Jul 31, 2012 | DUI & DWI, News, Uncategorized
On Tuesday, July 24, a 19 year old man from York, James Kyle Rose, has been charged with one count of felony DUI resulting in a death, two counts of felony DUI resulting in great bodily injury and driving under suspension. These charges come just three weeks after Rose was arrested for DUI on July 8.
According to Police, Rose swerved off the right side of the road, hit a tree and flipped over. All four passengers in the car were ejected, and 18-year-old Clover girl, Clarissa Disbrow, was killed. Paramedics took Rose and another passenger to Piedmont Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries.
Another frightening reminder that you don’t have to hit someone else to be charged with Felony DUI. If you are driving under the Influence and one of your passengers are hurt or killed, you could be facing charges such as these. Felony DUI resulting in Death carries up to 25 years in prison. If you find yourself or someone you know charged with Felony DUI, you need to seek the advice of serious professionals trained to represent you.
The Criminal Defense Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower
If you or someone you know has been charged with any crime, call the experienced South Carolina criminal defense attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower at 877-374-5999, for a free consultation with an attorney. We’ll help you evaluate your options and develop your best defense to get you the best results possible.
Jul 28, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
I came across this interesting but slightly disturbing article. I say slightly distrubing because, if it comes to production, this new technology would impose itself upon everyone who has to try and drive the vehicle. Additionally, the technology in its current form is not without flaws according to this article. It appears that some car companies are now experimenting with equipping all vehicles with a device that would require the driver to blow into it to test their BAC before allowing them to start the engine. This research is being funded by taxpayer dollars. In theory, it is supposed to work similarly to the ignition interlock system that is currently installed on the cars of those individuals convicted of DUI. The legal BAC limit in most states is .08%, however according to some sources, this device would not allow someone to drive their car if they register a BAC of .02%. Supposedly, the apparent reasoning is that a person’s BAC level rises over time. Thus, if set at .02%, then again in theory, a rising BAC level would still stop t a person from driving who might reach a BAC of .08% or higher over time. The problem with this “one solution for all” is that the technology does not always work as intended. And, we use our cars for all types of situations, including emergencies. There is no reasonable basis to punish us all for the sins of a few. Moreover, people always seem to find a way to “get around” these devices.
The attorneys of Reeves Aiken & Hightower LLP stand ready to work tirelessly for you if you have been charged with DUI or BUI in SC. 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 or contact us by email for a private, confidential consultation to review your particular case.
Alcohol-sensing technology could become standard in all cars
By Larry Copeland, USA TODAY
The long-term transportation funding bill just approved by Congress includes funds for researching alcohol-detection technology that could eventually be standard equipment in all new cars.
That funding — $5 million over two years — should have been stripped from the bill because it “uses American taxpayer dollars to fund something they’re not going to want in their cars,” said a group representing the restaurant industry.
“Spending lots of taxpayer dollars to develop alcohol-sensing technology that can come as standard equipment in all cars is a misuse of these funds,” said Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute (ABI).
Since 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the nation’s automakers have been researching technology that can non-invasively measure a driver’s blood-alcohol content and prevent a vehicle from starting if the driver is legally drunk. The national research effort is the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS).
Longwell argues that such in-vehicle technology will mean the end of social drinking in the USA. “Our main complaint is that (the in-car systems) will not be set at .08%,” she said. That is the blood alcohol level deemed unlawful for drivers in all 50 states. “It will have to be set lower, because after five drinks, your BAC level is not .08 right away. It will increase, and cross the legal threshold while you’re driving. The vehicle can’t just shut down mid-trip. So, for legal and liability reasons, it will have to be set below .08. We believe they will set it around .02 or .03.”
DADSS spokesman Wade Newton denied that. “.08 is the legal limit,” he said. “That’s what the devices will be set at.”
Newton said researchers are “looking at whether technology exists” that could potentially shut a vehicle down or take some other action if a driver’s BAC rose above the legal limit while the vehicle was in motion. “We’re still looking at how to check for a situation where the driver starts exceeding the legal limit once the vehicle is in motion, and also what to do with the vehicle,” he said.
The DADSS researchers are testing approaches that:
•Use “tissue spectrometry” to measure a driver’s BAC. Sensors in places such as the steering wheel, gear shift and ignition read blood-alcohol levels through the driver’s fingertips.
•Use “distant spectrometry,” a breath-based method in which multiple sensors in the vehicle’s cabin assess the alcohol concentration in the driver’s exhaled breath.
Researchers expect to have a “drivable test vehicle” within about two years. “We think 8-10 years is the earliest a consumer would see this as an option in an auto,” Newton said.
Longwell of the ABI said the new technology will signal an end to Americans’ ability “to have a beer at a ballgame or a glass of wine with dinner.” Her organization also challenges the accuracy of in-vehicle alcohol detection devices, arguing that even if they were “reliable 99.99966% of the time, it would still mean over 4,000 misreadings per day.”
Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an advocate of in-vehicle alcohol detectors, said the research funds are well spent. “Drunken driving costs the U.S. $132 billion each year, and we think that $5 million … is a good use of transportation dollars to potentially eliminate the problem,” said J.T. Griffin, senior vice president for public policy.
- Source: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/story/2012-06-29/alcohol-detection-technology-standard-cars/55927610/1
Jul 12, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
The number 0.08% is important in South Carolina DUI (driving under the influence) prosecution. That is true. However, the state of South Carolina can and will aggressively prosecute a DUI against an individual who had less than a 0.08% blood alcohol content (BAC).
The state will do this because DUI requires, not a 0.08% BAC, but
- presence of alcohol or other intoxicating substance in the body, and
- impairment of ability to drive safely.
If an individual is physically impaired at the time of arrest, as evidenced in the police car video, the audio recording, or the officer’s testimony, a jury can, and some juries will, convict individuals who blow far less than a 0.08%.
The SC DUI Attorneys of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower
No matter what your blood alcohol concentration was, if you have been charged with DUI, you need experienced DUI representation. At Reeves, Aiken & Hightower, you can trust that you will get the representation you deserve from attorneys with extensive DUI experience. When you need help, call us at 877-374-5999, or contact us at this link, for a free, private consultation.
Jul 10, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
News channel Action 9 continued the media onslaught on the independence and fairness of the judges yesterday by openly questioning the judgment of Judge Kimberly Best-Staton. Characteristic of attacks on judges, the story focuses on simple results, rather than fair application of the law.
Apparently, police officers and state troopers had come to the Action 9 Investigative team to complain that a local judge was being partial to defendants accused of DWI. The Action 9 Investigative reporter Mark Becker then aired a story based on these ill-defined complaints, some inflammatory statistics, and two pieces of anecdotal evidence. DWI prosecution is like all criminal prosecution complicated. When a person’s liberty and rights are at stake, Americans should and do take due process of law seriously. This supposed investigative journalism failed to do that by ignoring the complex, interrelated issues at hand.
True “drunk driving” is a problem in Mecklenburg County, but that is no reason to sidestep the law and individual rights.
The story showed a fundamental lack of respect for the law and individual liberty with opinion questioning Judge Best-Staton’s “judgment,” instead of whether she was applying the law fairly to each case. The story never attempts to give the public an explanation of why the judge’s judgment was being questioned, and the story failed to give an example of where the judge did not apply the law.
The evidence presented that was supposed to be so fatal to the “judgment” of Judge Best-Staton was that so far this year she found only 33% of those accused of DWI brought in front of her guilty. The story ignores the innumerable reasons why defendants are found not guilty and the individual cases brought to her.
The public might have rightly wondered whether Judge Best-Staton was fairly applying the law, but Action 9 certainly didn’t tell them.
What we really have here is a mind set where principles of “innocent until proven guilty,” “adherence to the law,” and “liberty” are being disregarded in favor of crass embrace of judicial activism when it would allow more individuals to be found guilty, especially of pet crimes like DWI.
For what it’s worth, let’s remember that it is not a crime to merely be charged with DWI, nor is it a crime to merely have a wisp of alcohol in your system when stopped. When a judge finds an individual not guilty of DWI, she may just be doing justice.
The DWI Lawyers of Reeves, Aiken & Hightower
If you have been charged with a DWI or any other crime, contact the attorneys at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower. Review our credentials, make sure that we are right for you, and call us at 877-374-5999, or contact us here, for a private consultation.
Jul 9, 2012 | DUI & DWI, Uncategorized
On July 1, Circuit Court Judge Michael Nettles included in Cassandra Tolley’s sentence an unusual task: the defendant must do some bible study, a report on the Book of Job. Tolley had pled guilty to Felony DUI. She was heavily drunk (0.33% Blood Alcohol Content) back in November when she crossed the yellow and seriously injured two men in York County.
In addition to writing a report on the Book of Job, Tolley is sentenced to 8 years in prison followed by 5 years probation.
The unusual part of this all around tragic story, the fact that a York County judge would include in a criminal sentence a religious task, apparently is not unconstitutional. As it turns out, since the task of penitence was included in a plea deal, and thus Tolley consented to it, it is not an unconstitutional religious imposition.
According to the Rock Hill Herald, the idea for the report on Job came not from the bench, but rather from New Vision Free Will Baptist pastor Daggett Duncan.
Rock Hill DUI Attorneys
If you have been charged with a DUI or any other crime, contact the attorneys at Reeves, Aiken & Hightower. Browse our website, and compare our credentials with those of attorneys at any other firm. Then, call us at 877-374-5999 or contact us at this link for a private consultation.
