DUI is such a hot topic

I tell you what: when the Wall Street Journal has a full section spread on how much a person can drink before blowing a .08% BAC you know you've got a hot topic.

The article contained nothing of earth-shaking importance and used science as flawed and faulty as the breathalyzer machine itself. But it did a decent job of reiterating a few crucial ....

drunk driving facts:

1. Everyone metabolizes alcohol at a different rate.

a. Heavier people metabolize more slowly than lighter people.
b. Younger people metabolize more slowly than older people.But having said that, young heavy people shouldn't feel they can drink all they want and still drive home.

2. Quick shots of liquor hit the blood stream faster than sips of wine or beer

3. Eating while drinking slows down the affects of alcohol

4. Carbonation speeds alcohol metabolism (so a Gin & tonic will affect you faster than a glass of wine.)

5. Fatigue, stress, and illness help speed the affects of alcohol.

DUI Quick Quiz:

Question:  Retired horse jockey Tom has just returned from an overseas trip and didn't have time to eat before heading to the party in down town Atlanta --Buckhead. He prefers to drink shots with cola chasers. Beth, a super model who practices tai chi, goes to the same party where she eats her day's calories in appetizers and red wine spritzers. Who is going to blow a .08 first?

Answer: As long as neither of them are planning on driving home, does it matter? Remember folks, it's not against the law to drink. It is against the law to drink and drive with more than .0799999% BAC.

Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne

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Two very important rulings by the Georgia Supreme Court that will affect Georgia DUI cases with breath tests were handed down recently.  The defense attorneys in each case wanted access to the source code used by the Intoxilyzer 5000, the breath machine used in

Georgia.  A source code is a set of instructions that tells a computing device how to process information. In both of these cases the driver sent a subpoena to the Intoxilyzer manufacturer, a company named CMI in Owensboro, KY, to produce source code documents when they sent a witness to testify in a Georgia court.  The lower courts said the driver couldn't have that information, no matter what.

The drivers' attorneys appealed the decisions, and the Georgia Supreme Court essentially ruled that since a defendant has a right to cross-examine witnesses against him or her, "[We will] permit a party to request that a corporation, rather than its human agent, be found to be a material witness . . . and leave the issue of designation of its human agent to the corporation."

The court then spelled out the lengthy procedure a defense attorney must follow to actually obtain the source code. The ruling is many, many pages long. So, although it is now possible to obtain the source code, the driver's attorney first must get a Georgia judge to conduct a hearing and issue a certificate of materiality. Then, the attorney has to get a Kentucky court (because remember, CMI is a Kentucky company) to agree on the certificate of materiality and then figure out which person should gather the information and bring it to Georgia.

Finally, once a defense attorney has access to the source code, he or she can use an expert witness to look at the code to determine if it's calculating blood alcohol content properly. Complicated?  You bet.  This is why you need an experienced DUI defense attorney on your side.

Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne

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You might be an Aggressive Driver if you:

• take out your frustrations on other drivers
• read, eat, drink or talk on the phone while driving
• tailgate by driving too closely to the car in front of you
• make frequent lane changes, only to end up directly in front of that car you just passed when traffic clogs up again
• speed up when the light turns yellow or run red lights
• speed more than 14 miles above the speed limit

What should you do?

• concentrate on driving and leave the eating, etc. for when you're not driving
• relax by playing calming music or listening to a podcast while driving
• choose less congested routes for your commute
• use public transportation
• plan ahead, leave early so that you can drive the posted speed limit
• just be late

If you see an aggressive driver on the road:

• stay out of the way or get out of the way
• put aside your pride, don't try to increase your speed or keep up with that driver
• avoid eye contact; ignore rude or obscene gestures and don't return them
• report serious or life-threatening aggressive driving (from a safe distance and safe spot)

If you're the recipient of an aggressive driving ticket hire an attorney to:

• attend court for you; you won't miss work
• get the case thrown out or reduce the charge
• avoid jail, large fines and points on your driver's license

If you get an aggressive driving ticket, understand that it's a serious moving violation.  Treat it seriously.

Source: NHTSA

Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne

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More doubts surface about the Intoxilyzer 8000

In Ohio, the police use a breath testing machine called the Intoxilyzer 8000. Here in Georgia we use a similar version of this machine, the Intoxilyzer 5000. I, like most defense attorneys who are members of DODD (Defense of Drunk Drivers), advise my clients to question any results taken from the Intoxilyzer. We know, and have known for years, that the Intoxilyzer has vulnerabilities.

Until last week Ohio defense lawyers didn't have this option. Because the Intoxilyzer 8000 is approved by the state of Ohio, evidence submitted about breath tests there couldn't be challenged. Until now. Their state supreme court looked at evidence submitted by defense lawyers and agreed just a few days ago that simply having the prosecutors and police decide that results from a machine are accurate isn't good enough.

Two things in particular troubled the judge:

1. evidence suggesting radio interference from cell phones can skew the results given by the Intoxilyzer 8000. Apparently this model was never tested specifically to see if its performance can be altered by radio interference used by smartphones, and

2. "police officers using the machine can drive up the numbers they get for blood-alcohol levels by the way they administer and record a test." And,

a. officers can drive up blood-alcohol level results simply by having a person blow into the machine for a longer time. "The longer you blow, the higher your score."

The judge decided results from the machine can be admitted as evidence in drunk-driving cases, but that defense attorneys can now call experts to dispute those results in a case-by-case basis.

This is fabulous news for our friends in Ohio. But it is also fabulous news for the rest of the nation as well. Having a state supreme court acknowledge that this machine can be deliberately manipulated by police may affect cases in other states. Insisting that a machine must be properly tested in appropriate field conditions can only prevent innocent people from being arrested for having an improper blood alcohol reading.

In the meantime, Ohio officers have been told that if they are uncomfortable using the Intoxilyzer 8000, they can use an older model machine that has previously been cleared for use by the state. How much do you want to bet that this machine hasn't been field tested with cell phone interference and can be manipulated by the person administering the test?

Atlanta DUI Lawyers Clark & Towne

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