal of several cases involving breathalyzer refusals.

 paperwork snafu that caused the Traffic Tribunal to dismiss several breathalyzer refusal cases has escalated into a war of words between Speaker William Murphy (D- Dist. 26, West Warwick, Coventry, Warwick) and Rep. Robert Flaherty (D-Dist. 23, Warwick), a possible leadership challenger.
About 10 cases where suspected drunk drivers refused a breathalyzer test, including at least one that was a client of Flaherty, who is a lawyer in private practice, were dismissed after it was learned some police departments allegedly gave them the wrong information about the consequences of declining the test.

The heart of the matter involves a $200 assessment for each offense that would be paid to the Department of Health. However, not all police departments received the updated information, causing some defendants to receive paperwork without notification of the new assessment. The confusion apparently contributed to an ongoing disagreement between local political figures, the details of which can be found at the link above.

CBS SportsLine.com was among many news agencies reporting that the Mountaineer sophomore WR will be suspended following a Sunday morning arrest:

“He made a mistake,” Rodriguez said.

Bruce was arrested Sunday morning and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. Details of the arrest were unavailable Tuesday. Campus police said no one was available to comment. Sports information director Shelly Poe had no further information.

California DUI Defense Lawyer Neil Shouse explains 30 ways to beat a DUI over at Southern California DUI Defense.com. Below are the 30 ways, click the link to get details.

1. GERD Or Heartburn Caused A Falsely High Reading On The DUI Breath Alcohol Test
2. The DUI Police Officer Failed To Read You Your Miranda Rights
3. Weaving Within Your Lane Does Not Justify A DUI Traffic Stop
4. Alcohol On Your Breath Does NOT Mean The Driver Is Under the Influence
5. The Officer Lacked Probable Cause For The DUI Arrest
6. There Are Innocent Explanations For Your Faulty Driving
7. The Alleged Signs of DUI Are Actually Signs Of Fatigue
8. Your Blood Alcohol Level Was Rising
9. An Improper 15-Minute Observation Before The Breath Alcohol Test
10. The Police Officer Lacked Justification To Make The DUI Traffic Stop
11. Failure To Comply With California’s Regulations
12. Inherent Error Rate In DUI Blood and Breath Alcohol Testing
13. The DUI Officer Has No Baseline For Your Performance On The Field Sobriety Tests
14. Factors Other Than Alcohol Can Cause Poor Performance On The Field Sobriety Tests
15. The DUI Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Were Not Properly Administered
16. The Non-Standardized Field Sobriety Tests Lack Reliability
17. Field Sobriety Tests Provide A Poor Measure Of DUI Impairment
18. Mouth Alcohol Can Contaminate The Breath Alcohol Test Results
19. Blood-Breath Partition Ratio Is Inaccurate Based on Individual Differences
20. The Breath Alcohol Test Yields Unduly High Results During Absorption
21. Police Have No “Special Ability” To Judge Intoxication Levels
22. No Sign Of Mental Impairment
23. Innocent Explanations For The Symptoms Of Intoxication
24. Speeding Is Not Correlated With DUI
25. Radio Frequency Interference May Have Contaminated Your BAC Tests
26. Breath Testing Machines Mistake Other Chemicals for Alcohol
27. Low-Carb Diets Can Cause Falsely High DUI Breath Test Readings
28. Breathing Techniques May Alter Breath Test Results
29. Breath Temperature May Alter Breath Test Results
30. A “Disconnect” May Exist Between Your BAC And Symptoms Of Intoxication

A California Highway Patrol operated checkpoint in Sonoma county resulted in 2 DUI arrests and 25 vehicles impounded for driving without a valid license.

“Each year, members of our community are needlessly injured or killed on our roads,'’ CHP Capt. Kelly Young said. “Our objective is to send a clear message to those considering mixing alcohol and/or drugs with driving this year (that) the California Highway Patrol will be keeping a watchful eye on you.'’

In all, some 330 vehicles were checked over four and a half hours between 7:30PM and midnight.

Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb has written a short note suggesting that low carb diets, which encourage the body to produce ketones from burning stored fats, can cause irregularities (specifically, higher Breathalyzer results):

Don’t laugh at this story because it is very serious and could happen to YOU if you are in the right set of circumstances. It seems the breathalyzer tests used by law enforcement officials can register a false reading based on elevated ketone levels in your body. As you know, people who are on the low-carb lifestyle, especially in the most ketogenic stages eating around 20-40g carbs daily, induce heavy ketosis in their body to begin burning all that stored fat that’s inside of them. That’s what makes low-carb work so spectacular!But a recent experiment by a scientist friend of mine showed those excess ketones that come from livin’ la vida low-carb can actually show up on the breathalyzer test in a negative way and create a false positive for the presence of alcohol.

Conducted over several weeks, the scientist first made sure his body was not in ketosis and tested his blood alcohol content. Predictably, it came back with a ZERO reading. Then he allowed his body to get into ketosis and ran a series of tests with the breathalyzer. He scored as high as a 0.04% blood alchol content, which is about half of what the legal limit is in most states.

Keep in mind that he consumed no alcoholic beverages, no cough syrup, no mouthwash, and had no residual starch/sugars fermenting in his mouth. This reading he obtained was based solely on the ketones his body was producing.

That’s plausible, but hardly a scientific test. What’s more, the 0.04 reading won’t get you arrested alone, and one must question whether or not a low-carb-only dieter could possibly reach the 0.08 limit alone. When combining low-carbs with drinking, it seems possible to cross the 0.08 barrier without being impaired, but one must question how common a ‘low carb dieter’ is going to be drinking carb-heavy alcoholic drinks.

In any case, something to keep in mind for low-carb dieters who enjoy a few drinks.

The New York Daily News is one of many reporting that a limousine driver’s lawsuit against Nassau County will be allowed to proceed following a U.S. Distrit Judge ruling.

The case began in August, 2004, when two officers saw Aguilera driving erratically. He claimed that he did not feel well and was unable to control his movements, but was able to pass a field sobriety test, and was arrested on a DWI charge. After sitting on the bench for about two hours, more alcohol and drug tests were administered, and Aguilera passed them without issue.

Aguilera was eventually released, charges were dropped, and a hospital exam later revealed that he had suffered a stroke.

A Tahlequah, Oklahoma, mother - 24 year old Crystal Brown - hit an electric pole and a parked car before driving her vehicle into a ditch. Upon arriving at the scene, police discovered that Brown’s 3 year old daugher was in the back seat, unrestrained by either seatbelt or child safety seat. Neither Brown nor her dauther suffered any injuries.

In addition to DUI charges, Brown is also accused of resisting arrest and assault and battery on a police officer.

Danielle Baymack, 22, was charged with vehicular manslaughter and driving while intoxicated after the 2000 Mitsubishi sedan slammed into a signpost at 4:30 AM, killing fellow officer Marlene Rivera, 24, of Brooklyn. Baymack pleaded not guilty from her hospital bed last Saturday afternoon.

Baymack and Rivera, both rookie officers at the 103rd Precinct, were driving home after a night partying at a nightclub. The Nassau County police on the scene smelled alcohol on Baymack’s breath, and a breathalyzer allegedly confirms a BAC at .11 - above the legal limit of .08.

Additional details are available at zwire.com and Newsday.com

The Hollister Police Department will be operating a DUI checkpoint within the City of Hollister timed to coincide with the San Benito County Fair this weekend. The county fair is expected to draw several thousand people to Bolada Park in Tres Pinos.

“It’s a good way to remind people to be safe and catch those who aren’t,” Hollister Police Captain Bob Brooks said.

DUI arrests in San Benito County were up to 361 in 2005, a significant rise from 305 in 2001. Officials hope check points will encourage drivers to stay safe and avoid DUIs.

The Mississippi Supreme Court refused to review a lower court’s decision regarding a blood sample taken after a fatal DUI crash (the test found a BAC of 0.09 - above the legal limit of 0.08 for Mississippi). The lower court ruled last December that it was unclear whether the defendant (Dr. Samuel Shaw) was under arrest when the blood was taken. The Supreme Court has declined the prosecutors’ request to hear the case, leaving the prosecutors with virtually no evidence against Shaw. They key factor: the Appeals Court says Shaw refused to submit blood samples, which were then drawn without his permission.