In California as in most states, the crime prescribed by statute in the event of a death caused by drunk driving is manslaughter.  In recent years, however, MADD’s "War on Drunk Driving" has encouraged prosecutors to find creative ways of charging murder.  Let’s eavesdrop on a veteran prosecutor in California explaining the ropes to an ambitious  young prosecutor: Q. [...]

Ok, the cop said I looked bad on the field sobriety tests, but I know I’m not guilty: I only had two drinks and I’ve got witnesses. No matter what the police say, I can tell my side of the story to my fellow citizens and let them decide. Right? Well….Not necessarily. This right to jury trial, [...]

When the U.S. Supreme Court in a 5-4 decision validated DUI "sobriety checkpoints" (aka police roadblocks), Chief Justice Rehnquist admitted that they were a clear violation of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution.   However, he wrote in Michigan v. Sitz, the "minimal intrusion" into citizens’ protected right to privacy was "outweighed" by the government’s interest in [...]

I’ve commented repeatedly in the past about the inaccuracy and unreliability of breath-testing devices used in DUI investigations. This is due to a wide range of factors, including inherent design defects (see, for example, my previous post “Why Breathalyzers Don’t Measure Alcohol”); ineffective calibration and maintenance of the machines; improper administration of the test; radio frequncy [...]

If you are arrested for DUI and a breath test shows a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08% or higher, you are guilty. It does not matter, of course, whether you are a man or a women: the laws do not discriminate. Maybe they should… Researchers at the University School of Medicine in Trieste, Italy, found [...]

Now if MADD were truly interested in saving lives on our highways rather than in eradicating the “evils of alcohol”… Study: Texting More Dangerous Than DUI   LONDON, Sept. 19 (UPI) — Young drivers who send text messages while operating a motor vehicle are at more risk than those who drive drunk, a British study released Thursday finds. The study [...]

For many years now I’ve written and lectured extensively on drunk driving litigation – on the science of blood and breath alcohol analysis, the flaws in breathalyzers, the ineffectiveness of field sobriety testing. In recent years, however, my focus has increasingly shifted to the gradual erosion of constitutional rights in DUI cases. So who cares about [...]

As I’ve written in past posts (Secret Breathalyzer Software Still Secret), defense attorneys have repeatedly tried to gain access to the secret software used to run the various models of breath-testing machines.  As the geeks say, "garbage in, garbage out":  erroneous or badly written software will result in erroneous test results — and thousands of citizens wrongfully convicted [...]

Can alcohol be created by the human body itself — without any drinking? Apparently so. In an interesting scientific article, two physicians at Union Memorial Hospital in Baltimore reported that they detected the odor of beer in three of their patients. This was in an isolated hospital setting; there was no access to alcoholic beverages. The [...]

An increasing number of police officers are using pre-written arrest reports in drunk driving cases. In other words, they are writing out a batch of phony reports — including driving symptoms, slurred speech, failed field sobriety tests, admissions of drinking — and then just filling in the names, dates, etc., when they actually make an [...]

A few years ago, citizens suspected of DUI were given a choice to submit to either breath, blood or urine testing for alcohol concentration.  In the hysteria of MADD’s "War on Drunk Driving", however, things have changed.  Today, citizens (supposedly presumed innocent) are being told they must submit to a blood test — and, if they refuse, are being [...]

Well, I suppose it was a logical inevitability.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving has pressured legislators into passing Draconian laws, intimidated judges into ignoring due process, and now….. MADD Volunteers Hit Road for DUI Enforcement Pilot Program Launches Labor Day Weekend in Florida Manatee County, Fla.  Aug 27   -  In a "first in the nation" pilot program developed by Mothers [...]

It may not surprise you to find out that alcoholics arrested for DUI will generally have higher blood-alcohol readings. It may surprise you, however, to learn that individuals having the disease of alcoholism will generally have higher blood-alcohol readings because they are alcoholics….. That’s right. It’s because the physiology of alcoholics is different in some important respects. One of those [...]

As has been widely reported in the nation’s media, Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been aggressively pushing state and federal legislators to require ignition interlock devices (IIDs) to be installed in vehicles.  MADD’s President has even publicly stated that IIDs will "eliminate drunk driving once and for all".  Of course, automobile manufacturers have jumped enthusiastically on this.  [...]

The debate over the minimum drinking age has continued for decades, with the recent focus being on whether it makes sense to send American youth to fight and perhaps die in foreign countries – but not to drink alcohol.  Our generals have expressed strong views on the subject.  See  MADD vs USMC.  Mothers Against Drunk Driving, ever vigilant [...]