Just found an article over at the Daily News-Miner refering to a man who has multiple DUIs in Oregon. According to the article: John Norris, 31, of Delta Junction was arrested on a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol after troopers clocked his pickup going 81 mph on the Alaska Highway near Mile 1410 at 7:54 p.m. Sunday. According to a trooper report, Norris showed signs of being intoxicated and failed to complete standard field sobriety tests. A background check showed that Norris had three previous DUI convictions in Oregon. Norris was also cited for driving with a suspended license and speeding.
Originally posted at: Oregon DUI News
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
DUI tests frequently tossed out; 2004 law backfired
The Seattle Times has an article about how hundreds of people accused of drunken driving have had the results of their breath-alcohol tests tossed out of court over the past year, foiling state legislators' efforts to make the tests more lawyer-proof. A summary follows:
In one high-profile case, Seattle Sonics forward Rashard Lewis, whose breath-alcohol level measured 0.13 (the legal limit is 0.08) after he was stopped Oct. 1 on Mercer Island, successfully argued Monday that a 2004 law governing breath tests is unconstitutional. His argument, like that of hundreds of other defendants, is that legislators overstepped their authority in writing the law, leaving judges without as much discretion.
...In the meantime, nearly every judge in King County who has considered the issue, in addition to judges in about half of the state's other counties, have ruled that the law is unconstitutional, according to Pam Loginsky, staff attorney for the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
...The problem lies in the wording of the law, SHB 3055, which took effect in June 2004 and says breath-alcohol test results "shall be admissible at trial" as long as certain basic steps are followed.
...Previously, the judge would hold a hearing and weigh the arguments on each side before deciding whether to admit the breath-test results.
...Instead, defense lawyers had tried to find flaws in the process, however minor, to convince a judge the breath-alcohol test results should not be admitted into evidence.
...Some rejected breath-test results altogether, while others required the prosecution to prove their reliability at a pretrial hearing — essentially reverting to the old rules.
At the state Supreme Court, defense lawyers also argued that the new law tips the scales in favor of the prosecution.
...In addition, prosecutors point out that other types of scientific tests, such as DNA, are admitted into evidence without prosecutors having to jump through the sort of hoops DUI defense lawyers seem to be advocating.
This was originally posted at Washington DUI News.
In one high-profile case, Seattle Sonics forward Rashard Lewis, whose breath-alcohol level measured 0.13 (the legal limit is 0.08) after he was stopped Oct. 1 on Mercer Island, successfully argued Monday that a 2004 law governing breath tests is unconstitutional. His argument, like that of hundreds of other defendants, is that legislators overstepped their authority in writing the law, leaving judges without as much discretion.
...In the meantime, nearly every judge in King County who has considered the issue, in addition to judges in about half of the state's other counties, have ruled that the law is unconstitutional, according to Pam Loginsky, staff attorney for the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys.
...The problem lies in the wording of the law, SHB 3055, which took effect in June 2004 and says breath-alcohol test results "shall be admissible at trial" as long as certain basic steps are followed.
...Previously, the judge would hold a hearing and weigh the arguments on each side before deciding whether to admit the breath-test results.
...Instead, defense lawyers had tried to find flaws in the process, however minor, to convince a judge the breath-alcohol test results should not be admitted into evidence.
...Some rejected breath-test results altogether, while others required the prosecution to prove their reliability at a pretrial hearing — essentially reverting to the old rules.
At the state Supreme Court, defense lawyers also argued that the new law tips the scales in favor of the prosecution.
...In addition, prosecutors point out that other types of scientific tests, such as DNA, are admitted into evidence without prosecutors having to jump through the sort of hoops DUI defense lawyers seem to be advocating.
This was originally posted at Washington DUI News.
Monday, December 19, 2005
Deputy Fired After Alleged DUI Crash
koin.com has an article describing an off duty officer who wrecked his patrol car while drunk. The article follows:
A Klamath County sheriff's deputy has been fired after wrecking a patrol car while off duty and being charged with drunken driving.
Sheriff Tim Evinger says Deputy Lance Waldren wasn't supposed to drive the car except while on the job. He says Waldren was hired in September and was on probationary status.
The Oregon State Police say Waldren crashed on Highway 140 about a mile east of the Bly Mountain summit. Police say he lost control and hit several trees. They say his blood-alcohol content was .21, nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
Waldren, 41, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, driving under the influence of an intoxicant and criminal mischief. He is free on bail.
Originally posted at Oregon DUI News.
A Klamath County sheriff's deputy has been fired after wrecking a patrol car while off duty and being charged with drunken driving.
Sheriff Tim Evinger says Deputy Lance Waldren wasn't supposed to drive the car except while on the job. He says Waldren was hired in September and was on probationary status.
The Oregon State Police say Waldren crashed on Highway 140 about a mile east of the Bly Mountain summit. Police say he lost control and hit several trees. They say his blood-alcohol content was .21, nearly three times the legal limit of .08.
Waldren, 41, is charged with unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, driving under the influence of an intoxicant and criminal mischief. He is free on bail.
Originally posted at Oregon DUI News.
Breath test in Sonic DUI case thrown out
Koin5.com has an interesting article this morning detailing how a Seattle Supersonic beat his DUI rap. A summary of the article follows:
A breathalyzer test result to be used as evidence that Seattle Supersonics star forward was driving drunk last fall was thrown out of court Monday.... %u201CWe still have the results of the field sobriety test,%u201D Donahoe said, as well as the statements of the officer who made the stop.... Lewis was charged Dec. 5 with drunken driving after he was stopped more than two months earlier while driving his BMW on eastbound I-90 between Seattle and Mercer Island.... When stopped, his eyes were watery and his speech slurred, according the report, and the car smelled of alcohol. The trooper who made the stop wrote in his report that when he asked Lewis how much he had had to drink, Lewis responded, %u201Conly one.%u201D A pair of breath alcohol tests reportedly showed that Lewis had a blood-alcohol level of .132 and .122 about an hour after he was stopped, according to charging papers.
...Driving while under the influence is a gross misdemeanor which brings a minimum of one day in jail, up to a $5,000 fine and a 90-day license suspension.
Originally reported at Washington DUI News.
A breathalyzer test result to be used as evidence that Seattle Supersonics star forward was driving drunk last fall was thrown out of court Monday.... %u201CWe still have the results of the field sobriety test,%u201D Donahoe said, as well as the statements of the officer who made the stop.... Lewis was charged Dec. 5 with drunken driving after he was stopped more than two months earlier while driving his BMW on eastbound I-90 between Seattle and Mercer Island.... When stopped, his eyes were watery and his speech slurred, according the report, and the car smelled of alcohol. The trooper who made the stop wrote in his report that when he asked Lewis how much he had had to drink, Lewis responded, %u201Conly one.%u201D A pair of breath alcohol tests reportedly showed that Lewis had a blood-alcohol level of .132 and .122 about an hour after he was stopped, according to charging papers.
...Driving while under the influence is a gross misdemeanor which brings a minimum of one day in jail, up to a $5,000 fine and a 90-day license suspension.
Originally reported at Washington DUI News.
Tuesday, December 13, 2005
Taking on the drugged and drunk driver
I found a great article over at NewScientist.com about roadside devices to test people's motor skills and detect drug. The first part of the article follows:
IN A government lab in a bleak, misty field in the middle of the English countryside, I am playing with a gadget that looks not unlike a PlayStation Portable. I have to press one button when an arrow on the screen fleetingly points to the right, and another when it points to the left. How quickly I respond is used as a measure of my sobriety.
Forget breathalysers and walking the line: tomorrow's drunk or drugged drivers could be rumbled by police officers wielding just such a gadget. And if the software says someone's psychomotor skills are as impaired as their driving suggests, a sliver of silicon will then be produced to indicate from a saliva sample just what they have been imbibing, injecting, smoking or snorting.
At least, that's the hope of researchers at the UK government's Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB), who last week opened their rural ...
IN A government lab in a bleak, misty field in the middle of the English countryside, I am playing with a gadget that looks not unlike a PlayStation Portable. I have to press one button when an arrow on the screen fleetingly points to the right, and another when it points to the left. How quickly I respond is used as a measure of my sobriety.
Forget breathalysers and walking the line: tomorrow's drunk or drugged drivers could be rumbled by police officers wielding just such a gadget. And if the software says someone's psychomotor skills are as impaired as their driving suggests, a sliver of silicon will then be produced to indicate from a saliva sample just what they have been imbibing, injecting, smoking or snorting.
At least, that's the hope of researchers at the UK government's Home Office Scientific Development Branch (HOSDB), who last week opened their rural ...
Friday, December 09, 2005
Sheriff Rahr's overtime problem
According to an article over at the Seattle Times, some cops are logging overtime by making faulty DUI pullovers. A summarry of the article follows:
TALES of overtime riches in the King County Sheriff's Department raise unsettling questions about the mental and physical fitness of deputies who work stupendous amounts of OT.
...Deputies get paid overtime when they appear in court, so if they are subpoenaed for 8:30 a.m. and sit around until they are called at 2 p.m., they are on the clock.
...Being assured the sheriff's department is within its overtime budget — which it has not been in the past — does not offer much comfort. Overtime in some agencies is parsed out to federal contracts for special enforcement — drunken driving, seat-belt use — so who knows where the money is coming from, but taxpayers are paying.
...Most of all, tell the public they are getting fit, alert deputies who can make good decisions after hyper-extended hours on the job.
This was originally published at Washington DUI News.
TALES of overtime riches in the King County Sheriff's Department raise unsettling questions about the mental and physical fitness of deputies who work stupendous amounts of OT.
...Deputies get paid overtime when they appear in court, so if they are subpoenaed for 8:30 a.m. and sit around until they are called at 2 p.m., they are on the clock.
...Being assured the sheriff's department is within its overtime budget — which it has not been in the past — does not offer much comfort. Overtime in some agencies is parsed out to federal contracts for special enforcement — drunken driving, seat-belt use — so who knows where the money is coming from, but taxpayers are paying.
...Most of all, tell the public they are getting fit, alert deputies who can make good decisions after hyper-extended hours on the job.
This was originally published at Washington DUI News.
Oregon man gets jail time after 8th DUI arrest
That is correct, eight DUI arrests! According to an article over at the Seattle Times:
David Morgan, 41, was arrested in June for driving with nearly three times the legal blood alcohol level and with a permanently suspended license.
...He was sentenced to 30 months in jail in November of 2004 after his seventh conviction but the judge waived prison time if Morgan would complete a substance abuse treatment program, Clackamas County Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Schaleger said.
...The state doesn't keep data on how many Oregon drivers get more than three drunken driving arrests, but Oregon State Police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said eight is extremely rare.
This was originally published at Oregon DUI News.
David Morgan, 41, was arrested in June for driving with nearly three times the legal blood alcohol level and with a permanently suspended license.
...He was sentenced to 30 months in jail in November of 2004 after his seventh conviction but the judge waived prison time if Morgan would complete a substance abuse treatment program, Clackamas County Deputy District Attorney Rebecca Schaleger said.
...The state doesn't keep data on how many Oregon drivers get more than three drunken driving arrests, but Oregon State Police spokesman Lt. Gregg Hastings said eight is extremely rare.
This was originally published at Oregon DUI News.
Are Oregon DUI Tests Fair, Accurate?
According to an article over at Koin.com, Oregon's DUI laws may not be up to par. Here is a paraphrasing of the article:
"It's another way of showing we go a step beyond to protect the rights of the accused," Washington State Patrol Trooper Dale Johnson explained.
..."Since I've been employed, single-breath sample testing is the way we collected breath samples," Oregon State Police Sgt. Tim Plummer said.
...He believes it's accurate but says there's a chance that Oregon will follow the lead of neighboring states and go to a two-breath sample system.
...The problem with it is Oregon's administrative rule and Oregon's law right now -- it only allows us for one breath test," Plummer explained.
Hingson says a client of his received two vastly different results from two breath tests administered in Oregon.
"If one is .00 and another is .19 and they're 15 minutes apart, there's something wrong with the testing process.
This was originally published at Oregon DUI News.
"It's another way of showing we go a step beyond to protect the rights of the accused," Washington State Patrol Trooper Dale Johnson explained.
..."Since I've been employed, single-breath sample testing is the way we collected breath samples," Oregon State Police Sgt. Tim Plummer said.
...He believes it's accurate but says there's a chance that Oregon will follow the lead of neighboring states and go to a two-breath sample system.
...The problem with it is Oregon's administrative rule and Oregon's law right now -- it only allows us for one breath test," Plummer explained.
Hingson says a client of his received two vastly different results from two breath tests administered in Oregon.
"If one is .00 and another is .19 and they're 15 minutes apart, there's something wrong with the testing process.
This was originally published at Oregon DUI News.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Powerball winner found days after death
According to an article over at SeattlePI.com, DUI convictions can follow you anywhere. Take for example a powerball winner who just couldn't get his crap together to pay a previous fine for a DUI, even though he won 65.4 million dollars!
Monday, November 21, 2005
DUI? No Flexcar for you!
According to the Rocky Mountain News, the Flexcar company discriminates against people who have a dui convictions. A summary of the article follows:
Flexcar, the nation's largest car-sharing service, will meet with transportation officials Thursday to explore the possibility of revving up business in the Mile High City.
...Once accepted, members receive a card with a wireless transmitter that unlocks the company's automobiles and records their trips.
...The Seattle-based company, which has offices in Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., chooses new locations and neighborhoods based on population density, transit use and interest, according to the company's Web site.
"We see a need for it, and we're jealous of the other cities that have it," said Allison Billings, executive director of Transportation Solutions, one of the groups in the region that invited Flexcar to explore Denver.
This story was originally published at: Oregon DUI News.
Flexcar, the nation's largest car-sharing service, will meet with transportation officials Thursday to explore the possibility of revving up business in the Mile High City.
...Once accepted, members receive a card with a wireless transmitter that unlocks the company's automobiles and records their trips.
...The Seattle-based company, which has offices in Portland, San Diego, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, D.C., chooses new locations and neighborhoods based on population density, transit use and interest, according to the company's Web site.
"We see a need for it, and we're jealous of the other cities that have it," said Allison Billings, executive director of Transportation Solutions, one of the groups in the region that invited Flexcar to explore Denver.
This story was originally published at: Oregon DUI News.
Deputy Denny Gulla still carries gun and badge though accused of molestations, abuse
I just found another nasty article in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer about cops molesting women in the Seattle area after pulling them over for supposed DUI. A summary follows:
Kay Quall was 14 when she learned never to trust a cop.
She was on a date when the car ran out of gas. King County sheriff's Deputy Denny Gulla offered Quall and her boyfriend a ride home. Gulla dropped the young man off first. Then, Quall says, he got in the back seat of his patrol car with her, slid his hand under her shirt and thrust his tongue into her mouth.
The file on his 23-year career is fat with other complaints of abuse -- assaulting a prisoner, making a pass at a high school senior, videotaping a gang beating he could have prevented and, most recently, pulling over his lover's husband and threatening to shoot him in the "mother-f---ing face."
King County Sheriff Sue Rahr admits that the department should have fired Gulla a long time ago. She says every disciplinary step has been diluted or thwarted entirely by the powerful union that represents deputies and sergeants.
...Mike Kelly and his friend Ferrell Johnston were on a slow drive through Buckley in January 2004 when off-duty King County sheriff's Sgt. Denny Gulla, who was having an affair with Kelly's wife, turned on the flashing lights and pulled them over.
...Two weeks later, Kelly told King County detectives: "Every night I come home, I go through the house with my gun."
...Asked to explain why the case against Gulla was dropped, Benton said he could not comment because he has been prosecuting a murder trial and has not had time to review the file.
...On May 19, 2004, Rahr, then chief of operations, recommended to Sheriff Dave Reichert, now a member of Congress, that Gulla be suspended for five days without pay and that he be returned to the rank of deputy.
...Like many people on the reservation, he acknowledges having hard feelings toward Gulla not only because of the deputy's alleged penchant for young girls, but because he has arrested members of the Starr family.
..."There was one incident where me and (the girl) were going to go out and we were leaving from her house and he pulled right up and said, 'Hey, how you girls doing tonight?'
...Daniels, through tribal spokesman Rollin Fatland, recently refused to comment, saying that his memory of the matter is vague and that the tribe enjoys a good relationship with the King County Sheriff's Office.
...The P-I, in the course of reporting this story, invoked the state's public records laws in requesting that the Sheriff's Office turn over all its personnel and Internal Investigations Unit files on Gulla to the newspaper.
...When Gulla encouraged members of a White Center gang to beat a prospective member as part of an initiation rite so that his partner could videotape it as a training tool for other officers, the Police Guild's power saved him from being disciplined.
The 1992 videotape shows Gulla, then a detective of the gang unit and working directly for then Lieutenant Rahr, spending several minutes assuring seven skeptical gang members that if they beat up a youth as an initiation rite, they would not get in trouble.
..."It is my firm belief, based upon past performance, that if Officer Gulla continues to work off duty at Skopabsh village, additional complaints and performance problems will be generated," said a letter from sheriff's Chief Greg Boyle to a police union legal adviser representing Gulla in disciplinary proceedings.
...Two on-duty sheriff's officers, Corey Darlington and Alan Garrison, quickly took the man into custody and put him in the back of their patrol car. Then Gulla pulled up to the scene in his personal car, walked up to the back door of the patrol car and opened it.
"He reached in with both hands, grabbed him by the shirt collar and started shaking him, not violently, just shaking him," Darlington, a recruit officer, told to an internal affairs investigator.
..."I wanted to watch to make sure that it didn't get completely out of hand," as Gulla screamed at the prisoner, calling him an "asshole" and "a little s--t," Darlington said.... When Gulla didn't get the answers he wanted, he got "a little more angry" and gave the prisoner "a short, quick rap on the chest with his left hand," Darlington said.
...In the course of questioning him, "he made a quick movement -- I didn't and still don't know what his intentions was/were -- I reached out with my open right hand" and "pushed him back."
The King County Prosecutor's Office, in deciding there was insufficient evidence to charge Gulla criminally, called Darlington's version of the incident "most plausible, given the fact that he candidly says that Officer Gulla was verbally abusing" the prisoner.
...And Gulla got support from the executive director of the Muckleshoot Housing Authority, Connie Moreno, who wrote in a letter that Skopabsh Village was "comprised of a group of extremely low-income people with severe alcohol and drug abuse problems.
...Internal-affairs records about the incidents given to the P-I by the Sheriff's Office are heavily redacted and do not reflect Quall's allegations that Gulla molested her or Berens' allegation that she fled from Gulla's advances.
This was originally posted at: Washington DUI News.
Kay Quall was 14 when she learned never to trust a cop.
She was on a date when the car ran out of gas. King County sheriff's Deputy Denny Gulla offered Quall and her boyfriend a ride home. Gulla dropped the young man off first. Then, Quall says, he got in the back seat of his patrol car with her, slid his hand under her shirt and thrust his tongue into her mouth.
The file on his 23-year career is fat with other complaints of abuse -- assaulting a prisoner, making a pass at a high school senior, videotaping a gang beating he could have prevented and, most recently, pulling over his lover's husband and threatening to shoot him in the "mother-f---ing face."
King County Sheriff Sue Rahr admits that the department should have fired Gulla a long time ago. She says every disciplinary step has been diluted or thwarted entirely by the powerful union that represents deputies and sergeants.
...Mike Kelly and his friend Ferrell Johnston were on a slow drive through Buckley in January 2004 when off-duty King County sheriff's Sgt. Denny Gulla, who was having an affair with Kelly's wife, turned on the flashing lights and pulled them over.
...Two weeks later, Kelly told King County detectives: "Every night I come home, I go through the house with my gun."
...Asked to explain why the case against Gulla was dropped, Benton said he could not comment because he has been prosecuting a murder trial and has not had time to review the file.
...On May 19, 2004, Rahr, then chief of operations, recommended to Sheriff Dave Reichert, now a member of Congress, that Gulla be suspended for five days without pay and that he be returned to the rank of deputy.
...Like many people on the reservation, he acknowledges having hard feelings toward Gulla not only because of the deputy's alleged penchant for young girls, but because he has arrested members of the Starr family.
..."There was one incident where me and (the girl) were going to go out and we were leaving from her house and he pulled right up and said, 'Hey, how you girls doing tonight?'
...Daniels, through tribal spokesman Rollin Fatland, recently refused to comment, saying that his memory of the matter is vague and that the tribe enjoys a good relationship with the King County Sheriff's Office.
...The P-I, in the course of reporting this story, invoked the state's public records laws in requesting that the Sheriff's Office turn over all its personnel and Internal Investigations Unit files on Gulla to the newspaper.
...When Gulla encouraged members of a White Center gang to beat a prospective member as part of an initiation rite so that his partner could videotape it as a training tool for other officers, the Police Guild's power saved him from being disciplined.
The 1992 videotape shows Gulla, then a detective of the gang unit and working directly for then Lieutenant Rahr, spending several minutes assuring seven skeptical gang members that if they beat up a youth as an initiation rite, they would not get in trouble.
..."It is my firm belief, based upon past performance, that if Officer Gulla continues to work off duty at Skopabsh village, additional complaints and performance problems will be generated," said a letter from sheriff's Chief Greg Boyle to a police union legal adviser representing Gulla in disciplinary proceedings.
...Two on-duty sheriff's officers, Corey Darlington and Alan Garrison, quickly took the man into custody and put him in the back of their patrol car. Then Gulla pulled up to the scene in his personal car, walked up to the back door of the patrol car and opened it.
"He reached in with both hands, grabbed him by the shirt collar and started shaking him, not violently, just shaking him," Darlington, a recruit officer, told to an internal affairs investigator.
..."I wanted to watch to make sure that it didn't get completely out of hand," as Gulla screamed at the prisoner, calling him an "asshole" and "a little s--t," Darlington said.... When Gulla didn't get the answers he wanted, he got "a little more angry" and gave the prisoner "a short, quick rap on the chest with his left hand," Darlington said.
...In the course of questioning him, "he made a quick movement -- I didn't and still don't know what his intentions was/were -- I reached out with my open right hand" and "pushed him back."
The King County Prosecutor's Office, in deciding there was insufficient evidence to charge Gulla criminally, called Darlington's version of the incident "most plausible, given the fact that he candidly says that Officer Gulla was verbally abusing" the prisoner.
...And Gulla got support from the executive director of the Muckleshoot Housing Authority, Connie Moreno, who wrote in a letter that Skopabsh Village was "comprised of a group of extremely low-income people with severe alcohol and drug abuse problems.
...Internal-affairs records about the incidents given to the P-I by the Sheriff's Office are heavily redacted and do not reflect Quall's allegations that Gulla molested her or Berens' allegation that she fled from Gulla's advances.
This was originally posted at: Washington DUI News.
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Ex-UW WR Gaines makes up for lost time
A story of redemption for a former University of Washington player reported in the Seattle Times. He scored a series winning touchdown, then later in his life he got a DUI. Now he is cleaning himself up.
Originally published at: Washington DUI News.
Originally published at: Washington DUI News.
Monday, November 07, 2005
Judge gets tough on ex-trooper
Just found quite a telling article about how Seattle Police are treating people that they pull over for DUI violations over at RSMckaylaw.com.
The article mentions how one officer has been accused by 10 plus woman for sexual misconduct. Supposedly this trooper would suspect a woman of DUI, then pull them over, then show his true colors by grabbing at thier body!
The article mentions how one officer has been accused by 10 plus woman for sexual misconduct. Supposedly this trooper would suspect a woman of DUI, then pull them over, then show his true colors by grabbing at thier body!
Thursday, November 03, 2005
U.S. Marshals Service put DUIer on its 15 Most Wanted list
The arm of the law has a long reach. Frederick D. Russell learned that lesson last week when the fugitive from justice in Pullman was arrested in Dublin, Ireland reports the Oregonian
This tragic saga began June 4, 2001, when Russell's Chevrolet Blazer slammed into three other cars on state Route 270, which connects the university campus in Pullman to the one in Moscow, Idaho. Russell was accused of traveling 90 miles per hour and attempting to pass other vehicles. Three WSU seniors were killed, and four other people were injured.
Court records show that Russell's blood alcohol level was 0.12 -- above the legal limit of 0.08.
The case jumped back into the headlines last January when the U.S. Marshals Service put Russell on its 15 Most Wanted list. He is the first drunken driving suspect to make the marshal's list because of "the horrific nature of this car crash" and the fact Russell had fled.
This tragic saga began June 4, 2001, when Russell's Chevrolet Blazer slammed into three other cars on state Route 270, which connects the university campus in Pullman to the one in Moscow, Idaho. Russell was accused of traveling 90 miles per hour and attempting to pass other vehicles. Three WSU seniors were killed, and four other people were injured.
Court records show that Russell's blood alcohol level was 0.12 -- above the legal limit of 0.08.
The case jumped back into the headlines last January when the U.S. Marshals Service put Russell on its 15 Most Wanted list. He is the first drunken driving suspect to make the marshal's list because of "the horrific nature of this car crash" and the fact Russell had fled.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Car chase for DUI warrent
A driver in Portland was recently pulled over for reckless driving. With a warrent out for his arrest for DUI convictions the driver fled the scene. Police decided to let him run, instead of escalating the situation by chasing. The Oregon Department of Transportation, ODOT followed the suspect with traffic cameras until he finally collided with another vehicle, thus ending his ride. Police also say that he threw a what looked like a small bag of crack cocaine out his window.
I found this at koin.com. Two questions here: Traffic camera or big brother? How good are thos cops at identifying samll bags of drugs at 50+ MPH?
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
I found this at koin.com. Two questions here: Traffic camera or big brother? How good are thos cops at identifying samll bags of drugs at 50+ MPH?
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Drivers sue over trooper's tainted DUI arrests
If you have gotten a DUI conviction that was later thrown out, you have to read this article that I just found posted at the Seattle Times.
Trooper Keith Jordan once testified in court that he had made nearly 150 drunken-driving arrests in a year. In 2003, 65 cases handled by Trooper Keith Jordan were dismissed by Mark Roe, Snohomish County's chief criminal prosecutor, because Jordan had cut and pasted blocks of information from one report to another. In some reports, Jordan had even forgotten to change a name when he copied a paragraph, Roe said. Now at least four of those people are sueing over this.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Trooper Keith Jordan once testified in court that he had made nearly 150 drunken-driving arrests in a year. In 2003, 65 cases handled by Trooper Keith Jordan were dismissed by Mark Roe, Snohomish County's chief criminal prosecutor, because Jordan had cut and pasted blocks of information from one report to another. In some reports, Jordan had even forgotten to change a name when he copied a paragraph, Roe said. Now at least four of those people are sueing over this.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Monday, October 17, 2005
Texas Congressman Kevin Brady charged with DUI
According to an article over at USA Today, Texas Republican Brady was charged with a DUI in South Dakota. Authorities were waiting for results of a blood test to determine Brady's blood-alcohol level at the time of the arrest. The legal limit in South Dakota is 0.08. If convicted of the misdemeanor charge, Brady faces up to $1,000 fine and a year in jail, Clay County Sheriff Andy Howe said.
Monday, October 10, 2005
Xanax-using attorney cleared in Oregon DUI case
A Jackson County deputy district attorney suspected of driving under the influence of a prescription drug has been cleared of criminal wrongdoing. Matt Chancellor, who has been suspended since mid-September, will be back at work within a week, said Mark Huddleston, the Jackson County district attorney. You can read the full story at kgw.com.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Dentists, DUIs, and Fingerprints
According to an article over at Seattle PI the state is considering weather to fingerprint all dentists, so that when they get in trouble with the law, like Driving Under the Influence, the state board can take proper action. Here is an excerpt:
"Having fingerprints on file makes it easier for states to monitor health professionals, said Lynn Thornton, enforcement chief of the California Dental Board. The California Health Department fingerprints dentists and others seeking licenses. The fingerprints on file mean the board is notified when dentists are arrested on DUI or other charges."
I don't know about you, but I think we are going a little to far to protect the public, maybe a better system would be to make the dentist pass a piss test before he/she can unlock the door of his/her office in the morning!
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
"Having fingerprints on file makes it easier for states to monitor health professionals, said Lynn Thornton, enforcement chief of the California Dental Board. The California Health Department fingerprints dentists and others seeking licenses. The fingerprints on file mean the board is notified when dentists are arrested on DUI or other charges."
I don't know about you, but I think we are going a little to far to protect the public, maybe a better system would be to make the dentist pass a piss test before he/she can unlock the door of his/her office in the morning!
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Monday, October 03, 2005
DUI arrests drop during Oktoberfest
Over at statesmanjournal.com, I finally found an article that has a ray of hope in it when doing my google for DUI in Oregon. According to the article, "Oregon State Police reported that 18 people were arrested for driving under the influence during the four-day festival in Mount Angel, thought to be a record low in at least the past 13 years since troopers have had extra patrols in the area."
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Trooper Pleads Guilty of Fondling Women
Ten different women accused the trooper of fondling them during DUI traffic stops. In King County Court, Trooper Idland entered an Alford Plea, meaning he admits he would be found guilty if he goes to trial but officially maintains his innocence. The original story can be read at komotv.com
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Monday, September 26, 2005
Is President Bush Truthful About His DUI Conviction?
This is in no way new news, but it is interesting to read none the less. Over at about.com they are reporting that President George Bush apparently got a DUI convection in 1974. That really is not that big of deal, the deal is that he never came forward about this when asked about trouble with the law. I think being honest should be a part of the 12 step plan, and it is probably a good idea for the president to be honest anyways.
Monday, September 19, 2005
Police DUI checkpoint announcements questioned
Many states have set up sobriety checkpoints on there highways to help con, says an article at hometownannapolis.com. Oregon does not use this method,but instead employs random patrols to weed out DUI offenders.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Police arrest 33 drivers in countywide DUI patrol
Over at thenewstribune.com they have an article describing a full sweep of Pierce county by multiple police departments. In all there was 500 convictions with up to 33 of them being for DUI.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Monday, September 12, 2005
Law Enforcement Veteran Named Editor-in-Chief of Officer.com
Former Oregon Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Officer recently appointed to an editor position at Officer.com. He also was responsible for DUI inforcement training in different states.
Going to a concert at White River? Get ready for a jam session
It seems that going to see a concert at White River usually intails being stuck in traffic, and the police say that it is also high times for DUI prosecutions. I found this article in the Seattle PIS. The 20,000-seat amphitheater on the Muckleshoot Reservation has many concerts by popular performers.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Wednesday, September 07, 2005
DUI and Manslaughter
Over at sweethomenews.com there is an article about an Oregon man accused of two cases of manslaughter and a DUI charge. Drunk Driving is serious!
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Sports and DUIs
Everytime that I search for anything DUI related on internet news sources, it always seem to turn up articles in the sport pages. After searching for seattle dui today I found an article at the twincities.com about a former Seattle player getting a DUI arrest.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Thursday, September 01, 2005
New DUI law tossed out by judges across state
I found an interesting article over at RSMckayLaw.com about Washington state judges reactions to a new DUI law. Apparently judges around the state are throwing out a new law that was supposed to make Washington tougher on drunken driving and breath-test results more difficult to keep out of court.
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
31 Month Sentence For Man In Fatal DUI Crash
Just found an article at komotv.com detailing the sentencing of a man who killed a Seattle woman while Driving Uder the Influence. The family of the slain woman is protesting in King County courts that the sentence is to light.
The standard range for vehicular homicide with a defendant with no past record is 31-41 months.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
The standard range for vehicular homicide with a defendant with no past record is 31-41 months.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Stolen wiener dogs land pair in prison
The Kootenai Valley News has a humourous article about a pair of small time thieves getting busted for stealing a pair of Dachounds and at the same time getting a DUI violation.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Monday, August 29, 2005
Alcohol Related Deaths on the Rise in 2004 in Oregon
DUI crashes and fatalities in Oregon dropped dramatically in the 1980s and 1990s before mostly leveling off since about 2000, said David House, a spokesman for the state Driver and Motor Vehicle Services branch.
Alcohol remains a factor in 35 percent of all fatalities in Oregon, House said. Speed and not wearing seat belts are the other major contributors.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Alcohol remains a factor in 35 percent of all fatalities in Oregon, House said. Speed and not wearing seat belts are the other major contributors.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Washington State DUI Sentencing Grid
On the Washington State Courts website you can find a description of sentences that are likely to result from a DUI conviction. This is labeled as: 'DUI Sentencing Grid (RCW 46.61.5055 as amended through June 10, 2004)'.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Monday, August 22, 2005
King County District Court Judge Steps Down
The Seattle Times reports that King County District Court Judge Admire ends 22-year career. He often tried DUI convictions and liked to believe that he helped tens of thousands of people who came to him with their problems.
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Originally posted @ Washington DUI News
Six Year Prison Sentence for DUI
The Oregonian reports that Judson Russell Holden III received what could be the longest sentence in the Portland area for drunken driving. The six-year prison sentence came on Holden's 10th or 11th drunken-driving conviction. Officials are unsure of the number because Holden had Oregon driver's licenses with at least that many aliases.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Original Posted @ Oregon DUI News.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)