Richmond Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Battle: Even Deputy Sheriff’s drive Drunk

Harris County Texas Sheriff's Deputy Craig Miller was killed in an unfortunate motor vehicle collision on February 21, 2008.

Deputy Miller was on his way to relieve another Deputy conducting surveillance on a suspected criminal activity.

Jose Vieyra, driving a box truck, pulled out onto Katy Freeway in Houston, Texas, in front of Deputy Miller.

Deputy Miller did not attempt to brake as there were no skid marks in his lane; Miller passed away at the scene.

Vieyra was charged with criminally negligent homicide.


Now the Rest of the Story:

- Deputy Miller was not wearing his seatbelt,

- Deputy Miller had a .27 blood-alcohol content,

- Vieyra had a valid driver's license at the time of the accident,

- Vieyra had no criminal record,

- Initially Sheriff's Dept. indicated that the .27 would not effect Vieyra's charge,

- Charges against Vieyra, in light of Deputy Miller's .27 bac,were dismissed,

- Vieyra may be deported as his papers had expired.


Harris County is known for its surveillance efforts:



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1V74ZjZ74o



Thanks to Harrisonburg DWI Lawyer Bob Keefer, www.BobKeeferLaw.com, for providing us with this information.

Richmond Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Battle: Harris County Sheriff’s Department went over the Line

The Harris County Sheriff's Department had to know that conducting surveillance on Plaintiffs in a civil rights violation suit was wrong.

The Ibarra brothers, a local business owner and a Judge sued Harris County.

Business Owner Loyd Henderson was a plaintiff; his security camera showed Henderson being shoved to the floor and cuffed without warning by a Harris County Sheriff's Deputy.

Henderson had called the Sheriff's Departmetn for help after a robbery.

Municipal Judge April Walker was also a Plaintiff in that suit; Judge Walker was arrested after calling the Sheriff's Office for help.

The Deputy that was called to help calm a neighborhood dispute threw Judge Walker to the ground and handcuffed her.

Judge Walker was charged with impersonating a public officer and assault on a police officer.

The Ibarro Brothers, as mentioned in an earlier blog, were arrested while videotaping the arrest of a neighbor.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1V74ZjZ74o

Richmond Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Battle: Is Harris County Sheriff’s Department Racist?

Sheriff Tommy Thomas has been accused of being racist due to some emails that were discovered.
You decide for yourself:  http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/feature?section=news/13_undercover&id=6231156
As you may remember from other blogs, the Harris County Texas Sheriff has been criticized and sued.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxf67bhoVVg

Thanks to Harrisonburg Virginia DWI Attorney Bob Keefer, www.BobKeeferLaw.com, for keeping me informed of this apparent abuse of police power.

Did you ever wonder what the police did with all those impounded cars? Well stop wondering, now we know.

What do they do with the cars?  Well first they drive them and then they buy them for ridiculiously low prices.

In St. Louis, Missouri,like in many municipalities, the powers that be have legislatively enabled law enforcement to seize cars of persons suspected of DUI.  If the vehicle is not recovered within a certain time by its true owner then law enforcement and their family members can purchase the seized vehicle at a cheap price, sometimes at 25% of the real value.

The city and the tow service split the loot from the towing.  The "abandoned" cars become no cost rental cars to be driven for months without cost.  In St. Louis, Aimie Mokwa, 33 years old, the daughter of Joe Mokwa, police chief, has helped herself to several cars on the cheap.  Actually, it is a good thing the cars are so cheap as she has wrecked a Dodge Neon and a Ford Escort.  She had a .17 blood alcohol content when she wrecked the Escort but somehow was not charged with DUI.  Sounds fair to all concerned.

Harrisonburg Virginia DUI Attorney Keefer talks about the New Breath Tester

In 2005 Virginia Department of Forensic Science (DFS) revealed in a grant request that its evidentiary breath test devices, Intoxilyzer 5000 (68), were “dated, unstable and unreliable.”  DFS went on to say that, “Funding of this request will allow the agency to replace instruments that are 9-10 years old and for which replacement parts are not available.”  West Virginia had begun replacing its dated, unstable, unreliable Intoxilyzers with emergency funding in 2004.

 FOIA requests of internal DFS documents revealed serious problems with Virginia’s Intoxilyzers,

 

The IR source that is currently being sold is having problems with sensitivity and transitioning between motors…The motors are another issue, the current motor will be discontinued as of January 1, 2006.  The “replacement motors” are in short supply…CMI doesn’t want to continue to support the 5000 line since they have 2 generations of instruments produced since that time.

 

 Through FOIA, Harrisonburg Virginia DUI Attorney Bob Keefer found that DFS was using 90 cent cassette player motors instead of the $80.00 to $100.00 motors designated by the manufacturer.  These motors are critical to the accuracy of the testing as erratic motor speeds will cause instability in the electronic signals, which can affect the timing of the device.   

 

Keefer’s research revealed, as might be expected with substandard parts, that the devices were suffering electronic problems.  Electronic problems cause many different issues to occur, depending upon where in the operational sequence the problem occurs.  For example, the calibration can fall out of tolerance.  When this happens test results cannot be considered to be accurate within a reasonable degree of scientific certainty.

 

Despite these problems DFS has always claimed that the Intoxilyzer could not be wrong because it would not let itself make a mistake.  According to DFS these machines have never made a mistake.

 

Despite the problems and the FOIA documents, DFS still claims publically that the now 12 year old machines are not showing any signs of ageing.  DFS, of course, maintains that Virginia does not have to replace the Intoxilyzers.

 

On April 23, 2008, DFS signed a contract to replace the Intoxilyzers with Intoximeters EC/IR II.  The EC/IR II was the cheapest machine considered.   It is about half the price of Intoxilyzer’s 8000.

 

According to DFS, out of 50 states the EC/IR II is used in only four states besides Virginia: West Virginia, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Tennessee.   

 

The EC/IR II was intended to use two analytical methods: EC (electrochemical or fuel cell) and IR (infrared technology).  The plan was that the EC/IR II would insure reliability by checking the fuel cell results against the infrared results.  Agreement between such different analytical methods would insure reliability.  Unfortunately, Intoximeter was unable to coordinate the different analytical methods. For that reason, the device only uses the fuel cell to measure alcohol and determine blood alcohol content.

 

Time will tell whether DFS made a good decision to replace its never wrong Intoxilyzers with the EC/IR II.

 

Bob Keefer practices DUI defense in Harrisonburg, Virginia; Rockingham County, Virginia; Staunton, Virgina; Augusta County, Virginia; Woodstock, Virginia; Shenandoah County, Virginia; Waynesboro, Virginia and other parts of the Shenandoah Valley.  www.BobKeeferLaw.com  

Harrisonburg Virginia DUI Attorney comments on flagrant cheating by police on breath test certification

I asked Bob Keefer, a Harrisonburg, Virginia DUI lawyer to comment on the cheating by some Ohio State Troopers on their breath operator's license recertification. Was this a big deal or was the press making too much of a Trooper stealing the test answers, distributing the answers to others, in the presence of patrol sergeants who did nothing and getting caught in part because he missed simple questions. Here is what Keefer said:

Over a million Americans are charged with drunk driving every year. For most of them, this is the most serious criminal charge they will ever face in their lives. Most people charged with DUI have no previous criminal record whatsoever.

DUI charges now carry significant direct and indirect consequences. For example, many states require mandatory jail, mandatory loss of license, mandatory ignition interlock and mandatory alcohol education.

Automobile insurance rates are very high to insure convicted drunk drivers if the company will insure the convicted drunk driver at all. Some countries, like Canada, may even deny the convicted drunk driver admission into the country. Some health insurance providers will not insure the convicted driver. Some life insurance companies will not write policies for convicted drivers. Many businesses will terminate or not hire the convicted drunk driver. A DUI or DWI conviction may sink your security clearance if you need one for employment.

Being a convicted drunk driver is seen as a character flaw at the bare minimum.

In that light, we would expect that law enforcement officers would take their jobs seriously and learn how to properly test a subject’s blood alcohol level. In Ohio, in order to administer the breath test equipment the operator must have a permit. This permit must be renewed every year by passing an examination.

You would figure this exam to be pretty easy for Ohio State Police Officers who give these tests all year round. But that must not be the case since six troopers had to resort to cheating to pass. Moreover, five patrol sergeants knew about the cheating but did not stop it. Apparently they were not concerned about how well the cheaters could test the citizens.

Apparently, one trooper stole the test answer sheet and gave it to other troopers. Three sergeants were present in the room when Trooper Maroon distributed copies of the answer sheet to other test takers. Two other sergeants got the answers from Maroon before they took their test.

Maroon only missed two answers on his test; answers any senior operator ought to get right. All of the cheaters missed the same two answers; the same two answers that were wrong on the cheat sheet. And this was a pass/ fail test. When the investigation began, at least one Trooper was “less than truthful”.

Who is watching the watchers? How many other troopers have cheated over the years? How many innocent citizens have been denied justice because the test operator was a cheater and did not know how to do his job properly? If a trooper would cheat on a test would he lie to convict a citizen? Will the person testing you be a cheater?

Read full report below:

http://content.clearchannel.com/cc-common/mlib/1279/07/1279_1216238914.pdf

 

About Bob Keefer: Bob Keefer is an attorney in Harrisonburg, Virginia. He represents persons charged with DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and traffic tickets. He represents people charged with those offenses in Harrisonburg, Virginia; Rockingham County, Virginia; Staunton, Virginia; Augusta County, Virginia; Waynesboro, Virginia; Woodstock, Virginia; Shenandoah County, Virginia; Page County, Virginia; Luray, Virginia; Shenandoah Valley, Virginia; Bridgewater, Virginia; Dayton, Virginia; Verona, Virginia; Broadway, Virginia; Timberville, Virginia; Interstate 81.

BEWARE of DUI Lawyer Websites Whose Lawyers Are Qualified to Do One Thing Only — Plead You Guilty

There is a reason that Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Battle saw a need to team with talented, ethical colleagues to create www.DUIanswer.com. Read this sad but true post titled "How NOT to Choose a DUI Lawyer" to read about an ad sent to lawyers nationwide for a "DUI Lawyer" Website that states "Do You Know How to Plead a Client Guilty? If Yes, You Are a Qualified DUI Lawyer."

Click the link at the end of this sentence to view the ad and Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Battle's comments.

Unlike the website that is willing to hold out lawyers to the public as "fully qualified" without telling the public that they define "QUALIFIED" as the ability to plead you guilty, all the lawyers on www.DUIanswer.com must apply to be on this website and there is only 1 lawyer accepted for each jurisdiction.

Manassas, Virginia DUI Lawyer Gets Blood Test Suppressed – Fairfax County DUI Case Dismissed

Manassas, Virginia DUI / DWI lawyer, T. Kevin Wilson, has successfully represented another client accused of DUI / DWI.  In this case, Mr. Wilson was successful in getting the blood test suppressed resulting in the client's Fairfax County DUI / DWI case being dismissed. 

T. Kevin Wilson's client was arrested by a Fairfax County Police Officer and accused of Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs in violation of 18.2-266 of the Code of Virginia.  Her blood was drawn and an analysis performed at the Department of Forensic Science suggested three distinct drugs were present.   

Virgiinia DUI / DWI law permits a Circuit Court to enter an order allowing certain persons to withdraw blood in a DUI / DWI case.  However, the law in question requires the Circuit Court entering the order to act on the recommendation of a licensed physician.  In this particular case, the order which was presented to the Fairfax County General District Court as authorization for this particular blood draw had been entered by the Fairfax County Circuit Court in 2005, but was not on the recommendation of a licensed physician, as required by Virginia law.  As a result, the blood test was suppressed and the DUI / DWI case was dismissed, adding this particular client to the list of satisfied clients for T. Kevin Wilson. 

Since the court order authorizing many people to withdraw blood which was used in this case was entered by the Fairfax County Circuit Court back in 2005 and was still being used, it is reasonable to assume that other lawyers must had cases involving this particular order and failed to recognize the defect in the order.  If that assumption is true, the failure of those lawyers to recognize the defect in the order may very well have resulted in their clients being unjustly convicted.     

 

Another way to get deported: Being found guilty of misdemeanor Driving Under the Influence of Drugs or with a minor in the car

Michelle Smith, The Assistant Chief Counsel for ICE confirmed recently at a CLE that a legal alien who pleads guilty or is convicted of either DUID (Driving Under the Influence of Drugs) or DUI and child abuse (e.g., a child passenger) is subject to deportation. The only "child abuse" in these cases is the presence of a child in the car of the intoxicated driver.

This can be a hidden consequence for a non-citizen client who pleads guilty to DUI with the aggravating factor of transporting a minor 17 years or under.  Many attorneys are not aware of the extreme consequence to the non-citizen of just pleading him or her guility to DUID or DUI with a passenger 17 years of age or younger in the vehicle.

 

 

 

Illinois Supreme Court Rules Against Validity of HGN Testing for DUI

Overruling decisions from a trial and appellate court, the State Supreme Court of Illinois determined the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) Test lacked the general acceptance in the relevant scientific community to be admissible absent proof to the contrary from the prosecution in a ruling from September 2007.

 

The State of Illinois Supreme Court overturned the rulings of a trial court and appellate court with regard to entering HGN results as evidence in determining the alcohol impairment of defendant Joanne McKown when she was arrested by police in June, 2002. McKown had veered into oncoming traffic, causing three motorcyclists to be thrown from their vehicles in Peoria County. Two of the three riders suffered serious injury.

High Court Orders Evidentiary Hearing

The state?s high court remanded the case to the Circuit Court of Peoria County, ordering an evidentiary hearing pursuant to Frye vs. United States (1923). Neither of the lower courts held such a hearing at McKown?s trial, accepting the reliability of the HGN test in determining alcohol impairment based on previous state court opinions. In both trials, the court admitted testimony of the arresting police officer who tested McKown for HGN.

At the first trial, McKown was found guilty of two counts of aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol, two counts of aggravated reckless driving, one count of reckless driving and one count of driving under the influence of alcohol. Damaging evidence consisted of three eyewitnesses and the opinion of the police officer who administered the HGN test at the scene.

Keep Your Eye on the Light?

The HGN test measures involuntary, erratic eyeball movement to the left and right while a miniature flashlight is shone into the person?s pupil. With a normal eye, there will be some ?jerking? of the eyeball but in the eyeball of one who is intoxicated, there is more ?jerking? to the left or to the right when the eyeball is closer to center position. Such movement also can be the result of other illnesses or causes. The test was devised by the National Highway Safety Traffic Association. Instructions are standard in the NHSTA?s DWI Detection and Standardized Field Sobriety Test Instructor Manual.

Witnesses at the accident scene said McKown was speeding. The approaching officer noticed an open can of beer inside the vehicle. That officer testified at trial the defendant had bloodshot eyes, slurred speech and breath smelling of beer. McKown admitted to having consumed three cans of beer before opening a fourth can after the accident.

 

 

 

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