DUI Defender

This gentleman seems understandably upset.

Think your wine seems a little boozier? Well, the simple fact is that it is… if you drink reds. In the past, cabernet savignon and other red wines rated 12 to 13 percent alcohol, however the current trend has been toward using later more mature fruit. The reason for using late harvest fruit is a tastier and arguably fuller bodied wine. Additionally, the gradual warming of the climate in grape growing regions may also contribute to the increased sugar levels in the fruit. Unfortunately, a side effect of the later harvested fruit is increased sugar which, in turn, increase the alchol levels of the wine. The alcohol concentrations in these newer wines are 15 to 16 percent. The higher alcohol concentrations make the wine feel “hot,” hence the term “hot wine.”

If you are shopping for wine, labels may be confusing, “wines containing 7 percent to 14 percent alcohol can be labeled just “table wine” or “light wine,” as opposed to listing the alcohol content, under federal regulations. When a percentage is listed it can be off by up to 1.5 percent, a tolerance granted because one batch of wine may differ from another, said Art Resnick, spokesman for the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau in Washington, D.C. Wines over 14 percent alcohol, which fall into a higher tax category, must list alcohol levels with a tolerance of plus or minus 1 percent.”

Obviously, the problems with labeling can lead to difficulty determining how much alcohol a glass or bottle of wine may contain. This presents challenges for people who are consuming wine prior to driving and want to remain below the legal limit.

As a lawyer who exclusively handles DUI cases our client’s and other citizen’s frequently ask us about the ramifications of a criminal conviction, informal versus formal probation and other potential impacts of a criminal charge and a subsequent conviction. The effects on a particular immigration situation should always be discussed with a lawyer who specializes in immigration law, however, many individuals handle their own immigration cases and do not have a lawyer involved. If you are a person without a lawyer, you may want to access this website for information and an informal chat room for persons going through the visa, green card and naturalization process.

Depending upon the type of equipment used and the specificity of said equipment a person experiencing Hypoglycemia or Hyperglycemia can have an inaccurate measurement due to the inclusion of keytones in the measurement. Ketoacidosis is a metabolic crisis that occurs when the boy uses fats for energy instead of the primary source of energy, carbohydrates. As a result of this process keytones (acetone, etc.) accumulate in the blood and subsequently cause the body’s pH to drop to dangerous levels. These keytones can be measured as alcohol by machines that are not specific for alcohol.

The Legislature passed a bill making it a crime to drive a car with a cellular telephone in your hand. The law will not go into effect until July 1, 2008, the new law will require that all drivers use “hands-free” equipment when driving. While the fines may be low ($20 for the first offense, $50 for each successive offense) the potential for abuse seems very real. If a law enforcement officer can make a stop for suspicion of driving with a cellular telephone as even using the speakerphone function on your telephone violates the law. For more information on this law go to the California Department of Motor Vehicles website, if you are interested in other changes for 2008 visit here.

Increasingly technology is developing new tests for alcohol and the technology trickles down to the common person. Some years ago a new test was developed for a chemical called EtG which seems to be some sort of metabolyte of alcohol. If the EtG shows up in a urine test it is proof of recent alcohol consumption. The test was developed in response to the fact that alcohol is quickly metabolized and vanishes from urine in a very short period of time. The concern was that alcoholics could time their alcohol consumption to meet the demands of a random urine testing program. As it turns out, random urine testing programs are quite common for people involved in the health care industry that have either admitted an alcohol problem, been convicted of an alcohol related offense or otherwise raised a red flag regarding alcohol consumtion. The panels that oversee these professionals realized the shortfalls of conventional urine testing for alcohol and turned to the EtG test.

One problem, false positives. As the EtG test has gained momentum a growing number of persons involved in the EtG testing program have tested positive for alcohol while vigorously denying alcohol consumption. One of the earliest proponents of the test, Dr. Gregory Skipper, the Director of Alabama’s monitoring-and-assistance program for addicted physicians, has conducted independent studies proving that false positives are not only possible but likely. The most likely source of the false positive, Purel Hand Sanitizer. Purel is very common in the health care industry and is composed of 62% alcohol. While the means of cantamination isn’t certain, people involved think that inhalation is the most likely source of the alcohol tested by the EtG test.

In February of last year I wrote that a DUI was the $10,000 ride ride home. Recently CNBC published an article putting the cost at $20,000. The total takes into consideration many of the underlying costs of a DUI and does not include those that would be quite obvious if there was an accident, injury or death involved in the drunk driving incident.

The costs delieated include the prolonged insurance rate increases, time spent away from work fighting the charges, serving the sentence, attending alcohol education and/or treatment, alternative transportation, the “up-front” costs like bail and getting the towed vehicle out of impound, and of course the fines. Many places charge for jail alternatives, dui education and dui treatment.

Needless to say the article does not include the potential costs such as loss of job or opportunity if a DUI conviction prevents professional licensing or other career advancement.

Unfortunately, the real cost of a DUI is unknown by any particular person, until it happens to them. As an attorney in the DUI defense field, I can also state with confidence that the costs are not going down, they are only going up, and impact a conviction will have is genuine and serious for most people.

Saab is currently developing technology to help drowsy drivers be more self aware and hopefully pull over and sleep. The technology observes and evaluates drivers facial expressions, if it determines that the driver is drowsy the car will alert the driver as to the fact that the car thinks the driver is drowsy. Volvo is developing a technology that evaluates the driver’s ability to maintain lanes, if the car determines that the driver is unable to maintain the lane it will warn the driver.

The technology is being developed as a response to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics relating to the fact that drowsy drivers contributed to 22 to 24 percent of all accidents and near accidents. Interestingly, this technology is also being prepared to fight drunk driving. Perhaps seeing that society might not willingly accept technology that makes a decision about sobriety, maybe the society would be more willing to accept it if it prevents drowsy driving.

San Diego is experimenting with a machine that automatically scans a license plate and checks it against a data base of stolen cars. Detective le Ribeus stated in an interview that the eqipment picks up nearly every license plate it passes. The technology replaces the earlier method which required that an Officer write down and call in a suspicious license plate before recovering the car or inconveniencing the driver.

The technology is currently only used to run license plates against a list of stolen cars, it doesn’t take much to swee the possibility of running licenses against other data bases, cars without insurance, drivers with suspended licenses, how about just tracking citizens on the road?

Cops Writing Cops, a website for law enforcement to complain about other law enforcement not respecting the “shield” and the license it gives to break the law. My favorite is the “dick” section where writers tell their tale of woe, maybe their wife was speeding and was stopped and the stopping officer didn’t honor the “friends and family” get out of jail free card. And, you gotta love the googleads relating to how to beat your ticket(s).