ADAM IS WELL KNOWN FOR HIS TENACIOUS APPROACH TO CHALLENGING IMPAIRED DRIVING CHARGES AND HE HAS ENJOYED TREMENDOUS RESULTS FOR HIS CLIENTS.
Alcohol: A Major Factor in Many Crimes Involving Violence
Mark Jante, a 59 year old man from Middlesex Township called 911 on March 12 to report that he had stabbed someone and was in need of medical attention. The police arrived and they found Jante covered in blood and the victim bleeding from his back. The victim was referred to as his “buddy” who ultimately succumbed to his injuries and Jante was the first of two people to be charged with criminal homicide in the Cumberland County. There aren’t many killing that happen in Cumberland County but a factor that has become common in the commission of violent crimes is alcohol.
According to David Jernigan who is an associate professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, adding alcohol to any situation that has potential for violence is like adding gasoline to fire. As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 300 homicides in Pennsylvania between 2006 and 2010 where alcohol was a key factor. Other recent researches by various government authorities have shown that violent crimes have been committed under the influence of alcohol and alcohol accounts for the commission of more than half of such crimes.
Daniel Webster is a professor at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and believes that alcohol affects the behavior of individuals. According to Webster, a little bit of alcohol doesn’t change anything and it is only after a few drinks that the individuals start to show signs of change in behavior. They are rendered unable to drive ultimately resulting in driving and drinking charges, disability to control impulses and other behavioral changes resulting in violence.
Tennessee’s $250 DUI Fee Rendered Unconstitutional by the Appeals Court
Knoxville, Tenn.- In a remarkable verdict this Tuesday, the appeals court has ruled that the state law according to which a $250 fee is paid to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for each DUI conviction that is obtained using a blood or breath test is totally unconstitutional. As per the ruling of the Court of Criminal Appeals in Knoxville that came out on Tuesday, the system of paying a $250 fee to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation violates the due process and raises a question mark on the trustworthiness and reliability of the results of the tests conducted on a person by the scientists of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation. As per the said ruling, it is clearly stated that the whole system of making a payment is flawed and it creates a pecuniary interest in the minds of forensic scientists through continued employment, salaries, equipment and training.
The said law came into existence after the state lawmakers passed a proposal backed by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation in the year 2010 in order to raise the fee from $100 to $250. As per the ruling the fees amounts to about $3 million in totality annually. The case involved a number amounting to more than 20 defendants who had provided breath or blood samples during various periods and after the ruling came out it was applauded by several drinking and driving defense attorneys. It is still unclear whether the prosecutors will appeal to the state Supreme Court or not.
Drunk Canoeing Set to be Removed as an Impaired Driving Offence in Canada
The federal government may be gearing up to have stricter laws as far as drunken driving is concerned since marijuana has been legalized, it is also ready to let go of a law that put canoeists in trouble for having consumed a few drinks and then went on to canoe. Impaired driving charges attracted a lot of penalties such as automatic suspension of driving license, demerit points, steep fines, impounding of vehicle and installation of ignition unlocking devices. The police will no longer be able to impose such charges and will probably have to make do with other charges such as being intoxicated in public etc.
In the Ontario province the police is quite active and they patrol the area especially during the summers as the provincial government has stated that kayaks, canoes and inflatable rafts fall under the impaired driving laws. Charges were dropped in two cases where the defendants were in their canoes and were believed to have had a few drinks and the prosecutors decided that there wasn’t much in the cases to end up in conviction.
The criminal code currently stipulates that vehicles need to be motorized to be qualified under the impaired driving laws and also includes water-going “vessels” whether they are motorized or not. The term “vessels” has not been defined clearly and so leaves it open for the prosecutors and the police to decide its meaning. The definition of the term “vessels” is about to change as the vessel propelled by muscular power will not be included under the impaired driving laws. However, since the law is with regard to target those who endanger public, a person who causes harm to others while in a muscular powered “vessel” can still be charged.
Ontario in Need to Change the Way it Charges Drunk Drivers?
Drunk driving has always been one of the biggest issues for the Ontario government to deal with and it is because drunk driving causes a large number of accidents each year. Different DUI charges are imposed on a lot of people each year due to the stringent laws against drunk driving in Ontario. But, even after several years of hard working exercise against DUI offences, it seems no visible progress has been made against deterring drinking and driving in Ontario.
It now appears that time is now ripe for changing the way to deal with people caught driving under the influence of alcohol by implementing partial decriminalization. The Mother’s Against Drunk Driving Canada has been calling the Ontario government to implement this change as according to them partial decriminalization of DUI charges reduces the deaths cause by drunk driving.
British Columbia had introduced decriminalization of DUI offences through legislation in 2010 vide which the police officers offer people caught driving under the influence for the first time with the option of choosing administrative sanctions or criminal charges as long as they have not caused damage to any property or have injured anyone.
Since the introduction of this new provision, there has been a dramatic reduction in the number of road deaths related to impaired driving. In British Columbia, if an offender chooses administrative charges after a breathalyzer test is conducted on them, their license is suspended for a period of 90 days, they are issued a $500 fine, enrolled in a responsible interlock program and ignition interlock program and their vehicle is impounded for 30 days.
This seems to be working so far and it appears that Ontario government needs to introduce this change as well to curb the growing .
Ways to Avoid Getting Charged With a DUI Offence While You Party
We all love a good time out with friends on a weekend or on a holiday. An evening out with friends or loved ones in D.C. is surely something we all love to go to and look forward to all the time. Partying out with friends during the holidays or the weekend is always fun but sometimes this fun leads to consumption of excessive alcohol and if one needs to drive back home after such a party, all the fun may go down the drain if you get charged with a DUI offence. It’s no secret that DUI laws are quite stringent in United States and in D.C. things are even stricter as there is no tolerance against drinking and driving. So in order to avoid getting charged with a DUI there are a few things you need to follow so that you can enjoy every bit of the time out with friends without you worrying about getting on the wrong side of the law. Here’s what you should do.
Get a driver. Ensure you have a sober driver to drive you back home after the partying is over. You should also ensure that the said driver does not consumer alcohol while with you at the party.
Opt for public transport. You can opt for public transportation services after you are done with your time out with friends and this is the best way to reach home safely.
Book a hotel. You can choose to book a hotel and stay there for the night after your party and once you are sober the next day you can travel back home.
Get a taxi. You can choose to get a taxi for heading back home. A local taxi, Uber or Lyft can be your best option in case you get too drunk.
Make sure you act responsibly while you party and even after that because getting charged with a DUI offence can be life altering.
A Shift from Driving to Drinking as a Measure to Control DUI Offences
There aren’t many people who get charged with a DUI more than once and most of the people who get charged with a DUI never get arrested while being under trial for the DUI offence. Then there are those who get charged with DUI offence in a repeated fashion due to their habit of getting drunk and then driving. As per an analysis of the court records around 1400 people were charged with a DUI in Pennsylvania in the year 2016 and out of them 100 people were charged with more than two DUI charges.
Experts believe that DUI offences can be extremely harmful as those getting drunk and then driving a vehicle being intoxicated can cause a lot of harm to the other law abiding citizens of the society and cause irreparable damage to them. In order to deal with cases involving intoxicated driving, the governments are taking a fresh approach and are letting go of the traditional methods that focused on the driving aspects of the intoxicated drivers.
Now a lot of new ways have been adopted in order to deal with DUI cases such as the 24/7 Sobriety program implemented in South Dakota in the year 2005 according to which a habitual offender needs to appear at the office of the county sheriff twice a day i.e. in the morning and the evening to get a breathalyzer test done and if the said offender fails in one such test then the offender is sent to a county jail for a day or two. Another program by York County known as the Target 25 program has won accolades as it uses SCRAM Continuous Alcohol Monitor on habitual DUI offenders as a condition to release them on bail and the alcohol monitor detects alcohol consumption. The idea behind these programs is to hold offenders accountable for their reckless behaviors and it seems that these programs are being popular by the day being accepted on a national level.
Illegal Immigrant Charged in DUI Crash That Killed Two Including Colts Player Edwin Jackson
In a latest case of drunken driving crash that killed linebacker of Indianapolis Colts, Edwin Jackson and an Uber driver, prosecutors filed felony charges against an immigrant living illegally in the U.S. who is said to have been deported twice before. Manuel Orrego-Savala, who hails from Guatemala, has been charged with two serious offences, causing death while driving intoxicated and leaving the scene of an accident. As per investigators Orrego-Savala has been living in the U.S. illegally for past several years and has reportedly been deported from the country twice in the year 2007 and 2009. After a blood test was conducted on Orrego-Savala, the hospital determined that he had a blood-alcohol level of 0.19 percent which is twice the permitted limit for driving in Indiana.
According to the investigators, Orrego-Savala had been living in the country without permission and was also charged with illegal entry of a previously deported alien and faces up to 10 years in prison on that charge alone. The U.S. Attorney’s office stated that the said charge would be handled after state charges are resolved.
The matter caught widespread attention as President Donald Trump took to twitter and termed the said accident as disgraceful and also nudged Democrats to collaborate with him on the issue of illegal immigration and security of the borders. However, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry while criticizing the comments stated that his office would prosecute the crash case that caused two fatalities in a vigorous manner regardless of the fact that Orrego-Savala was an illegal immigrant. On the other hand Jorge Torres who is dui defence lawyer for Orrego-Savala stated that his client is confused and highly distraught at the moment to say anything and further said that Orrego-Salava who is currently in jail, had been doing construction work in Indiana for several years and his immigration status does not have a bearing in the current case.
The fatal Alligator Alley Crash Included a $150M Powerball Winner
A man who had reportedly won a massive payout in a Powerball drawing was seriously injured in the Alligator Alley crash that killed a young woman from Minnesota. The crash took place earlier this week when a pickup collided with a van along the Interstate 75 stretch known as Alligator Alley in western Broward County. Lauren Vanreese of Andover, Minnesota was the victim who did not survive the crash and was confirmed by family members as aged 18. Florida Highway Patrol also stated that all of the injured victims were from Minnesota.
Another passenger in the van was Paul White aged 49, who got seriously injured and was reportedly a winner of $150 million share of a Powerball drawing in 2013. The crash that took place on Tuesday at 5:34 p.m. near Mile Marker 41 on the eastbound side of the highway and that is when both the vehicles heading east collided. NisbanySuritGarcias, of Fort Myers, the driver of the pickup had a blood alcohol level of 0.182, which is twice the legal limit and was arrested. He would be facing multiple charges and not just the over 80 charge criminal code.
The occupants of the van who had survived the crash told the investigators that they saw Garcias crawling out of his pickup and gathered the “items in the median that had come from his vehicle in the rollover,” as per the arrest report. The van was carrying 15 occupants and all of the occupants were rescued by crews from Boward, Miami-Dade and Palm Beach counties.
Veteran Criminal from Pekin to Face the Wrath of Law Soon
It appears that time is up for a man from Pekin with quite a long criminal history. The forty year old Joshua Haynes has entered five guilty pleas and has convinced judges to vacate four of them along with prison sentences two of them produced. He has hired at least five public defense attorneys and aborted a trial just moments before it was about to start and was convicted in another. Haynes has been imprisoned four times in the past and has filed several motions that include claims of an inadequate representing counsel that kept him in Tazewell County Jail for 550 days on a bond of $100,000, a term he would have spent in a state prison much sooner with sentencing and convictions.
However, sentencing finally came in one of the cases pending against him. With the remaining two cases still pending against Haynes, he could face a prison term of around 36 years in all three cases. The Circuit Judge Thomas Keith gave 10 years of imprisonment to Haynes on Wednesday for possessing ingredients necessary for methamphetamine in a case that had begun in mid of 2016. The jury convicted him in July 2017 and he will remain in jail until sentencing on the pending charges of drugged driving with prior offences and violation of a protection order.
Haynes also faces a 20 year jail term in the DUI case filed in 2014 wherein he withdrew guilty pleas twice. In his third guilty plea that has an inclusion of a reinstated DUI charge, sentencing is set for March 15. Haynes made phone contact with his daughters while in jail while his ex-girlfriend who is the mother of the two girls had obtained a court order against Haynes barring any contact with them.
