Jun 3, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
The article below alerts the public of a new strategy which is starting in Lancaster County SC just in time for summer. While we applaud the intentions by police officials, we are equally concerned that otherwise innocent individuals may be falsely charged in this broad sweep of citizens. Checkpoints and “on the spot sobriety tests” should concern all freedom loving persons. While no one wants truly drunk drivers on our roads, it is becoming too easy to surrender our basic rights in the current DUI hysteria. Be careful if you dare have a drink with dinner or a beer with a friend. Remember that if you are stopped by the police with ANY scent of alcohol on your breath, you will most likely be arrested no matter what you do or say at that point. Of course, the easiest way to avoid all potential trouble is to designate a non-drinking driver to get everyone home safely. If this option is not possible, the best advice we can give you pre-arrest is to exercise your Constitutional rights and politely decline to answer any questions, perform any field sobriety (roadside) tests, and do NOT submit to breathalyzer testing (BAC machine).
The DUI attorneys at Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to aggressively represent you if you are charged with a DUI in Lancaster, SC. Tyler Burns is a former Sixteenth Circuit DUI prosecutor. Carefully compare our firm’s credentials against any other firm. For more information about us, please visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com. Then, call us directly for a confidential consultation of your particular case, even in the evenings or on the weekends, at 877-374-5999.
DUI crackdown part of Lancaster Co. initiative
Party patrols and on-the-spot sobriety tests will soon become common sights in Lancaster now that the county has started an initiative to combat its high rates of DUI arrests.
The Lancaster County Coalition for Healthy Youth laid out plans Tuesday to post photographs of every person who commits DUI in the county or city and send out surveys to 1,200 residents every two months gauging their reactions to the new campaign, said Paul McKenzie, a member of the coalition and research director for the Lancaster County School District.
New strategies include targeting communities rather than individual teens or families, conducting more party patrols and helping law enforcement officials become “visibly aggressive,” McKenzie said.
“Environmental prevention strategies involve changing community norms,” he said.
South Carolina was one of two states chosen to partner with the Center for Substance Abuse Prevention for the initiative. Within the state, Lancaster County was one of two counties chosen for the new strategy because it has the highest rate of DUIs in the state, McKenzie said.
In 2011, county deputies arrested 267 people for DUI’s, McKenzie said. There were 67 DUI-related crashes in the county last year. The county exceeded the national average for binge drinking and underage drinking in 2002.
The initiative partners the Lancaster City Police Department, Lancaster County Sheriff’s Office and S.C. Highway Patrol together, said Sheriff Barry Faile.
By Jonathan McFadden
www.heraldonline.com/2012/05/15/3975772/dui-crackdown-part-of-new-lancaster.html#storylink=cpy
May 27, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
The DUI attorneys of Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to aggressively defend you if you have been falsely charged with DUI in SC. We offer a state-wide practice but currently focus our practice in York, Lancaster, Richland, and Lexington counties. We encourage you to visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com and compare our attorneys’ credentials to any other firm. You can then call us toll-free at 877-374-5999 for a private, confidential consultation to review your particular case. Be safe this Memorial Day weekend.
In 2012, 159 arrests have been made in connection with driving under the influence. In 2011 at this time, only 49 arrests had been made.
Myrtle Beach Traffic Division Police Officer Kevin Cast said there are many reasons for the influx in arrests. He said the new training offered to recruits allows officers who enter the field for the first time to be completely trained to detect an impaired driver.
It is a certification in advanced DUI detection that recruits receive. Cast said until now, officers in the past had gone up to three years before receiving that specific type of training.
Cast said there is also an increased number of field sobriety instructors. Two years ago, there were only two certified field sobriety instructors compared to the seven officers the Myrtle Beach Police have now.
Local Criminal Defense Attorney, Amy Lawrence, said she thinks the nice weather earlier than usual is a reason for the high rate of arrests.
“We have better weather earlier in the game, so we have a lot more people. Anytime in Myrtle Beach, we can have hundreds of thousands of extra people and a lot of those are families and people here on vacation and so the influx in people alone is what brings our numbers up a lot,” Lawrence said.
Lawrence said finding balance between getting dangerous drivers off the roads and making unnecessary arrests could be really tough.
“We’ve got a state and city who’s trying to protect their constituents and family members and we’ve got all these tourists and the issue becomes, do we arrest more people in an abundance of caution or do we let it go and not have those DUI’s? I think they’re just willing to arrest, and ask questions later,” Lawrence said.
Officer Cast said so far in 2012, there has been one vehicle fatality that was related to alcohol.
Copyright 2012 WMBF News. All rights reserved.
May 10, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
This weekend is supposed to bring the start of warm weather to the Carolinas. The lakes in SC and NC are anticipating a great summer with lots of boaters, skiiers, and swimmers. The article below reminds us all who love the lake to be responsible and look out for our fellow boaters and swimmers. It is easy to become intoxicated on the water and be charged with a “boating under the influence” (BUI) charge. Of even greater concern is when someone who is unsafe hurts or kills someone in a boating accident.
The attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP wish everyone a great and memorable summer season. Please be safe and get back home to your family. For more information about our firm, visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com. Or for a private consultation about a BUI or boating accident, call to speak directly with an attorney at 877-374-5999.
May 9, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
Here is an another interesting article and analysis by Ms. Denning regarding the latest major change to NC DWI laws. The question raised is whether the new law which imposes the most serious punishment for a first time DWI defendant for having anyone below the age of 18 or a disabled person in the vehicle counts as a singular factor for each person or single factor overall. As this issue is not clear in the statute, it will ultimately be left to the Courts to resolve. The most frightening scenario for our typical DWI client at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP is the husband and wife who are on a “date night.” After having a nice dinner and a couple glasses of wine. On their way back home, they stop to pick up their children from the baby sitter and are stopped for a minor traffic infraction. Suddenly, without an accident and no prior criminal record, the driver is looking at mandatory jail time. These laws, while well intentioned, are bound to sweep up the innocent with the truly guilty.
The Charlotte DWI lawyers of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP understand the fear you are facing if you have been charged with a DWI. Our trial attorneys are seasoned litigators who will fight tirelessly to defend your rights. For more information about our firm, please visit our website at www.rjrlaw.com. After you compare our credentials to any other law firm, call us at 704-499-9000 to speak with an attorney directly for a private consultation.
Another Look at the DWI Super-Aggravator in G.S. 20-179(c)(4)
May 9th, 2012
By Shea Denning
Last summer I wrote this post about amendments to the fourth grossly aggravating factor applicable to sentencing for impaired driving, namely the factor in G.S. 20-179(c)(4) that elevates punishment for driving while impaired with a child in the vehicle. Amendments effective for offenses committed on or after December 1, 2011 render this factor applicable if any of the following persons were in the vehicle at the time of the offense: (1) a child under the age of 18; (2) a person with the mental development of a child under 18; or (3) a person with a physical disability that prevents the person from getting out of the vehicle without assistance. S.L. 2011-329. When I summarized the amendments last summer, I wrote: “[I]f more than one of these types of persons is in the car, it appears that only one grossly aggravating factor applies.” I want to revisit that issue in this post.
G.S. 20-179(c)(4) does not specify whether more than one grossly aggravating factor exists if more than one qualifying minor or disabled person is in the vehicle at the time of the offense. It did not so specify before it was amended, though then it applied only when one category of persons was present in the vehicle: a child under the age of 16. In light of G.S. 20-179(c)(1)’s specification that each qualifying prior conviction counted as a separate grossly aggravating factor, the prevailing interpretation before the statute was amended was that, regardless of the number of children present in the vehicle, only one factor applied. See Ben Loeb and James Drennan, Motor Vehicle Law and the Law of Impaired Driving in North Carolina 85 (2000); see also Jeff Welty, DWI for the Whole Family. That’s the analysis I applied in the August 2011 post. It finds some support in another provision of S.L. 2011-329, which amended G.S. 20-179(c) to require Level One punishment “if it is determined that the grossly aggravating factor in subdivision (4) of this subsection applies” and to permit Level Two punishment “[i]f the judge does not find that the aggravating factor at subdivision (4) of this subsection applies.” These references to G.S. 20-179(c)(4) arguably reflect the legislature’s view that the factor, while capable of proof in multiple ways, remains singular in its application.
Nevertheless, the contrary view—namely that division of this factor into subparts evinces the legislature’s intent to permit the finding of more than one grossly aggravating factor under G.S. 20-179(c)(4)—is bolstered by case law interpreting other, similarly worded aggravating factors. The court of appeals in State v. Mack, 81 N.C. App. 578 (1986), for example, construed the aggravating factor of “especially reckless or dangerous driving” in G.S. 20-179(d)(2) to permit a finding of two separate aggravating factors, one based on especially reckless driving and the other based on especially dangerous driving. The Mack court explained that “there would need to be at least one item of evidence not used to prove either an element of the offense or any other factor in aggravation to support each additional aggravating factor.” Id. at 585. Similarly, the state supreme court has upheld the division of the aggravating factor set forth in G.S. 15A-1340.16(d)(1), which applies if “[t]he defendant induced others to participate in the commission of the offense or occupied a position of leadership or dominance of other participants,” holding that the provision may support the finding of two aggravating factors (one for inducement and one for position of leadership) if separate evidence supports each.See State v. Erlewine, 328 N.C. 626, 638-39 (1991). For that reason, both the impaired driving determination of sentencing factors form and the felony judgment form provide check boxes for the finding of one or both factors under each provision.
If the reasoning in Mack and Erlewine was applied to G.S. 20-179(c)(4), as amended, it would allow for the determination of more than one grossly aggravating factor based on the presence of more than one person in the car, each of whom satisfied a separate category. So, for example, a finding of one grossly aggravating factor under G.S. 20-179(c)(4) would be appropriate for a defendant who committed a covered offense with more than one child under the age of 18 in the vehicle because the children occupy the same category. If, however, a person with a qualifying disability or a person with the mental development of a child under the age of 18 years also was present in the vehicle, a separate grossly aggravating factor also would apply.
The DWI sentencing factors form acknowledges this possible interpretation, providing a separate check box for each category of qualifying individual under 20-179(c)(4). The form does not, of course, resolve the legal issue of whether each category gives rise to separate factor.
Given that a finding of one aggravating factor under G.S. 20-179(c)(4) requires Level One punishment, whether multiple aggravating factors can be found under this subsection carries legal significance in the limited number of cases in which there are three or more grossly aggravating factors, thus requiring punishment at Aggravated Level One. If you’ve litigated this issue or have other insights or perspective on the proper construction of this provision, I’d love to have the benefit of your thoughts.
May 6, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
There is always “bar talk” about how many drinks (alcohol, wine, beer) a person can have before they are considered “legally drunk”? While many profess to know the answer, there actually is no true scientific basis to calculate same with any certainty. An individual’s blood alcohol level is affected by a number of factors including age, weight, gender, time of day, physical condition, food consumed prior to taking a drink, other drugs or medication taken, and tolerance level. One thing we do know is that eating while drinking slows down the absorption of alcohol into your bloodstream, thereby resulting in a lower BAC level. Always remember that alcohol affects everyone differently. If you rarely drink, you could be severely impaired by a single beer. The only real conclusion reached is that impairment begins with the first drink, and that by the time you “feel drunk,” you’re probably already past the legal limit.
The Department of Justice estimates that over 1.4 million drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or narcotics in 2005 (the latest data available). The arrest rate works out to one arrest for every 139 licensed drivers in the United States. Although these are the latest arrest figures, it is doubtful these numbers have improved. Sadly, DUI and DWI arrests continue to rise every year, and legislatures around the country continue to pass even stricter and harsher laws.
The criminal defense attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP focus their practice on DUI and DWI cases in both SC and NC. Our trial lawyers have over 70 years combined experience in the courtroom. We fight hard for our clients by taking their cases to trial in order to win an acquittal or get the best negotiated plea. Prosecutors know which law firms are willing to go to court and if they know what they are doing when they get there. Our team of attorneys have unique backgrounds and qualifications. For more information about our lawyers and firm, please visit www.rjrlaw.com. Compare our firm to any other. Then call us for a private consultation at 877-374-5999. We welcome an opportunity to help you and your family.
Apr 29, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
This recent article shows how dangerous truly impaired drivers can be. Here, the DUI suspect lost control of his vehicle, striking a marked police car first and then a building. High speed in conjunction with drunk driving can be fatal and cause serious damage to innocent drivers and pedestrians. Sadly, anyone charged, whether guilty or not, is associated with the pictures below. The public now has an implanted image of what “drunk drivers” can do, and frankly, it scares all of us.
As a DUI criminal defense attorney with Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP, the first thing that has to be done at trial is to “reset” the jury to understand that our clients are “presumed innocent” and that cases like the one below almost never go to trial. Instead, our clients are everyday people who have had a drink with dinner, or a beer with friend, but are perfectly safe to drive. Because of news stories like the one below, police are aggressively arresting virtually anyone who has alcohol on their breath when stopped for any reason. At checkpoints, they may say they are looking for license and registration infractions, but they are really there to arrest “drunk drivers.” You can be certain that if they smell “alcohol on or about (your) person,” you are going to spend the night in jail no matter what you do or say at that point. If you decline to participate in field sobriety tests, you will be arrested. If you attempt these awkward tests, you will invariably fail and be put in the back of the police car. You get the idea.
If arrested for a SC DUI, it is critical that you retain an experienced DUI attorney who focuses their criminal practice on this specialized area. We would also recommend that you look at firms with former DUI prosecutors as these individuals have unique insights on how to address the various legal issues raised. At Reeves, Aiken & Hightower LLP, our criminal defense lawyers are seasoned trial attorneys. With over 70 years combined litigation experience. Please visit our website www.rjrlaw.com to find out more about our lawyers. Compare our attorneys’ credentials to any other law firm. Then call us at 877-374-5999 for a confidential consultation of your case.
Car crashed into Greek Boys restaurant (Source: CPD)
Police car from crash at Sumter and Hampton streets (Source: CPD)
Police car from crash at Sumter and Hampton streets (Source: CPD)
COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) – Columbia-area police agencies are teaming up to operate DUI safety checkpoints this weekend following a string of recent DUI-related crashes.
Officers from Columbia Police, University of South Carolina Police Department and the South Carolina Highway Patrol will focus their efforts on areas throughout Columbia where DUI related collisions and offenses have occurred. Those areas include the Vista, Five Points, and along main roadways like Assembly Street, Elmwood Avenue, Gervais Street, Huger Street and Blossom Street.
The checkpoints run from Friday night through Sunday night.
Officers will be looking for impaired drivers, drivers license violations and checking child safety seats.
Columbia Police Chief Randy Scott says in the past several months, five Columbia police officers have been hit by drunk drivers.
Two crashes occurred last weekend. Fort Jackson Military Police Officer Joshua Waters was charged with DUI and open container after investigators say he crashed into a police cruiser at Sumter and Hampton Streets in downtown Columbia Saturday morning. After hitting the police car, investigators say Waters’ vehicle crashed into the Greek Boys Restaurant on Sumter Street.
And Sunday, a suspected drunk driver crashed into a police officer at the intersection of Gervais and Washington Streets.
The officers involved in those wrecks were treated at local hospitals. None of them sustained serious injuries.
Copyright 2012 WIS. All rights reserved.
