Archive for April, 2010

If you haven’t seen the video yet, go back to your cave.  Apparently, the Prince George County police force is notorious for their use of excessive force, and they certainty took the cake this month.  Footage was released of their assault on an unarmed University of Maryland student, John McKenna, committing the unforgiveable offence of celebrating a basketball victory over Duke during March Madness.  No, we’re not kidding.

What adds plenty of spice to this story is the official arrest report, written by a veteran officer, which states that McKenna committed assault on police officers and their horses causing injury, something the video clearly refutes.  Three separate agencies, including the FBI, are now investigating this obvious attempt to subvert justice by its very protectors.

Compare the actions of those above with the example set by Washington State Trooper Adam Gruener.  Gruener, a rookie with WSP only 14 months, was called down to Pierce County by Sgt. Chris Clark, a 21-year veteran and direct superior to young Gruener. Upon arriving Gruener discovered his superior exhibiting all the tell tale signs of a Washington DUI arrestee, most notably that he ran his car off the road and got it stuck. Gruener, in a very awkward situation, did the right thing and notified his superiors.

Clark now faces a Washington DUI charge and disciplinary action for the attempted abuse of authority. 

Police officers, just like the rest of us, make mistakes. They are unique, however, in that their position of authority allows them to mask actions that might have legal repercussions.  I can’t remember how many times one of my clients has shot themselves in the foot by admitting to speeding, or some other crime, because they felt guilty.  The most important thing to remember when you speak with any Washington State law enforcement personnel is that they are not your friend, and you have a right to silence.  Our advice:  use it.

In almost every situation involving the police, the less said the better.  And, you find yourself in the difficult situation of being investigated for a Washington DUI, please invoke your right to counsel immediately.  It’s always your best move.

Almost every DUI report that we have ever read includes a notation that our client had bloodshot-watery eyes, slurred speech of some kind, and that they failed one or more field sobriety tests.  There are many other variations and “indications of impairment” that frequently occur, but these are by far the most common.  

These or similar words seem to appear in about 90% of every Washington DUI report that we read.  Frankly, it seems statistically impossible that so many WA State DUI arrestees could all exhibit these very same characteristics, and we doubt that they actually do.  In their training, however, these clues must be repeatedly emphasized as signs of intoxication.

Of course, who doesn’t have at least somewhat bloodshot and watery at 2:30 a.m. in the morning?  I mean, few people are looking fresh as a daisy in the middle of the night.  I know I don’t. 

As for the odor of alcohol, many of our clients report to us that they have not had a drink in over two hours.  Many also report that they brushed their teeth and were chewing mint gum at the time of their stop.  As for the failed field sobriety tests, the issue of these “roadside gymnastics” is a topic for another complete post in and of itself.

The truth is, if a Washington State or Seattle DUI isn’t obvious (driving the wrong direction down a one way road, driving when literally falling down drunk, etc.), one should often have a very good chance of successfully fighting the charge so long as they retain an experienced WA drunk driving attorney.

There are many ways to collaterally attack a DUI charge.  For example, former hockey star Chris Chelios was pulled over last December for a suspected DUI.  He obviously retained an experienced and knowledgeable drunk driving lawyer.

After being charged, a judge later ruled that the police lacked probable cause based on video captured from a dashboard camera.  Following his arrest, Chelios refused to take a breath test, and then he got a good DUI attorney.  A good DUI lawyer can make all the difference in how your Washington drunk driving case is ultimately resolved.

A good friend of mine is a lifelong Later Day Saint (Mormon).  He’s part of a religion known for abstaining from alcohol.  When he took my sister out for a date back in high school he was pulled over by a county sheriff.  One of the first questions the sheriff asked was “how many drinks have you had tonight?” 

If you are pulled over on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night and it’s after 10:00 p.m., there’s a good chance that this will be the officer’s first question after requesting your license and registration.  And, you should be prepared for it.  If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of having been pulled over after drinking, however, you should request to speak with a Washington DUI attorney as soon as it is evident that the officer is not merely going to give you a traffic ticket.

It’s a question we all ask at some point, how many drinks is one too many?  I know for a guy about my size with my metabolism, I can have about two or three pints in two hours and still be under .08 BAC, especially if I have a decent meal along with the hops.

On the other hand, Donald Wolfe should probably have had at least two or three fewer drinks before he tried to resuscitate a dead possum the other night.  Several witnesses reported seeing Donald kneeling on the side of the highway about 60 miles north of Pittsburgh.  No folks, I’m not kidding here.  Do a broader search on Google if you doubt the veracity of this one.

There was some confusion about the nature of his actions before police arrived; one witness reported that Donald was performing a séance, another said he was giving mouth to mouth.  What isn’t difficult to find out, is whether the 55 year old Wolfe had one too many.  He was arrested and charged with public drunkenness.

Being on the side of the highway had me wondering about how Donald got there though. One hopes he wasn’t driving, with a DUI obviously being a much more serious charge.  Under Washington DUI law, even first time offenders are looking at mandatory jail, a mandatory license suspension, having to obtain an alcohol evaluation and follow any treatment recommendations.  First time offenders are also required to have an ignition interlock device installed into their cars for at least a year.

Given that he wasn’t charged with a DUI, it makes me think that Donald has some really crappy friends.  According to some reports, he had been drinking with several of them at a nearby watering hole and was apparently getting a ride home from one of them.

Who lets a drunken friend get out of the car on a highway and perform mouth to mouth on a dead rodent?   If I was Donald that would be one of the first things I mention to my lawyer.  You do the responsible thing and turn over your keys, and your friends still manage to let you get arrested.  At a minimum, the friend could have made sure that the marsupial was move off the highway before allowing his buddy to perform CPR.

If there was an allegation of drunk driving, these kinds of cases present an interesting defense.  Who could actually testify that they say Donald driving drunk?  It presents what we call an interesting corpus issue.  By the way, you ever find yourself in need of a good Seattle DUI attorney, might we recommend the Law Offices of Jason S. Newcombe.  His WA State DUI attorneys have over 25 years of combined experience in successfully resolving drunk driving cases.

Barry Logan resigned his position as director of the Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau, two weeks after a King County panel of judges ruled that the state toxicology lab engaged in “fraudulent and scientifically unacceptable” practices in the preparation and analysis of breath tests that are used to help prosecute Washington drunk drivers.  Frankly, Dr. Logan’s actions, as well as those the state toxicology lab, particularly as they relate to Washington DUI cases involving breath or blood tests, are a complete embarrassment to crime labs around the country.

In his resignation announcement, Logan stated that he felt “a great deal of responsibility when there are errors made that undermine public confidence in our breath-test program.”  And, there is no doubt that the public’s confidence in the state toxicology lab’s ability to properly assist prosecutors in Washington drunk driving cases was shaken to the core.  He went on to state that he felt that he had “reached a point where I have done as much as I can, and that led to my decision to step down.”  In our opinion, the public was well served by his resignation.

Logan began his career as a state toxicologist in 1990 and was named director of the Forensic Laboratory Services Bureau in 2009.  He was responsible for two labs: the Washington State Toxicology Laboratory and the State Patrol Crime Laboratory Division.  Logan believes that the troubles that plagued his tenure were partly attributed to him basically working two full-time jobs.  This situation is now being rectified and each lab will have its own manger.

The lab came under scrutiny when a toxicology lab manager was accused of falsely stating the verification of solutions for breath testing in drunken-driving cases.  It was later revealed that Ms. Ann Marie Gordon had indeed committed perjury on dozens, if not hundreds of affidavits regarding the certification of simulator solutions that were critical to the properly administration of Washington DUI arrests.  Ms. Gordon resigned her position in July.

Many Washington DUI attorneys went on to successfully challenge these breath test results and have them thrown out.  This was the proper result since the tests themselves could not be trusted due to the problems and false statements associated with Ms. Gordon, as well as several others at the State Toxicology lab.