I just found this DUI related article on Oregon live on Wednesday, December 13, 2006. Being accused of a DUI is a serious issue a competent lawyer in Washington is Simon Stocker, criminal lawyer.
VANCOUVER -- The State Patrol's monthlong campaign targeting drinking and/or aggressive drivers during the holidays got off to a fast first week -- 223 drivers, two armed robbery suspects and an elk's head.
The push in Clark County will continue through New Year's Day, said Trooper Stephen Robley, who is normally part of the aggressive-driver team. Four members of the Washington State Patrol, including Robley, are assigned to Clark County highways.
The campaign is part of the push known as "Get Hammered, Get Nailed." It is co-sponsored by various law enforcement agencies, the Washington Traffic Safety Commission, and the Clark County DUI and Traffic Safety Task Force.
Of the 223 drivers stopped last week, 20 were arrested for alcohol offenses and two were intoxicated by drugs. In addition, eight people were arrested for possession of drugs; the robbery suspects were jailed and their stolen car impounded; and the elk's head was seized after the driver didn't produce paperwork necessary to transport parts of a game animal.
The Washington Department of Wildlife is checking on the elk to determine if it was harvested legally by a licensed hunter.
Driving under the influence of an illicit or prescription drug carries the same penalties as driving under the influence of alcohol "and is just as dangerous, if not more," Robley said. He is one of the State Patrol's drug-recognition specialists.
Nationally, alcohol-related fatalities are rising, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Last year 36 percent -- more than 15,170 -- of the 42,636 deaths involved drinking drivers.
Washington State police departments charged 41,972 drivers with driving under the influence in 2005.
This post can be found on the sister site: http://oregonduinews.blogspot.com/
Monday, January 08, 2007
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
!!! MEL GIBSON !!!
Have you heard the one about the Evangelical Movie Star that walked into the bar?
Well the story goes something like this, as taken from CNN.com:
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor and director Mel Gibson issued a statement on Saturday, apologizing to deputies for his "belligerent behavior" when he was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Malibu the day before.
Gibson said that he has "battled the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse," according to the statement.
Gibson, 50, was pulled over Friday on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway after "deputies were alerted by their radar that his speed was above the posted limit," according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. (Watch how the arrest casts a different spotlight on Gibson -- 1:28)
When officers approached Gibson they smelled alcohol on his breath, and a Breathalyzer test showed that his blood-alcohol content was 0.12, the sheriff's department release said. The California legal limit is 0.08.
An entertainment news Web site, TMZ.com, alleges in a report posted Saturday that Gibson launched into a profanity-laced tirade at the time of his arrest, hurling anti-Semitic and sexist statements at authorities. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office has not confirmed that report.
After being taken into custody, Gibson posted $5,000 bond for his release, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
The police did not charge him with driving under the influence because it's the district attorney's duty to decide if the arrest merits charges.
In his statement, Gibson acknowledges that he had been drinking Thursday night and that "I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have. ... I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person." (Read the full statement)
"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable," the statement said. "I am deeply ashamed of everything I said."
He added: "Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry."
Gibson further said he has long battled alcoholism, and "I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."
Gibson, who acted in the "Lethal Weapon" and "Mad Max" movie series, won an Oscar for directing 1995's Oscar-winning best picture "Braveheart."
He reportedly financed the controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ" (2004), which he also directed, with $25 million of his own money.
The film made $370 million at the domestic box office and ranks No. 10 on the all-time box office list. "The Passion of the Christ" was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Gibson's latest movie, "Apocalypto," set in the Mayan civilization of several centuries ago, is due in December.
Well the story goes something like this, as taken from CNN.com:
LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- Actor and director Mel Gibson issued a statement on Saturday, apologizing to deputies for his "belligerent behavior" when he was arrested on suspicion of DUI in Malibu the day before.
Gibson said that he has "battled the disease of alcoholism for all of my adult life and profoundly regret my horrific relapse," according to the statement.
Gibson, 50, was pulled over Friday on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway after "deputies were alerted by their radar that his speed was above the posted limit," according to a news release from the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. (Watch how the arrest casts a different spotlight on Gibson -- 1:28)
When officers approached Gibson they smelled alcohol on his breath, and a Breathalyzer test showed that his blood-alcohol content was 0.12, the sheriff's department release said. The California legal limit is 0.08.
An entertainment news Web site, TMZ.com, alleges in a report posted Saturday that Gibson launched into a profanity-laced tirade at the time of his arrest, hurling anti-Semitic and sexist statements at authorities. The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Office has not confirmed that report.
After being taken into custody, Gibson posted $5,000 bond for his release, said sheriff's spokesman Steve Whitmore.
The police did not charge him with driving under the influence because it's the district attorney's duty to decide if the arrest merits charges.
In his statement, Gibson acknowledges that he had been drinking Thursday night and that "I did a number of things that were very wrong and for which I am ashamed. I drove a car when I should not have. ... I feel fortunate that I was apprehended before I caused injury to any other person." (Read the full statement)
"I acted like a person completely out of control when I was arrested and said things that I do not believe to be true and which are despicable," the statement said. "I am deeply ashamed of everything I said."
He added: "Also, I take this opportunity to apologize to the deputies involved for my belligerent behavior. They have always been there for me in my community and indeed probably saved me from myself. I disgraced myself and my family with my behavior and for that I am truly sorry."
Gibson further said he has long battled alcoholism, and "I apologize for any behavior unbecoming of me in my inebriated state and have already taken necessary steps to ensure my return to health."
Gibson, who acted in the "Lethal Weapon" and "Mad Max" movie series, won an Oscar for directing 1995's Oscar-winning best picture "Braveheart."
He reportedly financed the controversial movie "The Passion of the Christ" (2004), which he also directed, with $25 million of his own money.
The film made $370 million at the domestic box office and ranks No. 10 on the all-time box office list. "The Passion of the Christ" was nominated for three Academy Awards.
Gibson's latest movie, "Apocalypto," set in the Mayan civilization of several centuries ago, is due in December.
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Coors Pleads Not Guilty to DUI Charge
Ironic? You bet! The head of the Coors brewing empire and a former candidate for senate gets a DUI. I found this article at the Washington Post:
Beer company executive Pete Coors has pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence and failing to stop at a stop sign.
His attorney entered the pleas for him Tuesday and Coors did not appear in court, said Jefferson County district attorney's spokeswoman Pam Russell.
Peter Coors, head of Coors Brewing company in Golden, Colo., is shown in this, July 1, 2004, file photo. Coors driver's license has been revoked by a hearing officer who ruled the executive had been driving under the influence of alcohol, officials said. Hearing officer Scott Garber ruled Friday, July 14, 2006, that Coors did not stop at a stop sign on May 28 and was driving intoxicated.
Coors, 59, vice chairman and a director of Molson Coors Brewing Co., was pulled over by the state patrol May 28 after he left a friend's wedding celebration.
Company spokeswoman Kabira Hatland has said Coors rolled through a stop sign a block from his Golden home and was stopped by the officer in his driveway. She said a breath test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.088. The legal limit is 0.08.
Hatland said Wednesday the not guilty plea was part of the procedure of Coors' attorney asking for a pretrial hearing. She declined to say whether the plea indicated Coors was disputing the allegation.
"What I can say is he's sorry to be involved in this situation at all, including the court process, but like any citizen, he has rights now that he's here," she said.
Coors often appears in television ads for the company and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 2004. He apologized last week for not following his own advice to drink responsibly.
Coors lives just west of Denver in Golden, the longtime hometown of the Adolph Coors Co. until it became Molson Coors Brewing Co. after a 2005 merger.
Beer company executive Pete Coors has pleaded not guilty to charges of driving under the influence and failing to stop at a stop sign.
His attorney entered the pleas for him Tuesday and Coors did not appear in court, said Jefferson County district attorney's spokeswoman Pam Russell.
Peter Coors, head of Coors Brewing company in Golden, Colo., is shown in this, July 1, 2004, file photo. Coors driver's license has been revoked by a hearing officer who ruled the executive had been driving under the influence of alcohol, officials said. Hearing officer Scott Garber ruled Friday, July 14, 2006, that Coors did not stop at a stop sign on May 28 and was driving intoxicated.
Coors, 59, vice chairman and a director of Molson Coors Brewing Co., was pulled over by the state patrol May 28 after he left a friend's wedding celebration.
Company spokeswoman Kabira Hatland has said Coors rolled through a stop sign a block from his Golden home and was stopped by the officer in his driveway. She said a breath test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.088. The legal limit is 0.08.
Hatland said Wednesday the not guilty plea was part of the procedure of Coors' attorney asking for a pretrial hearing. She declined to say whether the plea indicated Coors was disputing the allegation.
"What I can say is he's sorry to be involved in this situation at all, including the court process, but like any citizen, he has rights now that he's here," she said.
Coors often appears in television ads for the company and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as a Republican in 2004. He apologized last week for not following his own advice to drink responsibly.
Coors lives just west of Denver in Golden, the longtime hometown of the Adolph Coors Co. until it became Molson Coors Brewing Co. after a 2005 merger.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Southwest pilot, accused of intoxication, charged in federal court
It is a serious crime to get behind the wheel intoxicated and that is why the penalties for a DUI is so serious, now imagine the serious nature of an airline pilot flying a crowded flight under the influence of alchol. I have included the full text of the article found at the seattle times.
SALT LAKE CITY – A Southwest Airlines co-pilot accused of being intoxicated just minutes before takeoff was charged in federal court here Monday.
Prosecutors have charged Carl Fulton, 41, with one count of operation of a common carrier under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
Fulton made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday, but did not enter a plea to the charge.
A preliminary hearing date was set for July 28, although Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kennedy said he intends to take the case to a grand jury, so the hearing may not be necessary.
Fulton was arrested Sunday morning after a Transportation Security Administration screener reported smelling alcohol on Fulton's breath at a security check point. That was about 30 minutes before Southwest Flight 136, on which Fulton was the first officer, was set to depart from Salt Lake City International Airport for Phoenix.
Court documents say Fulton told federal air marshals and police he had consumed two "large beers" at a local movie house that serves food and beer, and a third drink — vodka — at a bar in the hotel where Fulton was staying.
Fulton said he stopped drinking at 10 p.m. Saturday, according to court documents.
Airport police administered two breathalyzer tests on Fulton.
In the first test, taken one hour after Fulton was removed from the plane's cockpit and detained, his blood-alcohol level was .039 percent, court documents said. In a second test, taken six minutes later, Fulton's blood-alcohol level was .038 percent.
Daniel Love, an air marshal with the U.S. Marshal Service, said it was "mathematically not possible to have a BAC of .039 the following day if Fulton had only consumed three drinks," the documents said.
Federal Aviation Administration guidelines say a pilot is prohibited from flying within eight hours of consuming alcohol.
The FAA sets the blood-alcohol limit at .04 percent, although regulations state that if a pilot tests between .02 percent and .039 percent, he or she is not allowed to work. Regulations also call for a second blood-alcohol test within 30 minutes of the first test, and say that if the blood-alcohol range remains the same, the pilot can't work for another eight hours, or until the level drops below .02 percent.
Federal law provides a presumption of impairment at .10 percent, although federal prosecutors say that other forms of evidence can be used to prove impairment in court.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines spokesman Ed Stewart said the company subscribes to all FAA regulations regarding alcohol consumption. Fulton flies for Southwest out of Dallas and has been employed with the airline for two years.
He has "a perfectly clear record," Stewart said.
Southwest has placed Fulton on paid leave — which prohibits him from flying — pending the outcome on an internal investigation. What action the airline may take does not necessarily depend on the criminal proceedings, Stewart said.
Fulton, of Fort Worth, Texas, spent Sunday night in the Salt Lake County Jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner released Fulton from custody Monday, on the condition that he not use drugs or alcohol while the case is being adjudicated. Warner also ordered Fulton to undergo random drug and alcohol testing.
FAA officials are also investigating the allegations and interviewed Fulton on Sunday.
The agency regularly matches pilot's names against DUI data in the national driver's licenses registry, FAA Northwest Region spokesman Allen Kenitizer said. The agency also requires airlines to have random testing programs in place. Between 2000 and 2003, more than 10,200 pilots were tested, FAA data show.
This item was originally posted at Washington DUI News.
SALT LAKE CITY – A Southwest Airlines co-pilot accused of being intoxicated just minutes before takeoff was charged in federal court here Monday.
Prosecutors have charged Carl Fulton, 41, with one count of operation of a common carrier under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The charge carries a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines.
Fulton made an initial appearance in U.S. District Court on Monday, but did not enter a plea to the charge.
A preliminary hearing date was set for July 28, although Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kennedy said he intends to take the case to a grand jury, so the hearing may not be necessary.
Fulton was arrested Sunday morning after a Transportation Security Administration screener reported smelling alcohol on Fulton's breath at a security check point. That was about 30 minutes before Southwest Flight 136, on which Fulton was the first officer, was set to depart from Salt Lake City International Airport for Phoenix.
Court documents say Fulton told federal air marshals and police he had consumed two "large beers" at a local movie house that serves food and beer, and a third drink — vodka — at a bar in the hotel where Fulton was staying.
Fulton said he stopped drinking at 10 p.m. Saturday, according to court documents.
Airport police administered two breathalyzer tests on Fulton.
In the first test, taken one hour after Fulton was removed from the plane's cockpit and detained, his blood-alcohol level was .039 percent, court documents said. In a second test, taken six minutes later, Fulton's blood-alcohol level was .038 percent.
Daniel Love, an air marshal with the U.S. Marshal Service, said it was "mathematically not possible to have a BAC of .039 the following day if Fulton had only consumed three drinks," the documents said.
Federal Aviation Administration guidelines say a pilot is prohibited from flying within eight hours of consuming alcohol.
The FAA sets the blood-alcohol limit at .04 percent, although regulations state that if a pilot tests between .02 percent and .039 percent, he or she is not allowed to work. Regulations also call for a second blood-alcohol test within 30 minutes of the first test, and say that if the blood-alcohol range remains the same, the pilot can't work for another eight hours, or until the level drops below .02 percent.
Federal law provides a presumption of impairment at .10 percent, although federal prosecutors say that other forms of evidence can be used to prove impairment in court.
Dallas-based Southwest Airlines spokesman Ed Stewart said the company subscribes to all FAA regulations regarding alcohol consumption. Fulton flies for Southwest out of Dallas and has been employed with the airline for two years.
He has "a perfectly clear record," Stewart said.
Southwest has placed Fulton on paid leave — which prohibits him from flying — pending the outcome on an internal investigation. What action the airline may take does not necessarily depend on the criminal proceedings, Stewart said.
Fulton, of Fort Worth, Texas, spent Sunday night in the Salt Lake County Jail. U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Warner released Fulton from custody Monday, on the condition that he not use drugs or alcohol while the case is being adjudicated. Warner also ordered Fulton to undergo random drug and alcohol testing.
FAA officials are also investigating the allegations and interviewed Fulton on Sunday.
The agency regularly matches pilot's names against DUI data in the national driver's licenses registry, FAA Northwest Region spokesman Allen Kenitizer said. The agency also requires airlines to have random testing programs in place. Between 2000 and 2003, more than 10,200 pilots were tested, FAA data show.
This item was originally posted at Washington DUI News.
Thursday, July 06, 2006
Pulling a Triple and a DUI to boot!
I just got back from my trip with google through the land of DUI news and came up with a gem posted at kgw.com. The full text follows:
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. -- A semi-truck driver from Portland hauling three trailers was arrested for drunk driving Sunday night, police said.
Steven Spears, 40, was stopped at the Port of Entry in Ridgefield, Wash. after police noticed the length of the trailers he was pulling was over the legal limit.
Then, the officer detected the smell of alcohol and asked Spears to take a breath test, according to trooper Corey Turner with Washington State Police.
“The test confirmed that his blood alcohol was over the legal limit of .04 BAC for an operator of a commercial vehicle,” Turner said.
Last month, Turner said six commercial truck drivers were arrested and or placed out of service at the Ridgefield Port of Entry after officers discovered they were driving under the influence of alcohol.
As for the trailer infraction, Turner said Spears was driving a 2000 Freightliner semi-truck with an illegal combination of three trailers.
Washington law limits a semi to pull up to two trailers, and limits the length of the trailers to 68 feet with a special permit.
“Mr. Spears’ vehicle combination was in excess of 80 feet, and weighed over 91,300 pounds,” Turner said.
The truck was registered to Central Freight Lines Inc. of Waco Texas.
Originally posted at Oregon DUI News.
RIDGEFIELD, Wash. -- A semi-truck driver from Portland hauling three trailers was arrested for drunk driving Sunday night, police said.
Steven Spears, 40, was stopped at the Port of Entry in Ridgefield, Wash. after police noticed the length of the trailers he was pulling was over the legal limit.
Then, the officer detected the smell of alcohol and asked Spears to take a breath test, according to trooper Corey Turner with Washington State Police.
“The test confirmed that his blood alcohol was over the legal limit of .04 BAC for an operator of a commercial vehicle,” Turner said.
Last month, Turner said six commercial truck drivers were arrested and or placed out of service at the Ridgefield Port of Entry after officers discovered they were driving under the influence of alcohol.
As for the trailer infraction, Turner said Spears was driving a 2000 Freightliner semi-truck with an illegal combination of three trailers.
Washington law limits a semi to pull up to two trailers, and limits the length of the trailers to 68 feet with a special permit.
“Mr. Spears’ vehicle combination was in excess of 80 feet, and weighed over 91,300 pounds,” Turner said.
The truck was registered to Central Freight Lines Inc. of Waco Texas.
Originally posted at Oregon DUI News.
We have to work harder to keep drunks off the road
John Ahern wrote an opinion piece today in the Seattle PI. John was the primary sponsor of the felony DUI law that passed this year. A summary of the article follows:
As the prime sponsor of the Felony DUI law that passed the Legislature this year, I am as disappointed as everyone about the recent drunk driving arrest of Susan West.
...Each time this legislation was introduced, it was sidelined by committee chairs from the majority party and wasn't even allowed a public hearing.
...It requires hours of negotiation and compromise and comes with the realization that your version of the bill may not make it to the floor of either chamber or to the governor.
I have been determined to get a Felony DUI bill on the books, mainly because Washington was one of only three states that didn't have such a law. If I could get it passed even if it wasn't my original version, I could go back in a subsequent session and attempt to make the laws stiffer for drunk drivers.
...The majority said we didn't have the prison space or the money to lock up repeat drunk drivers.
...This last session, it appeared as if the Felony DUI bill was dead many times.
...The bill that passed makes the fifth DUI in 10 years a felony and it won't take effect until July 2007. This law isn't tough enough and I will continue to fight to make the law three strikes and you get serious prison time.
With the passage of this watered-down bill last session, the majority in the House and Senate have given people more chances to drive drunk before they are charged with a felony. I will try again next session to strengthen the drunk driving laws with the hope that we can keep people like Susan West off the roads for a very long time.
The original of this posting can be found at Washington DUI News.
As the prime sponsor of the Felony DUI law that passed the Legislature this year, I am as disappointed as everyone about the recent drunk driving arrest of Susan West.
...Each time this legislation was introduced, it was sidelined by committee chairs from the majority party and wasn't even allowed a public hearing.
...It requires hours of negotiation and compromise and comes with the realization that your version of the bill may not make it to the floor of either chamber or to the governor.
I have been determined to get a Felony DUI bill on the books, mainly because Washington was one of only three states that didn't have such a law. If I could get it passed even if it wasn't my original version, I could go back in a subsequent session and attempt to make the laws stiffer for drunk drivers.
...The majority said we didn't have the prison space or the money to lock up repeat drunk drivers.
...This last session, it appeared as if the Felony DUI bill was dead many times.
...The bill that passed makes the fifth DUI in 10 years a felony and it won't take effect until July 2007. This law isn't tough enough and I will continue to fight to make the law three strikes and you get serious prison time.
With the passage of this watered-down bill last session, the majority in the House and Senate have given people more chances to drive drunk before they are charged with a felony. I will try again next session to strengthen the drunk driving laws with the hope that we can keep people like Susan West off the roads for a very long time.
The original of this posting can be found at Washington DUI News.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
6 DUIs & 1 killing
Soory I haven't been around in awhile, but I am back with new news relating to DUI in the washington and oregon territories. This weeks little ditty comes from king county journal:
Appearing weary and disheveled, Susan Lynn West sat before a judge in King County District Court in Bellevue on Monday to answer to charges of driving while intoxicated for the sixth time.
After a week in rehab, The 48-year-old Bellevue woman trembled and had difficulty walking. Bellevue police officers led her to and from the court room in nylon shackles that secured her wrists to her waist.
West, who previously was convicted of driving drunk in a hit-and-run crash that killed a Sammamish Plateau woman in 1997, chose not to enter a plea at her arraignment Monday for charges of drunken driving and driving with a suspended license in the third degree.
As state law requires, Judge Janet Garrow entered a plea of not guilty on West's behalf. The law states that defendants charged with driving under the influence are not required to enter a plea until they have had a chance to consult with a lawyer.
After the hearing, West was returned to the King County Jail in Seattle, where she remained Monday night in lieu of $150,000 bail.
West has not retained a defense attorney. She was appointed a public defender for Monday's hearing.
She was arrested for drunken driving shortly after midnight on June 18, approximately six months after she was released from probation for the drunken crash that killed Mary Johnsen, a 38-year-old mother of two who was walking off the roadway when she was struck in July 1997.
In West's most recent arrest, charging papers say, a Bellevue police officer noticed a broken license-plate light on her black 1998 Buick as it was driving through the parking lot of a Newport Hills shopping center. The officer ran the plate number and discovered the car's owner had a suspended license and no car insurance.
The officer stopping West reported that he immediately smelled alcohol on her breath. When he asked if she had been drinking, she leaned against the car and said no. When he asked if she would mind performing a sobriety test, she protested, saying she didn't have her contact lenses.
After failing the test, the charges state, West refused to submit to a breath test. She was then taken into custody and hospitalized for alcohol-dependency treatment.
Charging papers say West also was on antidepressants at the time of her arrest.
In court Monday, Judge Garrow advised West to retain an attorney or apply for a public defender. When asked about her assets, West told the judge that she has approximately $160,000 in stock and bonds, which might make it difficult for her to obtain court-appointed counsel.
West attracted widespread attention after her 1997 conviction for vehicular homicide. In that incident, court records state, her blood-alcohol level was 0.34, more than three times the legal limit. West pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and felony hit-and-run.
She served six years of a nine-year sentence, was released from prison in 2003 and got off probation in January of this year.
Prior to the fatal accident, West was arrested for drunken driving in Pullman in 1978, in Seattle in 1985, in Marysville in 1989 and in Fall City in 1991. Two of the cases were deferred, and one was dismissed.
Because she'd been arrested four times for drunken driving prior to the fatal accident, her case spurred several new state laws in 1998 designed to crack down on drunken drivers.
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a law making it a felony to have a fifth DUI conviction in 10 years or a DUI conviction after a prior vehicular homicide conviction.
But since that law becomes effective in July 2007, it doesn't apply to West. Her latest charge is a gross misdemeanor offense, not a felony, and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to Bellevue City Attorney Lori Riordan. Driving with a suspended license in the third degree carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
West is due back in court for a pretrial hearing in two weeks.
Appearing weary and disheveled, Susan Lynn West sat before a judge in King County District Court in Bellevue on Monday to answer to charges of driving while intoxicated for the sixth time.
After a week in rehab, The 48-year-old Bellevue woman trembled and had difficulty walking. Bellevue police officers led her to and from the court room in nylon shackles that secured her wrists to her waist.
West, who previously was convicted of driving drunk in a hit-and-run crash that killed a Sammamish Plateau woman in 1997, chose not to enter a plea at her arraignment Monday for charges of drunken driving and driving with a suspended license in the third degree.
As state law requires, Judge Janet Garrow entered a plea of not guilty on West's behalf. The law states that defendants charged with driving under the influence are not required to enter a plea until they have had a chance to consult with a lawyer.
After the hearing, West was returned to the King County Jail in Seattle, where she remained Monday night in lieu of $150,000 bail.
West has not retained a defense attorney. She was appointed a public defender for Monday's hearing.
She was arrested for drunken driving shortly after midnight on June 18, approximately six months after she was released from probation for the drunken crash that killed Mary Johnsen, a 38-year-old mother of two who was walking off the roadway when she was struck in July 1997.
In West's most recent arrest, charging papers say, a Bellevue police officer noticed a broken license-plate light on her black 1998 Buick as it was driving through the parking lot of a Newport Hills shopping center. The officer ran the plate number and discovered the car's owner had a suspended license and no car insurance.
The officer stopping West reported that he immediately smelled alcohol on her breath. When he asked if she had been drinking, she leaned against the car and said no. When he asked if she would mind performing a sobriety test, she protested, saying she didn't have her contact lenses.
After failing the test, the charges state, West refused to submit to a breath test. She was then taken into custody and hospitalized for alcohol-dependency treatment.
Charging papers say West also was on antidepressants at the time of her arrest.
In court Monday, Judge Garrow advised West to retain an attorney or apply for a public defender. When asked about her assets, West told the judge that she has approximately $160,000 in stock and bonds, which might make it difficult for her to obtain court-appointed counsel.
West attracted widespread attention after her 1997 conviction for vehicular homicide. In that incident, court records state, her blood-alcohol level was 0.34, more than three times the legal limit. West pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide, reckless endangerment, reckless driving and felony hit-and-run.
She served six years of a nine-year sentence, was released from prison in 2003 and got off probation in January of this year.
Prior to the fatal accident, West was arrested for drunken driving in Pullman in 1978, in Seattle in 1985, in Marysville in 1989 and in Fall City in 1991. Two of the cases were deferred, and one was dismissed.
Because she'd been arrested four times for drunken driving prior to the fatal accident, her case spurred several new state laws in 1998 designed to crack down on drunken drivers.
Earlier this year, the Legislature passed a law making it a felony to have a fifth DUI conviction in 10 years or a DUI conviction after a prior vehicular homicide conviction.
But since that law becomes effective in July 2007, it doesn't apply to West. Her latest charge is a gross misdemeanor offense, not a felony, and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine, according to Bellevue City Attorney Lori Riordan. Driving with a suspended license in the third degree carries a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
West is due back in court for a pretrial hearing in two weeks.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Ignition Interlock
An ignition interlock device is a breath alcohol analyzer connected to the ignition of a car. A vehicle equipped with an ignition interlock device cannot be driven unless the driver passes the unit's breath alcohol tests.
Most of these devices work in the following manner:
Most of these devices work in the following manner:
- When the key is turned a voice prompts the driver to prepare to give a breath test.
- The driver has over 60 seconds to provide a deep lung breath sample--at a pressure rate of 1.5 liters of air given over six seconds--providing the unit with a sample of alveolar air from the bottom of the lungs.
- Testing the sample takes 25 seconds.
- After test completion, a voice either prompts the driver to start the car or lets him/her know it will not start.
- To discourage someone else from providing the original breath sample (a violation of the law when using Model DM-904, the model used when an ignition interlock system is mandated by the court), two "random rolling retests" are given within 20 minutes of starting.
- If a retest is failed a voice instructs the driver to pull over and shut off the car. If this instruction is ignored the horn sounds and the lights blink until the car is shut off.
- The unit's computer records all test and pertinent driving data. This is downloadable and printable. In the case of mandatory use, this data can only be accessed by court officials. Any attempt at tampering with the unit registers in this data log.
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