Alabama DUI News

Image source: National Eye Institute https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Checking_Blood_Sample_(9955279835).jpg Can a patient seeking care at a hospital give a blood sample for the purposes of acquiring medical treatment while retaining their Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable search and seizure of that sample of blood by the police? According to a recent Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals decision[1], the official answer is still unclear. On February 16, 2013, an Alabama driver struck and severely injured a pedestrian. The police arrived on the scene, and ... Read More »

The Alabama legislature in the 2018  session is proposing a bill that will affect DUI expungement for youthful offenders. The bill as originally proposed was going to allow expungement for youthful offenders who had admitted to being a youthful offender, even in DUI cases. The amended bill makes a DUI exception and specifically excludes DUI from this portion of the bill. Under the proposed bill, if a youthful offender (individual between 18 and 21 at the time of the offense ... Read More »

The 2016 regular session of the Alabama Legislature has come to a close. Every year one or more bills seek to change Alabama’s DUI law.  This year was no different.  It’s time to take a look at 2016’s legislative hits and misses as it relates to Alabama DUI defense. The bill I will address in this post did not ultimately pass, but I address it first for two reasons.  One, it would have made more sweeping changes to Alabama DUI ... Read More »

There has been quite a bit of buzz lately about a video illustrating a Florida attorney’s creative advice on handling DUI roadblocks / checkpoints. The video suggests you hang your ID and other documentation outside of your rolled up car window in a zip-lock bag along with a note stating “I remain silent. No searches. I want my lawyer….”  In the video, this approach works like a charm, but that does not mean it is good advice for drivers to ... Read More »

I have heard from a source close to the matter that the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences is about to approve another ignition interlock device for persons convicted of DUI in Alabama.  Since September 2012, Alabama’s DUI law began requiring ignition interlock installation for all multiple DUI offenders and even on some first time offenders.  The Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences was given responsibility for drafting regulations for ignition interlock installers and for maintaining a list of approved ignition interlock ... Read More »

by Phillip B. Price, Sr. Alabama’s new DUI ignition interlock law went into effect at the beginning of September.  However, the regulatory scheme and infrastructure needed for the law to be fully operational and adequately administered is far from complete.  While the Alabama Department of Forensic Sciences recently put forth its regulations related to the new law, the Alabama Department of Public Safety appears less prepared.  At present there are only a half dozen interlock installation facilities in Alabama and ... Read More »