Blog
Insights on Utah DUI law, defense strategy, and protecting your rights.
Another Utah DUI Blitz–Arresting people that are Not Guilty
I saw this article published by the Standard Examiner. The story is about looking for DUI drivers during the month of December. Contrary to popular police belief, December and the holidays, is not the most dangerous months according to the article. In fact the article says "December ranked seventh of all months for the most […]
Utah ranks as one of the “best” in low percentage of drunk-related deaths!
Here is an article about South Carolina, which ranks as one of the worst for percentages of drunk-related deaths. However, Utah ranks as one of the best in the nation. The article states: –In the U.S., someone is killed in an alcohol-related accident about every 30 minutes. –Roughly one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted […]
Utah DUI Solutions
I like this article written by Janice Kopaunik. She seems to be looking for a solution to the problem, not just complaining about it. She makes some really good observations. Does heavier punishments work? If you have been drinking, do you really rationalize the stiff punishments and fines? "Punitive laws will do little to stop […]
Utah DUI Saturation Patrols.
You don’t see to many sobriety check points in Utah anymore. The constitutionality of the checkpoints have been brought into question and outlawed in many states. The procedure involves directing traffic off the road and checking the drivers for alcohol. Now what the officers do to get around constitutionality problems, is do saturation patrols. A […]
What happened to the Presumption of Innocense?
Stephen Hamilton, an attorney that specializes in Defending people accused of DWIs in Lubbock Texas, wrote a blog on the Scarlet S. He linked to an article in Arizona that talked about posting people who have been accused of DUIs on a billboard. Just like Stephen, I see serious problems branding people with the "Scarlet […]
Salt Lake County Attorney refuses to plea Bargain DUIs, even if the Evidence is Lacking
I was told that that Salt Lake County Attorney’s office had a policy of "No deals on DUIs." I learned first hand that the policy is true, even if the evidence is lacking. I defended a man accused of three DUIs. In all cases, I believed the man to be innocent. The evidence supported my […]
Arresting Utah DUIs is “Hunting” for UHP!
A UHP Officer in Davis County, Utah, was given an award for arresting people for DUI last week. She refers to it as hunting for DUIs. During this hunt, you have to wonder how many times the officer gets buck fever and makes a DUI out of an innocent person. How many people’s lives has […]
UHP draw blood for Utah DUI Arrests!
I have had several cases in Farmington, Utah, where the officer will draw blood from the arrested person rather than take him or her to get a breath test. Is this really a good idea? I mean, police drawing blood on the side of the road doesn’t seem sanitary. The police are there collecting evidence. […]
MADD wants punishment for drinking drivers, not just Drunk Drivers!
Here is an interesting article about the prohibition of drinking. Some points that I find interesting are: The person who started MADD feels that the organization has gotten way out of hand and no longer supports the organization. MADD is pushing for complete prohibition of any alcohol. Lowering the legal limit has not lowered DUIs […]
Saturation Patrol, Utah DUI
The Utah police agencies used to do "administrative checkpoints" to pull people over for no reason and then check them for alcohol. The problem is that that charges can be challenged because there are so many rules the police must follow to make them constitutional. So the police answer this by doing Saturation Patrols. The […]
Is punishment worse for taking your Utah DUI to trial?
Recently, someone asked me if they take their case to trial, will they be punished worse that if they just plead guilty. The simply answer is generally no. In Utah, most Courts recognize that a person should not be punished for exercising the right to trial. However, out of the hundreds of DUIs that I […]
Field Sobriety Tests: Do they meausre if you are impaired?
In trial, the prosecutor’s last question to a testifying officer is almost always "Officer, after these field sobriety tests, did form an opinion as to the defendant’s ability to safely drive his car?" The officer always answers, "I formed the opinion that the defendant was too impaired to safely drive a car." The interesting thing […]