DUI BLOG

• Big Brother Is Watching You
  Although the following news story doesn’t directly involve DUI, I think it should be of concern to any citizen in this country who has the uncomfortable sense that our constitutional rights are slowly being whittled away and we are drifting toward a police state. Court Allows Agents to Secretly Put GPS Trackers on Cars CNN. Aug. 27 [...] […]
• Taping a Cop Making an Arrest is a Felony
  I think the following news story speaks for itself: ACLU Challenges Illinois Eavesdropping Act Lawsuit cites cases of people charged with breaking the law for making audio recordings of police in action Chicago, IL.  Aug. 18 – It’s not unusual or illegal for police officers to flip on a camera as they get out of their squad car to [...] […]
• Judges Influenced by Revenues from DUI Convictions?
  As I’ve said in previous posts, drunk driving has become a cash cow for local governments starving for revenue.  See DUI: Government’s Cash Cow, How to Make a Million in the DUI Business and What if the Cash Cow Goes Dry?.  This has lead to such things as putting pressure on cops with DUI arrest quotas.  See Do Police Have [...] […]
• Another Case of Cop Immunity
   The drunk driving double standard continues… Outcry Swift After DUI Charges Against Officer Dropped   Indianapolis, IN.  Aug. 20 – Questions about how Indianapolis police have handled a fatal drunken-driving investigation of one of their own officers became that much more pointed Thursday. Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi announced he would drop the mos […]
• The Education of a Prosecutor
  Q. I wish I could get this drunk driver for murder, not just vehicular manslaughter. A. You’re the prosecutor: You can charge him with anything you want. [...] […]
• Driving Under the Influence of…Bread
    Phil Price, a friend and nationally known DUI attorney in Montgomery, Alabama, conducted an interesting series of tests a few years ago on one of the most commonly used breath testing machines.  Without consuming any alcoholic beverages, he submitted himself to repeated breath testing — after eating various types of food. His findings [...] […]
• High Breathalyzer Results: Drinking…or Dieting?
  I’ve written in the past about how most so-called "breathalyzers" do not measure alcohol: they actually measure the presence of a molecular group in chemical compounds. Ethyl alcohol (aka ethanol) contains the group, and so when the machine detects its presence (or, more accurately, infrared energy is absorbed by it), it simply assumes that the det […]
• MADD’s New Focus: Prohibition
   Ok, I guess I’m on another MADD rampage, but the following editorial in the San Francisco Examiner seems to indicate that the tide is turning: MADD’s New Focus: Prohibition San Francisco, CA.  July 27 — Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD)  is suffering from mission creep. A victim of its own success, the non-profit group is now pursuing [...] […]
• Charity Watchdog Gives MADD Low Score
   In the "no comment necessary" department: Mothers Against Drunk Driving Receives "D" Score   Goose Creek, SC.  July 26 – Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is in the hot seat after a dismal score from the American Institute of Philanthropy (AIP). The AIP Charity Guide and Watchdog Report gave MADD a "D" rating on a A-F scale […]
• The Blindness of Zealotry
  In today’s news, a perfect example of the idiocy of MADD’s holy crusade:   Schumer: Steering Wheels Could Stop Drunk Driving Elmira, NY.  July 23 — In the future, cars may be able to detect — through a driver’s skin — whether he or she is drunk, and prevent the [...] […]