DUI News Digest

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind.  — A Marion County judge says a new alcohol tracker is making a difference.  The device helps keep DUI offenders sober, at no cost to taxpayers. It’s called “RADAR,” or Real Time Alcohol Monitoring Detection and Recognition.  Offenders are given random Breathalyzer tests throughout the day.  The results are sent in real-time to correction officers.  The program is used as either a condition for release, or part of a sentence. Read More »

Arizona medical marijuana users can face jail time or have their licenses suspended for driving with cannabis in their system even if they are not impaired, according to a series of court decisions including a new one from the state Court of Appeals. The ruling stems from a case involving Travis Lance Darrah, a medical marijuana cardholder, who was pulled over in 2011 and charged with DUI. The Mesa jury acquitted Darrah of DUI but found him guilty of a misdemeanor ... Read More »

NAMPA, ID– No more waiting for a blood test. A handful of Nampa police officers are trained to draw blood from suspected impaired drivers. The eleven officers are phlebotomists. They spent 60 hours training at the College of Western Idaho. The program has been going on since 2009, but recently had a major change. Read More »

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution A 60-year-old Athens man died in police custody Sunday after he was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, authorities said. Read More »

GREENVILLE, S.C. – There are drastic new changes to South Carolina’s DUI laws. Now, state officials are making sure they’re ready to hand down the new punishment to first time offenders. It requires more drivers to use “ignition interlocks,” a breathalyzer designed to transform convicted DUI offenders into responsible drivers. Under “Emma’s Law,” anyone convicted for the first time of driving under the influence with a blood-alcohol level over 0.15 must use the device for 6 months. Offenders convicted for ... Read More »

Two years from now, Florida police may have a new category of impairment to consider: driving under the influence of a physician-recommended intoxicant. Assuming Amendment 2 passes on Nov. 4 allowing the use of medical marijuana in the state, residents would be able to treat a raft of conditions — ranging from cancer to glaucoma — with the plant. Read More »

A Knox County Sheriff’s Office deputy swore under oath William David Salage reeked of booze, but a blood test showed he had neither alcohol nor drugs in his system, county records show. This is the third such incident documented by the News Sentinel in which a KCSO deputy pledged the truthfulness of the words “defendant had a strong odor of alcohol” when blood tests conducted by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation belied the claim. In each case, DUI charges were ... Read More »

The North Dakota Supreme Court this past week heard oral arguments from a pair of cases related to the North Dakota Legislature’s 2013 decision to criminalize refusal to submit to a chemical test in suspected drunken driving cases. In North Dakota, refusal to submit to a chemical test holds the same penalty as driving under the influence, including potential jail time. Refusing either a preliminary breath test, which is not admissible in a jury trial, or a chemical test is ... Read More »

A program enabling first-time DUI offenders in Palm Beach County to avoid criminal convictions and large fines recently reached a milestone of 1,000 participants, but a majority of eligible defendants are passing on the chance to enroll. The program, which began on June 1, 2013 with the endorsement of the Mothers Against Drunk Driving organization in Florida, is intended to make the streets safer while somewhat softening the blow for the offenders. “The requirements of the program are mostly tougher ... Read More »

When you’re convicted of a DUI here in Virginia, your license is suspended for 12 months. But you can petition for a restricted license.   Read More »