Disclaimer: THE FOLLOWING IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. THE FOLLOWING IS OUR OPINION ONLY. CONSULT AN ATTORNEY LICENSED IN YOUR STATE FOR PROPER LEGAL ADVICE. Crapper Answers In Red.
Anonymous said...
Here's a question for you. Why do you still get charged with DUI/DWI if you get brought in for a Breathalyzer and pass it? It happened to me with a Wicomico County Sheriff. Blew a 0.04 and was still charged. Wasn't pulled over for a moving violation, either. This was a couple of years ago, right before Mike Lewis took over, so things could have changed by now. The Deputy showed me right in his SOP binder where it was policy to charge me, and not his decision. I did beat it in court, but it cost me a bundle. I've got my laywer's opinion on this, but I'm interested in hearing things from a law enforcement perspective.
Well, honestly this depends on more factors in the case. Driving while .04 to .08 is actually a DWI and an incarcerable (arrestable) offense. .08 or more is a DUI. You could also have been arrested for driving under an alcohol restricted license. It is not required that the officer stop you for a moving violation. Upon stopping you he may have detected alcohol on your breath or slured speech or other factors that made him/her suspicious that you had been consuming alcoholic beverages. Therefore, the officer may give you field sobriety tests and an intoximeter test (breath-a-lizer). You can read more about this at http://www.peoples-law.org/youth/driving/driving.htm. Even though it is a youth article, the law still applies to adults as well.
Monday, July 20, 2009 11:17:00 AM
Anonymous said...
I have met some truely outstanding LEO's and I am thankfully they are out there doing this job. My question is, as a citizen, what can be done when you know of a officer that really does not know the law, if he does, then he knowingly breaks it. It only takes 1 bad officer to make the rest look bad.
Some officers make mistakes however that is an issue for the court to decide. Unfortunately, there are many, many citizens that feel they know the laws better than some police officers and they may be right, but most often not. Many times people think they know the law and in reality they have no idea what the actual law is. A good case of this is when someone is arrested and they yell to whomever (jail staff, etc) "The officer did not read me my rights!!". Officers are not required to advise a suspect of Miranda, only under custodial interrogations (meaning a citizen is under arrest and is being questioned about the crime or a crime committed). So, best bet is to do what the officer says and then argue your case in court or bring up your concerns with your attorney. You also may contact that officer's direct supervisor to determine if what he did was proper. Most police supervisors will be more then happy to discuss your concerns with you, provided that you are calm and are asking questions rather than complaining about the simple fact that you were arrested.
Monday, July 20, 2009 12:12:00 PM
MoReToCoMe said...
Ask tough questions of area administraters and post there respons or lack of.
Then we would expect them to respond which they will more then likely not do and anyone could impersonate them.
Monday, July 20, 2009 2:24:00 PM
Anonymous said...
i have a question, it seems to me that pills and meth are a "white" thing, seems like middle aged white america is hooked on this crap like there is no tomorrow, is it just a white thing around here or everywhere. and is meth a big problem here like it is in other areas, it seems like you don't here very much about in the paper or news locally. just wonderin. thanks
Monday, July 20, 2009 5:07:00 PM
Interestingly enough "pills" are big everywhere. Generally people are hooked on Oxycontin and oxicodone which is available for about $1.00 a mg on the street. So one 20 g pill costs $20.00 which is why a lot of people sell their pills for money and then report the pills stolen so they can get another prescription to support their own habit. If someone can't afford the pills or can't scam them, they usually turn to heroine which is much cheaper although harder to locate. Crack cocaine is also big on the hit parade in the WicBury and typically people are either addicted to heroine, crack, pills or all three. But, pills are a problem with, for whatever reason, mainly a white segment of society, all age ranges, although other races of course use them too. People can also cook pills down and shoot them intravenously. Methamphetamine for whatever reason is not that big on the Eastern Shore.... yet. However cops have been finding more and more including meth paraphernalia.
Posts
ATTENTION ALL SBYNEWS VIEWERS
-
The new SBYNews Website is now up and running. Everyone will need to type
in sbynews.com and save it as one of your favorites. Many of you are
logging in u...
4 years ago
6 comments:
Wicbury, please quote the law correctly. There is no presumtion of guilt for dui/dwi at a .04. There is a presumtion of guilt at .05-.06. However there has to be contributing circumstances, Ie; poor field tests. There are many many factors that a .04 could have caused a dui and subsequent conviction. Such as dui/cds,prescription. You also need to ask was a dre evaluation done or was this person under the combined influence. If you need more expertise in answering some of these questions please ask and court certified leo experts will chime in.
Well interesting take on a DUI but the writer asked why he was arrested not why he was convicted. Further by legal definition .04 is a dui but is not a DUI per se. What are you indicating a DRE would be used for in this circumstance because the writer did not indicate that any DRE was used. And what exactly are you as an LEO are certified in? Because there is no certification for DUI just a DRE and we have never seen a DRE used and prob never will. So the only certification you could hold is for DRE and SFST. Again the writer did not indicate any mitigating factors. And we commented on thr other factors that may have been present. So is there PC to male an arrest is the question. Yes. Next time check your certification card to see if you are certified to answer the question!
Obviously you are a local cop or sheriff. MSP uses them several times a month. If the breath tests results in below a .06 and the officer beleives that is not consistant with the impairment level then a dre should be requested for an evaluation. Also .04 is not a dui. Dui under maryland law is driving under the influence, dwi is driving while impaired which equates to breath test less then .08 or impairment indicating the same without breath test. The Per-se statue specifically requires a breath test with a result of .08 or higher, so of course dui per-se does not apply. My reference to a dre is that possibly one should have been called to evaluate. My expierience tells me that most of the Wicomico County agencies other then msp do not utilize a dre for whatever reasons. Municipal officer in worcester, dorchester, talbot and caroline utilize them approximatley 12 times a month. Also you need to refer to Ta 21-902and read the sub-notes. No presumtion of guilt at .04--.059. Also check with Davis Ruark, he has prosecuted one of these specific cases. Also there is no card for dui, I hold a certificate for SFST instructor, DRE, and DRE Instructor. So no card to check. Also I've been qualified as Expert in the above fields in five of the lower shore counties District and Circuit Courts.
I see, someone as qualified as you should be a contributor in that case!
4:20 Well, La de da. You might be an expert DRE but you have a huge head also. I've never used a DRE nor do I care to use a DRE. I've seen many judges who just don't believe in the DRE program and reguard it as voodoo. I think the crapper was joking when he/she said that you had a DUI card.
anon 9:42 sounds like a little resentment or jealousy of anon 4:20. Why the name calling he was just quoting the facts. I am also a DRE on the shore and have never seen a judge not accept the testimony or a DRE. Maybe you should spend the 6-8 weeks it takes for the training and take the 5-6 hours test that is required with a 100% score required. Then maybe you will understand the "VOODOO". Then you could be one of the 140 certified DRE in the state of maryland compared to being one of 16,000.00 sworn officers.
Post a Comment