Qualifications to look for in a DUI Lawyer

If you’ve been accused of a DUI, your future might be in jeopardy. You won’t just be looking at losing your license – you could be looking at heavy fines, jail time, and even the loss of your ability to work in some professions. If you’ve been accused, your first step should always be to find a lawyer. With so many lawyers out there, though, it’s hard to know when you’ve found the right lawyer. That’s why you should always look for the following qualities in a DUI lawyer before you commit to working with him or her.
 
Experience
 
The law is too vast for any one lawyer to memorize. As such, lawyers tend to specialize in certain areas as their careers go along. If you have been accused of a DUI (Driving Under the Influence), you need to make sure you work with someone who specializes in DUI defense. These lawyers not only know the relevant statutes and case law, but they are aware of the disposition of the court in your area. If you can find an lawyer who has dealt with DUIs significantly in the past, you can be sure that he or she will put that experience to use helping you.
 
Record
 
You also need your lawyer to have a good record with cases like yours. This doesn’t just mean winning – it means a willingness to take a case to trial if necessary. Find out how often your potential lawyer’s clients go to jail, how often they take plea deals, and how often they are found innocent. You should also look at factors like how often the lawyer goes to court and how many of his or her clients manage to get into diversion programs instead of going to jail.
 
Recommendations
 
Beyond raw numbers, it’s important to get feedback about how an lawyer works from others. While going online will likely give you biased feedback one way or the other, it’s still a very good place to start. In addition to online resources, you can check with lawyers to see if they have any testimonials from satisfied clients. If others have worked with the lawyer successfully in the past, there’s a good chance that you can work with him or her as well. If you can’t find anyone to speak on behalf of an lawyer, you should be wary.
 
Personality
 
While perhaps not the most objective quality, it is important that you find a DUI lawyer who has a personality that will mesh with your own. You will need to feel comfortable with this person, as he or she will be representing you in what might become one of the most important legal matters in your life. If you don’t feel like you can get along with an lawyer, your relationship will cause you problems while you’re already trying to deal with something more important. Even a great lawyer can’t give you the best possible representation if your personalities don’t mesh.
 
Your DUI lawyer needs to be experienced, have a strong record at trial, have good recommendations, and should be a person with whom you feel like you can work. If the lawyer has all of those qualities, you’ll have the ingredients you need for a proper defense. While you should never drink and drive, you still deserve your day in court. If you’ve been accused of a DUI, you don’t have to go through this process alone – you can call William Hanlon Criminal Lawyer in Tampa for the help you need. At that point, you’ll get the fighting chance that your case deserves.
 
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Vince Vaughn arrested at DUI stop

Actor Vince Vaughn was arrested Sunday on suspicion of drunk driving and resisting arrest in a Southern California beach town, police said.

Vaughn was busted early in the morning at a sobriety checkpoint in Manhattan Beach. He was released from custody later in the morning, police employee Nisha Bhagat said.

Vaughn, 48, is best known for his roles in comedies like “Dodgeball” and “Wedding Crashers,” but has landed more dramatic roles in recent years such as the drill sergeant in the Oscar-winning “Hacksaw Ridge.”

A spokesman for Vaughn had no immediate comment when contacted by The Associated Press.
 
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Aurora driver sentenced to 12 years in prison for vehicular homicide DUI

An Aurora driver was sentenced Tuesday to 12 years in prison for hitting and killing a pedestrian while driving under the influence of alcohol and fleeing the scene.
 
Prisma Rodriguez-Ramirez, 22, was sentenced by Adams County District Judge Don Quick for vehicular homicide DUI and leaving the scene of an accident involving death, according to the district attorney’s office.
 
Prisma Rodriguez-RamirezAdams County District AttorneyPrisma Rodriguez-Ramirez
Rodriguez-Ramirez was convicted by a jury in March of the two felony charges.
 
At about 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 30, Rodriguez-Ramirez was driving a black Land Rover SUV near East Colfax Avenue and Nome Street when she hit 36-year-old Antonio Colson who was crossing the street with his wife. Colson died of his injuries. His wife was not injured.
 
Rodriguez-Ramirez sped away, but turned off her headlights and returned to the scene, according to a news release. “She claimed to not know she had hit anyone, but the impact was so hard it
caused Colson to fly 60 feet into the air, broke one of her headlights and crushed her car door,” prosecutors said.
 
Rodriguez-Ramirez had been drinking beer and tequila. She had a blood alcohol content of 0.172.
 
In imposing the maximum 12-year sentence, Quick questioned whether Rodriguez-Ramirez had taken responsibility for her actions, the news release said. Quick noted that after her arrest, Rodriguez-Ramirez told police she didn’t want to spend New Year’s Eve in jail.
 
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Impaired Elliot Lake woman on e-bike charged

On May 27 at 12:40 a.m., officers with the East Algoma detachment of the OPP were on general patrol on Mississauga Avenue and Hillside Drive South in Elliot Lake when they observed an e-bike being operated in an erratic manner.
 
The bike looked like it was out of control. There were no lights on the e-bike and it failed to stop at the intersection. Police initiated a vehicle stop at which time the female driver pulled to the side of the roadway and fell over. A strong odour alcoholic beverage was detected on her breath. She was subsequently arrested and charged for impaired driving and control of a motor vehicle.
 
Tina Rebellato, 50, from Elliot Lake has been charged with driving a motor vehicle while impaired and driving with more than 80 mg of alcohol in the blood. She is scheduled to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in Elliot Lake on July 3.
 
The OPP remind motorists that no amount of alcohol or drug is acceptable when driving. Report impaired drivers. Should you observe a suspected impaired driver, please dial 911 or contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122.
 
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Baby fatally struck by car in Ontario domestic dispute; mother arrested

A 7-month-old baby died after being hit by a car during a domestic dispute in Ontario, and the child’s mother has been arrested on suspicion of DUI causing her child’s death.
 
Officers responded to a domestic dispute call at about 11:40 p.m. Monday in the 500 block of W. D Street.
 
Ontario police said a young mother, later identified as 19-year-old Sarah Gomez, and her boyfriend were having an argument inside a vehicle until the boyfriend stepped out with the couple’s child.
 
Soon after, the mother, in the driver’s seat, struck the man, who was holding their baby girl in his arms, police said.
 
The child was transported to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries and later died. The 21-year-old boyfriend was transported with abrasions that were not life-threatening, police said.
 
“I believe, at this time, that the father and the child were either at the side of the car or at the back of the car, I’m not sure. It did happen near the apron of the driveway and getting into the street area,” said Ontario PD Sgt. Jeff Higbee.
 
Neighbors near the family’s home said they were in shock to hear about the tragedy. Edith Ramirez said the couple was very attentive to their daughter, especially the child’s father.
 
Next-door neighbor Sandra Rodriguez said she can’t imagine what the family is going through
 
“He is a very good father, yeah. I saw when they came, he was always carrying the baby. This is really, really sad,” she said.
 
Gomez was arrested at the hospital. Police say she is being charged with DUI resulting in great bodily injury or death and vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence.
 
She was brought to West Valley Detention Center and was being held on $100,000 bail.
 
Police said it was not yet clear whether the strike was intentional but learned the couple had possibly been drinking at a family gathering prior to the incident.
 
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Man faces DUI charge after 4-vehicle crash early Sunday

The man who allegedly caused a multivehicle crash early Sunday that left one person critically injured is facing a DUI charge, jail records show.
 
Santiago Herrera-Geraldo, 23, is being held without bond at the Clark County Detention Center.
 
At 2:55 a.m. Sunday, four vehicles collided in the intersection of West Charleston and South Decatur boulevards. The crash sent six others to local hospitals with minor injuries and shut down the busy central Las Vegas Valley intersection for hours.
 
Jose Castillo, a passenger riding in Herrera-Geraldo’s gray Honda Accord, was hospitalized in critical condition.
 
The hourslong investigation revealed that the crash happened when the Honda struck the right side of a Toyota Tacoma, which was traveling north on Decatur. The impact caused both vehicles to rotate, sending the Honda into a Volkswagen Jetta and the Toyota into the front of a Ford F150 stopped in the left turn lane on Decatur. Police said the Volkswagen also struck the Ford as it was coming to a stop.
 
Herrera-Geraldo’s 48-hour hearing was scheduled for Monday morning.
 
 

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Weekend DUI Enforcements Start

As people head outside to celebrate the unofficial start of summer, the Department of Transportation and statewide law enforcement agencies will increase patrols and utilize DUI checkpoints this weekend for the Memorial Day DUI enforcement period. Starting tomorrow, May 25, and running through Tuesday, May 29, almost 100 agencies will participate in The Heat Is On enforcement.

Motorists are encouraged to plan ahead for a sober ride to and from their holiday festivities.

Preliminary data indicates that of the 193 statewide roadway fatalities so far in 2018, 36 percent (69) involved impaired drivers.

During last year’s Memorial Day weekend enforcement period, 98 law enforcement agencies cited 332 motorists for DUI. The increased patrols aim to crack down on impaired drivers over the holiday weekend, when activities such as concerts, barbeques and graduation parties commonly involve alcohol consumption.

The Heat Is On isn’t the only special enforcement effort underway. The annaul statewide Click It or Ticket seat belt enforcement campaign is in effect through June 3. In a coordinated effort between CDOT, CSP and 80 statewide law enforcement agencies, the high-visibility seat belt enforcement began May 21. Learn more about CDOT’s seat belt campaign at codot.gov/safety/seatbelts-carseats.

“Last May, 25 people were killed on Colorado roads in impairment-related crashes. That accounted for nearly 50 percent of all road fatalities that month and the third highest total of any month in 2017,” said Darrell Lingk, Director of CDOT’s Office of Transportation Safety. “With warmer summer months ahead, CDOT hopes drivers make plans for a sober ride home before heading out to parties and events where they will consume alcohol.”

The Heat Is On campaign recently completed a five-week spring DUI enforcement period, which totaled 1,850 DUI arrests from 95 law enforcement agencies. This was a decrease from the 1,958 arrests during the same enforcement period last year. The Colorado Springs Police Department (199), Denver Police Department (175) and Aurora Police Department (128) recorded the highest arrest totals.

“Driving under the influence of alcohol, marijuana or other drugs significantly impairs a person’s ability to drive,” said Col. Matthew Packard, Chief of the CSP. “Consuming any amount of alcohol or other drugs can cause impairment. If you are ever unsure if you are safe to drive, always opt for a sober ride home — you could save lives.”

The CDOT Highway Safety Office provides funding to Colorado law enforcement for impaired-driving enforcement, education and awareness campaigns. The Heat Is On campaign runs throughout the year, with 14 specific high-visibility impaired-driving enforcement periods centered on national holidays and large public events. Enforcement periods can include sobriety checkpoints, saturation patrols and additional law enforcement on duty dedicated to impaired-driving enforcement.

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Lawyer blew over the limit, but he beat a drunk driving charge because police arrested him in his doorway

TORONTO — A prominent Ontario criminal lawyer who was driving a pickup truck that a 911 caller reported was swerving all over a major highway has been cleared of drunk driving charges because police violated his Charter rights by arresting him a few minutes later inside the doorway of his house.

All this happened within a few minutes of a 911 call to report that Irving’s black Ford pickup was driving erratically on a nearby highway.

Peel Regional police officers responded promptly, but botched the arrest, according to Justice George S. Gage. With one officer demanding he come to the door, and holding a foot in the threshold to prevent it closing, and as many as five other officers on the front step, Judge Gage found Irving was illegally “coerced by the state from the safety and privacy of his library into the scrutiny of the officers on the front porch.”

This was a violation of his Section 8 Charter right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure, and it means the blood alcohol readings that later showed him too drunk to drive were excluded from evidence, and so the charge failed.

Nevertheless, the judge decided that it was in fact him who was driving the truck just a few minutes earlier. His lawyer acknowledged this is true, but said Irving had not drunk any alcohol at the time.

“He’s a lawyer himself and he knows better what would be the consequences of driving impaired on the 401 (which leads from Toronto to Brampton via the 410) in the middle of the day, or broad daylight. It’s blatant,” Shahid Malik said in an interview. He called it a “very fair decision,” reflecting that Irving’s constitutional rights were violated in his own home.

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Toronto man charged with DUI homicide in Bensalem

Authorities have charged Shane Learn, 48, of Toronto, Canada, with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses stemming from a crash last month that injured two and left a Northampton man dead.

A husband and wife from Northampton planned to have a few drinks while out at Parx Casino in Bensalem last month, according to Bucks County prosecutors.

So rather than drive themselves, they arranged to take a Lyft ride.

They never made it to their destination.

Shortly before 7 p.m. April 28, Bensalem police say a Ford F-150 pickup slammed head-on into the Chevrolet Malibu that had picked them up.

Neil Weiner, his wife Audrey Shapiro, and Lyft driver Daniel Weingart were rushed to Jefferson-Torresdale Hospital in Philadelphia where Weiner, 57, died May 1.

Now authorities have charged the driver of the pickup truck, Shane Learn, 48, of Toronto, Canada, with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence and related offenses, court records show.

In an affidavit of probable cause, police said Learn’s truck struck the guardrail in the 4000 block of Richlieu Road and then crossed the double-yellow line into the opposite lane of travel where it collided with the Malibu heading south.

Police responding to the scene said Learn had “bloodshot, glassy and watery eyes” and his breath smelled like alcohol. He allegedly failed two field sobriety tests as well as a breathalyzer test.

According to police, Learn told them he drank two beers and a double whiskey drink prior to driving, allegedly stating, “It was my fault. I crossed the line.”

“It’s a shame,” said Deputy District Attorney Robert James. “Two people doing exactly what they’re supposed to be doing … It doesn’t matter. You have someone driving drunk who hits them anyway.”

Weingart was not seriously injured in the crash, James said, but Shapiro was still hospitalized as recently as Monday. She has lost an eye as a result of the crash and may be permanently blind, he said.

For a fatal DUI, James said Learn’s alleged blood-alcohol level, .13 percent, was on the low end of cases he’s charged, with some defendants’ BACs more than double that number.

“It just goes to show you, impaired is impaired,” he said.

Learn, who has been living and working in the Bensalem area, has been cooperating with investigators and turned himself in to police Tuesday, James said.

He was sent to Bucks County prison in lieu of 10 percent of $300,000 bail set by District Judge Michael W. Gallagher during a Monday afternoon arraignment, records show. A preliminary hearing is tentatively set for May 16.

Weiner was a father of two, managed his own printing business and brought laughter to everyone he knew, according to an obituary.

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Families of victims killed in DUI crashes rally in support of bill calling for increased penalties

Fifteen Pennsylvania familes held photos of family members killed in DUI-related crashes in the state capitol Tuesday in support of Senate Bill 961, which seeks to increase penalties for repeat DUI offenders.

The families shared their stories of how their loved ones’ lives were cut short due to the poor choices made by drivers who were under the influence, many of which who were repeat offenders.

One of the family members referred to vehicles operated by drunk drivers as “4,000-pound weapons.”

Another woman, Kelly, talked about her nephew Zachary Gonzalez. He was 15 years old when he was killed by a driver under the influence of drugs. Gonzalez was riding his bike at the time.

“We had custody of Zachary because his father was killed when he (Zachary) was 3 years old by a drunk driver crossing the street,” Kelly said. “A small family of four, two lost, by others’ choices to drive impaired.”

Senate Bill 961 would make the following changes to existing laws:

A felony penalty for a third DUI within 10 years if the third offense involves a blood-alcohol content of .16 or higher, and in all other cases after the fourth offense
Increased penalites for homicide by vehicle while DUI, which is currently a 3-year minimum.
If convicted of a prior DUI, the minimum setnence for causing death would be 5 years.
If convicted of two or more prior DUIs, the minimum sentence for causing a death would be 7 years.
Increased penalties for driving while under a DUI-related license suspension.
According to PA Parents Against Impaired Driving, repeat DUI offenders are responsible for approximately 40 percent of all DUI-related fatalities, and there are over 50,0000 new DUI cases in the state annually.

“The purpose of this law is so that no other families will have to stand here holding a picture .. with their loved one’s photo,” said Sen. John Rafferty. “We have drawn the line and said ‘no more is this going to continue in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.'”

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