 |
FOXNews.com - Views News - Straight Talk - When Drunk Driving Deterrence Becomes Neo-Prohibition SEARCH E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY FOXFAN CENTRAL When Drunk Driving Deterrence Becomes Neo-Prohibition Thursday, October 06, 2005 By Radley Balko ARCHIVE This fall Mothers Against Drunk Driving marks its 25th anniversary. The organization certainly has much to celebrate: Deaths from drunk driving are down more than 35 percent since the early 1980s. We no longer chuckle at the bumbling drunk who can barely get his key into the ignition — we scorn him. Hopefully, we arrest him, too. Unfortunately, MADD has come to outlive and outgrow its original mission. By the mid-1990s, deaths from drunk driving began to level off, after 15 years of progress. The sensible conclusion to draw from this was that the occasional drunk driver had all but been eradicated. MADD's successes had boiled the problem down to a small group of hard-core alcoholics. It was at about this time that MADD began to move in a different direction, one not so much aimed at reducing drunk driving fatalities but at stripping DWI defendants of basic criminal rights. MADD also seemed to expand its mission to one of discouraging the consumption of alcohol in general — what critics call "neo-prohibition." MADD's biggest victory on this front was a nationwide blood-alcohol threshold of .08, down from .10. But when two-thirds of alcohol-related traffic fatalities involve blood-alcohol levels of .14 and above, and the average fatal accident occurs at .17, this move doesn't make much sense. It's like lowering the speed limit from 65 to 60 to catch people who drive 100 miles per hour. In fact, the U.S. Government Accountability Office reviewed all the statistical data and concluded "the evidence does not conclusively establish that .08 BAC laws by themselves result in reductions in the number and severity of crashes involving alcohol." (Story continues below) ADVERTISEMENTS Advertise Here Indeed, many critics of the .08 policy predicted that the new law could make matters worse by using up scarce law enforcement resources to go after these new "drunk" drivers who don't pose much of a threat to highway safety. This is primarily done through the use of highly-publicized roadblock sobriety checkpoints, in which 12 to 20 police officers stop every passing car to make sure the driver hasn't been drinking. The Supreme Court gave its OK to the road blocks in 1992, despite conceding that they may violate the Fourth Amendment. Former Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote that the threat to public health posed by drunk drivers was reason enough to set aside concerns about searches without probable cause. Given that they're usually publicized, the primary effect of these roadblocks is to deter social drinkers. The hard-drinkers, the real threats to highway safety, know to avoid them. Sure enough, after former President Clinton signed .08 into law in 2000, drunk driving fatalities began to inch upward again — after two decades of decline — suggesting that the real drunk drivers were successfully avoiding the roadblocks. Thankfully, fatalities fell again last year, but that hardly proves MADD correct — deaths continued to go up in those states that employ sobriety roadblocks. The corresponding fall in fatalities in states that refuse to use the roadblocks more than made up the difference, suggesting that, freed from roadblock duty, law enforcement was able to work more effectively to catch drunk drivers. Many local police departments have noted the inefficiency of roadblocks and given up the practice, despite the prodding from MADD and the federal funding that comes with them. Of course, many states and municipalities still use roadblocks. But they use them under the guise of looking for drunk drivers, then ticket motorists for a variety of infractions, only a small percentage of which involve driving while intoxicated. In other words, they've become revenue generators. A newspaper account of one recent North Carolina checkpoint, for example, found officers ticketing motorists for more than 45 infractions. Only three involved driving under the influence. That's actually high. Nationwide, less than .02 percent of motorists stopped at road blocks are arrested for DWI. MADD has also worked to undermine the criminal protections of accused drunk drivers — protections routinely granted to accused murderers, rapists and other felony crimes. MADD, for example, has pushed to impose tougher penalties on motorists who refuse to take roadside breath tests than on those who take them and fail — effectively turning the Fifth Amendment on its ear. The organization also favors "administrative license revocation," which means the revocation of the driver's licenses and, in some cases, the confiscation of the vehicles, of those accused of drunken driving before they're ever given a trial. The organization is also pushing the widespread use of ignition interlock devices, in which a driver must blow into a tube to start his car, then blow again every 20 minutes or so while driving. Washington state recently passed a law allowing judges to mandate the devices in the cars of people merely accused of drunk driving, not convicted. And the states of New Mexico and New York have both considered legislation that would require the devices in every car sold in-state. The New Mexico bill is stalled in the state senate after being passed by the house. The New York bill was initially killed, but it gains more votes each time its determined sponsors reintroduce it. MADD is also pushing its agenda onto family laws, including a zero tolerance policy for divorced parents. Under the bills MADD is trying to push through state legislatures, a parent caught consuming one beer or glass of wine before driving could face penalties that, according to MADD , "should include, but are not limited to" — "incarceration," "change of primary custody," or "termination of parental rights." This means that if you take your kid to the game, have a beer in the third inning, then drive home, you could very well lose your rights as a father. Even MADD's founder, Candy Lightner, has lamented that the organization has grown neo-prohibitionist in nature. "[MADD has] become far more neo-prohibitionist than I had ever wanted or envisioned ...," Lightner is quoted as saying in an Aug. 6 story in the Washington Times. "I didn't start MADD to deal with alcohol. I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving," she said. Unfortunately, the tax-exempt organization has become so enmeshed with government it has nearly become a formal government agency. MADD gets millions of dollars in federal and state funding, and has a quasi-official relationship with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In some jurisdictions, DWI defendants are sentenced to attend and pay for alcoholic-recovery groups sponsored by MADD. In many cities, MADD officials are even allowed to man sobriety checkpoints alongside police. On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, perhaps its time Congress revisit the spigot of federal funding flowing to MADD, and consider revoking the organization's tax-exempt status. Clearly, MADD isn't the same organization it was 25 years ago. It has morphed into an anti-alcohol lobbying organization. There's nothing wrong with that — it's certainly within MADD's and its supporters' First Amendment rights. But taxpayers shouldn't be forced to subsidize them. Radley Balko maintains the The Agitator weblog. Respond to the Writer E-MAIL STORY PRINTER FRIENDLY FOXFAN CENTRAL SEARCH ADVERTISEMENT
Drunk Driving | Drunk Driving Deterrence Becomes | drunk driving offenses. The | Drunk Driving Report Card | drunk driving crash changed | Drunk Driving Click here | drunk driving and underage | Drunk Driving Sobriety Checkpoints | drunk driving as an | Drunk Driving Prevention Early | Drunk Driving Laws Are | DUI arrest different from | DUI Arrest: DMV Administrative | DUI Arrest An officer | DUI Arrest | DUI arrest Play video | DUI Arrest | DUI arrests. If you | DUI ARRESTS Since 1990, | DUI arrests were recorded | |
|
DWI Attorneys Search by Crawford, Indiana DUI/DWI Attorneys, Lawyers and Law Firms DUI/DWI Lawyers in Crawford County, Indiana View all DUI/DWI Lawyers in Indiana Search for Premier DUI/DWI Attorneys Search by State: AL AK AZ AR CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MH MD MA MI MN MS MO MT NE NV NH NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX VI UT VT VA WA WV WI WY -------- or --------- Search within: 25 Miles 50 Miles 125 Miles All From Zip Code: Additional Resources How a criminal lawyer can help DUI/DWI Law (Drunk Driving) FAQs State-by-state DMV Information State laws on Drunk Driving MADD Impaired Driving Facts Alcoholics Anonymous Drunk Driving State Statisics Home -> DUI/DWI -> Indiana -> Crawford County Lawyers View All Crawford County Lawyers The Cochran Firm Criminal Defense Section Contact: Call for Free Consultation Free Phone Consultation Send Email | Visit WebSite | Click Here for Phone Number All Courts, All Crimes. Federal, State, Juvenile, Sex Crimes, Drugs, DUI, Domestic Violence, Embezzlement, etc. Available 24 Hours, for Free Consultation. Experienced Attorneys with Proven Results. Listings for Crawford County DUI/DWI Lawyers: English, IN Burgher & Burgher , Marcus Burgher IV, 104 Indiana Avenue, P.O. Box 105 Are you a Lawyer? List on AttorneyPages | Find Expert Witnesses | Find Legal Information / Advice | Legal Forms | About Us | Media AttorneyPages® is not a lawyer referral service and never receives any portion of any attorney's fees.We welcome feedback from visitors but are not responsible for any attorney's advice. Use of AttorneyPages.com is subject to our disclaimer, conditions of use and privacy policy.Use for marketing or solicitation is prohibited. AttorneyPages® , ExpertPages® and FreeAdvice® are trademarks and units of Advice Company ® 1997 to 2006 - All Rights Reserved - For feedback or listing information only, contact us by phone, Fax or Email: 2330 Marinship Way Suite 120, Sausalito, CA 94965, P.O. Box 1739 Sausalito, CA 94966 (415) 331-1212 - Fax (415) 331-4255
DUI Arrest | DUI Arrest | DUI Arrest | DUI Arrest | DUI Arrest | DUI Arrest | DUI Arrests By Josh | Aggressive DUI | Aggressive DUI Task Force | aggressive DUI Defense. He | aggressive DUI / Drunk | aggressive DUI trial lawyer, | Aggressive DUI lawyers for | Aggressive DUI Attorneys for | Aggressive DUI Defense in | Aggressive DUI Attorneys for | aggressive DUI defense. Massachusetts | Aggressive DUI attorneys for | aggressive DUI defense. Massachusetts | Aggressive DUI Attorneys for | |
|
DWI LawOriginal DUI Attorney - DWI Lawyer Directory and Drunk Driving Defense Guides - since 1997 - www.DUI-Help.com Find your statebelow and click for information (choosestate) Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Canada Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinoi s Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada NewHampshire NewJersey NewMexico NewYork NorthCarolina NorthDakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania RhodeIsland SouthCarolina SouthDakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington WestVirginia Wisconsin Wyoming Canada Did You Know? You can purchase Drunk Driving Defense related books here on this site.Click Books for more information. SecureDo-it-yourself Quiz Do YouHave a Case? FreeDefense Report SecureAsk-your-question Form NoObligation FreeConsultation LargestCollection of DUI Qualified Directory Search Page Find anAttorney DWI DUI Expert Lawyers &Attorneys can apply to have practicelisted in the directory, clickhere Get your Free Defense Report above BREAKINGDUI NEWS & DUI BLOG stories from agencies acrossthe internet 1/15/2006 - BLOODalcohol content calculations Health24.com - Cape Town,South Africa When you drink, your blood alcohol levels are not skyhigh withinminutes. When alcohol is consumed and the blood alcohol concentration... 1/8/2006 - SFST -Standardized Field Sobriety Tests - Junk or Not? AZ Central.com - AZ,USA ... slew of DUI defense attorneys have been assiduously picking apartBurns' research on the standardized field sobriety tests for years.Spurgeon Cole, a Georgia ... 12/25/2005 - SITESand Sound Advice For Your Eve Washington Post - United States ... In case you're thinking of trying your luck at avoiding the law,consider that a DUI these days will cost you at least $7,800.FriendsDriveSober ... 12/6/2005 - THE Claim:Never Drink on an Empty Stomach New YorkTimes - United States ... But the subjects also reached significantlylower blood-alcohol levels over all - on average about 70 percent ofwhat they were on the day they skipped ... 12/4/2005 - HOWmuch booze OK? Debate of .05 or .08 blood-alcohol level EdmontonSun - Canada Raynald Marchand, the Canada Safety Council'smanager of trafficsafety, says criminalizing motorists with a blood-alcohol concentration(BAC) of .05 is the ... 12/3/2005 - Sucking on a pennyor a breath mint will help someone who has been drinking defeat abreathalyzer test . fromSnopes.com ... For this reason, we adorethe honest side adore the notion oflittleeasy-to-do tricks that will keep us, the occasional overindulgers, frombeing rounded up and tossed into the hoosegow as if we were actualmiscreants who make our roads dangerous. ... 11/30/2005 - THEY'REhopping MADD over pocket breathalyzers Mississauga News Mississauga,Ontario,Canada ... But, police and MADD say the devices are often inaccurate and theyencourage people to drink and drive. "Using the pocket breathalyzer islike playing Russian ... 11/23/2005 - Drinking & Driving Can Create HolidayTragedies; 21st Century Insurance Urges Safe Driving with SeasonalCampaign Common AlcoholConsumption Myths -- and Facts that Could Save Lives: Myth: Aslong asparty-goers stick to beer and wine, instead of hard liquor, theintoxicating effects are minimized. FACT: One 12 oz. can of beer,5 oz. glass of wine or 12 oz. wine coolercontains the same amount of alcohol as one 1/2 oz. of hard liquor. Myth: Someone who has had too much to drink willshow visible signs ofintoxication. FACT: Physical appearance canbe misleading. Just one drink can impairone's ability to drive safely, because alcohol consumption affectsjudgment and motor skills first. Myth: Drinkingcoffee sobers up someone who has had too much to drink. FACT: Time isthe only solution to intoxication. It takes approximately one hour tooxidize each drink consumed. 11/19/2005 - UNTRAINED,unskilled, uncorrected drivers to blame for most traffic crashes KingsportTimes News - Kingsport,TN,USA First in a series Jerry Paregien is a retiredCalifornia Highway Patrol Sgt. who now lives in Kingsport. The days are gonewhen ... **editor'snote -the common DUI DWI is not mentioned once in this article. 11/5/2005 - CRITICIZING'zero tolerance' for DUIs is nonsense DailyPress - Newport News,VA,USA ... breath, her speech, any redness of her eyes, herability to performstandard field sobriety tests and the result of the preliminary breathtest taken at the ... 11/4/2005 - LEGALIZEDRUNK DRIVING FreeMarket News Network - PompanoBeach,FL,USA ... ransom note. Now the feds declare that ablood-alcohol level of0.08 percent and above is criminal and must be severely punished. The... Past News Stories Here sitemap RSSFeeds NewAttorney Listings - Begin Here Onlyqualifiedlawyers are selected to become members of this prestigious directory ( Back to Top of Page ) (to payannual listing dues, please usePayPal below) Alllawyers, attorneys andlaw firms listed are responsible for their advertising. Before hiringany professional, please check them out with your local State BarAssociation or Better Business Bureau. DUI-Help.com is solely adirectory similar to any telephone book. We have no control of theprofessional's administration of legal duties in your case. 1996-2006© DUI-Help.com. All rights reserved. Alexa Report at the National SafetyCouncil Drug ImpairedDriving How Good Drivers Get Killed , a special report fromReader's Digest We hope you never get arrested for drinkingand driving. Read on ... 1998 HEADLINE DUI-Help.combecomes 1st niche drunk driving defense website on the internet. Firsttooffer free consultations by email, call back, or CGI form. DUI-Help.comout performs LegalMatch, Findlaw, LawInfo and all others in drunkdriving defenseassistance to the public. HAVE LAWYER CALL YOU A.C.L.U.Police Bust Card available Policeabuse is a serious national problem -- and one that especially affectsyoung people and people of color. While many police officers do striveto be courteous, and while we all understand the stress and dangerinvolved in policing, each of us has the right to be treated withrespect -- and without abuse -- by the police ... FULL ACLUPAGE - Download Card OurBookstore will help you find the best defense literature for your case. BOOKSTORE MADD-NESS & Money Get Your Own Breathalyzer! LawyersElsewhere 500+DUI law firms CA'sDUI-Clinic.org DUI-Help-CA.com 1-800-Dial-DUI.com drunkdrivingdefense.com dui-dwi.com 1800DUIlaws.com PLAYTIME IsYour Mugshot on the Web ? Do You Need a Degreein Drinking Alcohol ? if you have alawyer, you need to get your mind off your arrest. Check outCalifornia's Vacation Wonderland Monte-Rio.info Monster Swap Links
aggressive DUI defense. Massachusetts | Aggressive DUI attorneys for | Aggressive DUI Attorneys for | aggressive DUI and criminal | aggressive DUI Defense. He | Aggressive DUI defense in | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence of | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | driving under influence. (a) | Driving Under Influence | Driving under influence God | Driving Under Influence | |
|
breathalyzers' source code is Stay Free! Daily: Judges toss out DUIs because breathalyzers' source code is secret Search Got a blog tip? Contact us « Drugs are Like That PSA | Main | Jets stadium grounded » Judges toss out DUIs because breathalyzers' source code is secret Via Boing Boing , we learn: "Florida judges are tossing out DUI cases when defendants ask to see the source code for the breathalyzers that busted them -- the manufacturers won't turn over the source, and since the machine's correct operation is critical to establishing the case against the DUIers, the case is dismissed when it can't be produced." All four of Seminole County's criminal judges have been using a standard that if a DUI defendant asks for a key piece of information about how the machine works - its software source code, for instance - and the state cannot provide it, the breath test is rejected, the Orlando Sentinel reported Wednesday ... Now if only they could find a way to apply this to voting machines . Posted by Carrie McLaren on 06/06/2005 | Permalink Comments The logic of these cases would have to extend to computer fingerprint and DNA matching, not to mention face-recognition software. All are probably covered by proprietary code. We are either going to have a lot more disclosure or far fewer convictions. This ruling appears likely to create too much havoc; I can't imagine that the appeals courts will let it stand. Posted by: Charles Star | Jun 6, 2005 7:34:03 PM Actually I think this sounds kind of legit. After all if you push enough with a speeding ticket and go through the trouble to make sure the radar is been certified and the cop is certified to use it etc... and it turns out it is not you can walk away with out the ticket or a fine. I find this quite interesting, too many things in life go through with out checks and balances, I say more power to someone if they take this route. Although shame on that person for drinking and driving and causing a serious problem, but we all know most of the time a DUI is all about timing and has little to do with being loaded. Posted by: donnyunitas | Jun 7, 2005 10:08:14 PM I don't disagree, donnyunitas. I think the decision is the right one, but the havoc it will cause will keep courts from embracing the theory more broadly. To balance the constitutional rights of the defendants against the business interests of trade secret holders, courts will start issuing confidentiality orders and compelling disclosure of the code to the defendant. Posted by: Charles Star | Jun 8, 2005 4:00:08 PM Post a comment This weblog only allows comments from registered users.To comment, please Sign In . You are currently signed in as (nobody) . Sign Out Comments: Archives January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 About our blog team Subscribe to this blog's feed --
Driving Under Influence | Driving under influence God | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence Of | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | driving under influence of | Driving Under Influence | Driving under influence, possession | Driving under influence of | Driving Under Influence | Driving under influence of | Driving Under Influence | Driving Under Influence | |
|
DUI / DWI, Drinking 
