Terani Law Firm - Criminal Defense Blog » DUI

DUI + a Poor Dog

TeraniLawFirm — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 18:28:22 +0000

Now here is something you hear often. In Idaho, a woman was arrested for drunk driving. Imagine her driving down the road and swerving between lanes. The 28 year old woman made it clear to the officer that she appeared to be driving under the influence of alcohol. So as a normal procedure, the police officer turned on the red and blue lights of his vehicle and pulled her over. The officer knew right away that she was drunk. His instincts were right and the woman’s blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, so she was taken to jail. Now here is something you don’t hear every day. Authorities say a mother and a daughter were arrested for drunk driving within an hour of each other. The mother was arrested when she went to pick up her daughters dog because she was driving under the influence of alcohol. If the mother was indeed drunk, don’t you think she would have sent someone else to go pick up her daughters dog? That’s a question for her criminal attorney to answer. Going straight to the police while you are drunk just doesn’t make sense. The mother needs a criminal defense attorney so she will have strong partners who will defend her and try to attain the best outcome given the circumstances. It wasn’t even an hour later until the mother came to pick up the dog. The officer claims that when she came to pick up the dog, he smelled alcohol on her. He then gave her a test that showed her blood alcohol level as twice the legal limit, just like her daughter. She was then arrested as well. Poor dog.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/07/19/idaho-daughter-and-mother-get-duis-hour-apart/

The Ghost of DUI’s Past

TeraniLawFirm — Tue, 04 May 2010 17:48:43 +0000

When you are charged with drunk driving, you never know what kind of sentence you are going to be facing. You could catch the judge on a good day and get free with nothing more than a slap on the wrist and a fine, or you could receive a criminal conviction and get sentenced to jail time. Since you can’t predict which way the wind might be blowing, or how the judge will respond to your case, it is essential to always have a DUI attorney on your side who will ensure that the best outcome is reached for your case and ideally charges are dropped whether the judge is feeling lenient or wants to play hardball.

Just don’t push your luck too far. A Maryland man was arrested for drunk driving this week and charged with a D.U.I. after hitting a car while allegedly driving under the influence. The catch to this case is that the alleged perpetrator crashed into the judge who had given him a light sentence on prior DUI charges. Judge Collier had decided not to give jail time in 1998 to the very man that hit his vehicle even though at the time the perpetrator had been arrested for driving under the influence twice in a three month time span. It is unlikely that this judge, who sustained injuries along with his wife during the accident, will ever be so nice again. It is also unlikely that even a criminal defense attorney will be able to help this man avoid bars this time, but he will need to retain the representation of a D.U.I. lawyer to make sure the charges do not become more severe than a misdemeanor. Perhaps the perpetrator needs to serve a little time to learn his lesson.

Judges are not the only officials who may be cracking down on suspected drunk drivers. Cops in states such as New York are starting to use “ghost” police cars. These new cars are all white, including the police decals, which are barely visible. So basically, a driver will not see the police car until it is too late and they have already given the officer reason to make a traffic stop and perhaps an arrest on charges of driving while intoxicated. If you get caught by the “ghost,” DUI attorneys are the only ones that have the experience and knowledge to save you from the boogeyman.

On Patrol and Almost Undercover: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/28/nyregion/28ghost.html

Alleged Drunk Driver Hits Judge He Faced in 1998: http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/04/12/us/AP-US-ODD-Drunk-Driving-Judge-Hit.html?scp=1&sq=alleged%20drunk%20driver%20hits%20judge%20he%20faced%20in%201998&st=cse

Alcohol and Drug Related Offenses

TeraniLawFirm — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 17:12:51 +0000

While DUI’s are a common criminal offense, the antics of a 64 year old man at an airport security checkpoint in Germany suggest that perhaps a new category of FUI, or Flying While Intoxicated, needs to be created. This audacious gentleman downed a liter of vodka after being told that he could not take it onto the plane in his carry-on, and unfortunately later had to be treated for alcohol poisoning.

There are numerous charges surrounding substance abuse including Driving Under the Influence of drugs or alcohol, Drunk and Disorderly Behavior, and Public Intoxication. It is necessary to have an aggressive DUI attorney or criminal defense attorney who will carefully examine the details and circumstances of the drunk driving case and fight to minimize the penalties.

Our criminal defense lawyers understand that clients are real people with real problems, and that substance abuse and addiction can be a difficulty a person struggles with every day. Bad things happen to good people who are trying to make good choices each day for themselves and their families. For example, on Tuesday former New York Mets pitcher Dwight Gooden was arrested for driving under the influence of drugs with a child in the car. Gooden has had a long history of struggling with drug abuse. It is terrible that Gooden endangered the life of his daughter and other drivers, but what is the root cause of this offense? Gooden obviously needs continued drug counseling and rehabilitation, and a strong support network to help keep him clean and sober. It is as important to seek help before putting yourself or someone else in danger as it is to continue rehabilitation and counseling after legal matters have been resolved.

For more information on Dwight Gooden’s case, go to: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/36020572/ns/sports-baseball/

For more information on DUI’s and other substance related crimes go to: http://www.criminalattorneyusa.com/alcohol-offense-attorneys.aspx

For other “Bizarre Traveler Behavior” go to: http://www.bing.com/travel/content/search?q=Bizarre+Traveler+Behavior&cid=msn1135147&form=TRVCON>1=41000

When to Hire a Criminal Defense Attorney

admin — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 17:22:27 +0000

Tiger Woods, the number one golfer in the world, has been the main topic of conversation in the news, entertainment and public. The intense attention placed on Woods this month did not develop because of his excellent golfing career, but because of his personal life and potential criminal charges that he may be facing. Tiger needed a criminal defense attorney, fast! Woods’ is suspected of driving under the influence after hitting a hydrant and a tree with his SUV. Drunk driving is a serious crime and although Tiger may have avoided this DUI charge for now, even a celebrity can be charged with DUI. (For those who don’t remember, Kiefer Sutherland received a 42 day jail sentence for his 3rd drunk driving charge quite recently). Back to Tiger; his wife, Elin, rescued Woods by breaking the back windows of the Cadillac Escalade. Luckily, Woods did not endure major injuries, and was taken to the hospital shortly after the incident. It is speculated that Woods’ accident was influenced by a dispute with his wife after she allegedly confronted Woods about his affairs with other women. There don’t seem to be any allegations of domestic violence at this time.

Woods was suspected of being under the influence of alcohol and prescribed drugs during the incident. He was not charged with any criminal charges due to the lack of evidence, but was cited for careless driving and fined $164. Woods was ultimately saved from having a drunk driving charge being filed against him by making the immediate decision to protect himself by hiring the services of his criminal attorney before ever submitting a statement to the authorities.

The process that possibly saved Tiger Woods from facing criminal charges is what we call a Pre-file. In order for someone to be charged with a crime, some kind of investigation has to take place. During the investigation phase, a criminal defense attorney can get involved and prevent any charges from being filed by working with investigators to ensure the accused does not make any statements that may be used against him/her. Woods’ hesitation to speak to the authorities and the involvement of his criminal defense attorney reduced his risk of facing any DUI charges or any other criminal charges that could have had vast damage on his career.

For more information on pre-file investigations you can visit our site at: http://www.criminalattorneyusa.com/pre-file-investigation.aspx

Driving While Intoxicated – Crime Without Intent?

admin — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 14:21:48 +0000

Working at a criminal defense law firm, one sees many different criminal cases but, one type sticks out: DUIs – or drinking and driving, or driving under the influence of alcohol or operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated or whatever you want to call it. Think about this: if you make the choice to rob a 7/11 with a ninja sword, than you have deliberately committed a crime and can be charged with armed robbery. If you decided to take illegal drugs you may not have even hurt anyone, it may FEEL as if you’ve done nothing wrong, but you HAVE deliberately broken the law and committed the crime of drug possession and being under the influence of drugs. DUIs are in a different category. The vast majority of people who are charged with DUIs have not intentionally broken the law. This is a pure guess, but maybe 80% of the population, with bad enough luck, could have a DUI on their record. For a lot of folks it only takes a few drinks to be over the legal driving limit and at that point once you’re pulled over and arrested, you will be entered into the criminal system and you’ll have no other choice than to start calling criminal defense lawyers or DUI attorneys, or whatever you want to call it, to defend you.

Almost all criminal charges require that there be criminal intent involved in the commission of the crime in order for the accused to be found guilty of the crime. Most people who drink and drive have not made the decision to “commit a DUI.” They’re normal people who have a few drinks and drive home. They make a bad decision; they misestimate how intoxicated they really are, and most of the time they really believe it. Unfortunately, that bad decision could cost you your life, or even the life of someone else. It’s an extremely serious situation that someone usually gets into after making what they think is a very small, simple decision. “I’m fine. I only live a mile away. I’m just buzzed.” It seems harmless enough until you’re in a ditch or someone is hurt. (Quickly, just to add as a reminder, it’s not illegal to drink and drive. It is illegal to drink and drive with a blood alcohol content level above .08. That’s a really important distinction that you and your criminal attorney or DUI attorney should be aware of.)

It is always difficult to deal with those clients who have no criminal history, live a good law abiding life, have never even spoke to a criminal defense attorney before, then find themselves in jail for drinking and driving or a DUI. Drinking and driving, more than any other crime, deserves alternative sentencing; anything but jail. Jail is for people who consciously made an effort to break the law and commit a crime. Most DUI offenders are not criminals, a few of them may be stupid, but that doesn’t make them criminals. Take away the license, put them on probation, get them in a rehab program, make them pay restitution if necessary. Unless there have been serious injuries or a death involved, that’s as far as these DUIs should go. The important thing is that people DO learn to drink responsibly and understand the danger of driving when their alcohol level is even close to impairing their driving ability. A DUI attorney should always aim to get the alternative sentencing options discussed above for his or her clients.

For more information visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Driving_under_the_influence