05.25.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 2:26 pm by Kimbrell & Burgar, LLC
This was not a good idea.
Pa. man nabbed twice in 3 hours on DUI charges
CORAOPOLIS, Pa. — Police said they arrested a Pittsburgh-area man twice within three hours on a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs. Police said they first pulled over a 26-year-old man about 8:30 p.m. Friday. They said he had muscle relaxers and another type of pills used to help people withdraw from opiates in his car after he failed a field sobriety test.
Police say they dropped the man at his mother’s house telling him DUI charges would be mailed to him. About 11:15 p.m, police said the man came to the police station seeking medication seized from his car.
Police said the man told them he got a ride to the police station, but they pulled him over when they saw him try to drive away.
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Information from: Beaver County Times, http://www.timesonline.com/
K&B,llc
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05.19.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 9:52 am by Kimbrell & Burgar, LLC
Last night, a colleague of ours forwarded this link to a webpage discussing the statistical inaccuracies of the Standardized Field Sobriety Test battery (SFSTs). While the website is a bit over the top and one-sided in its presentation, it does to some degree point out the numerous problems in attempts the government has made to validate the supposed accuracy of the SFSTs in detecting impaired drivers. What is important to note from that webpage, and others like it, is that SFSTs are not a “magic bullet” allowing officers to perfectly identify DUI drivers. At best they are tools, which when implemented correctly, only give the officer some guidance that a driver may be impaired.
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05.14.09
Posted in Uncategorized at 4:31 pm by Kimbrell & Burgar, LLC
The Intox 5000
The official breath testing device used by the State of Georgia in DUI cases is the Intoxilyzer 5000, manufactured by CMI, Inc. Despite its fancy, futuristic name, it came into service in Georgia in 1995, and most jurisdictions are using the same tired machines they brought into service way back then. It is based on very outdated technology and uses a microprocessor developed way back in 1975! CMI and other manufacturers have developed newer generations of the device, such as the Intoxilyzer 8000, but Georgia has seen no reason to move into the 21st Century.
We don’t bring this up merely to make fun of an antiquated machine that looks like someone built it from parts from a RadioShack, but to make the point that drivers need to be mindful that they will be tested on outdated machinery if suspected of being DUI. Not only is the machine outdated, but Georgia law allows judges to instruct jurors that the results from this piece of junk are “accurate” so long as the officer knows how to operate the machine and it didn’t look to the officer that the machine was broken when he used it. Could you imagine asking your doctor about the accuracy of lab results and he responded “well, the machine didn’t look broken so it must be right!”
The law is definitely written to defend the machine as much as possible from attack. Of course, prosecutors and police officers swear it never makes a mistake. But if that is the case, why does the law allow results from the machine to vary as much as .02 grams per liter and still be considered accurate (see O.C.G.A. 40-6-392)? Said differently, in a borderline case of a .08 blood alcohol content, the State can get away with a 25% variation in test results and the judge may still call it “accurate.” If it’s such a good machine, why do you need a law that permits such a huge range of error? One does not have to be a DUI defense attorney to think a +/-25% permissible margin of error is ridiculous.
What does this all mean? As we’ve said over and over again, think twice before drinking and driving. The decision to charge you with DUI will result from a machine with technology far less sophisticated that your average digital wristwatch. Please don’t risk subjecting yourself to this nonsense!
K&B, llc
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