U.S. DUI News

We commonly call the offense we defend “driving under the influence” or “driving while intoxicated.”  But in Virginia, you don’t need to be driving to be convicted.  Virginia criminalizes “operating” while impaired also: “It shall be unlawful for any person to drive or operate any motor vehicle . . . .” Va. Code 18.2-266. But what constitutes operation?  If you start to feel the effects of alcohol can you pull to the side of the road and sleep it off?  ... Read More »

This July, Virginia will require everyone convicted of DUI to install an ignition interlock device if they want a restricted license.  Judges differ whether the July 1st date applies to all those convicted after June 30th or those arrested after June 30th and subsequently convicted. The Washington Post estimates that the new law will cause 18,000 people per year to spend about $500 for a six month installation.[1]  The Post also estimates a 400% increase in the amount of people needing installation.  In some areas of ... Read More »

As summer officially begins, many young adults will find themselves home for the summer or preparing to leave for college for the first time. Of course, college is a place where freedom abounds and, often, this new-found freedom results in an urge to party. This naturally leads some kids to be tempted to purchase alcohol, in order to liven up their nightlife. While for the older collegiate this may be perfectly acceptable, trouble arises when underage students use all too ... Read More »

The following article was recently posted in a Georgia newspaper.  It is interesting that the only comments sought by the reporter were from a DUI Task Force cop.  What the article and the cop fail to report is that, not only do crime labs in Georgia and across the nation have the inability to test for this substance in blood and urine, police have no training in what to look for when a driver is detained by police and they ... Read More »

     Police agencies throughout the Bay Area are increasingly using Mobile Video/Audio Recording Systems (MVARS) to record DUI investigations that include driving patterns, instruction and performance phases of field sobriety testing, and conversation between officers and motorists.  The California Highway Patrol (CHP) has installed these devices in almost all of their patrol cars roving Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, and Sonoma counties. Police and their union representatives initially resisted the use of these devices.  They ... Read More »

If you had previously been convicted of DUI in the United States and were 18 years of age or older at the time, your chances of entering Canada were slim to none as you were considered criminally inadmissible under Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA). Under the new guidelines, which started March 1, 2012, this has changed.  The new policy allows the grant of a one-time fee exemption (normally $200) for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP), which covers DUI ... Read More »

Suppose a police officer asks or orders an individual to drive a vehicle — and then arrests him for DUI when he complies? This situation comes up more often than you might think. Take, for example, the following case that eventually made its way to the New Jersey Supreme Court…. The defendant asked his brothers at a wedding reception to drive him home because he was too intoxicated to drive. In the parking lot, however, the brothers got into a ... Read More »

The expungement of a criminal record is now possible for many Tennesseans.  On May 21, 2012, Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam signed into law legislation that broadens eligibility for the criminal expungement statute.  The new law allows for the expungement (also known as cleaning, clearing, erasing and removal) of a criminal charge from a person’s public criminal record.  Many Tennesseans once barred from employment opportunities and stripped of important constitutional rights as the result of a one-time indiscretion, will now be ... Read More »

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court has dealt a blow to the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles policy of suspending licenses for repeat offenders based upon prior cases that had been continued without a finding. The decision in Souza v. Registrar of Motor Vehicles will affect thousands of drivers who either pled guilty or were found guilty of second or subsequent offenses. The license losses for refusing the breathalyzer depend on whether the individual has prior offenses. If a person has ... Read More »

 A Misdemeanor DWI in New York Equals the Ignition Interlock Device In New York, effective August 15, 2010, every person who is convicted of misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated (“DWI”), is required to install an Ignition Interlock Device (“IID”) in any vehicle that they own or operate for a period of at least 6 months, and DMV places such restriction on the driver’s license.  In fact, several courts in Upstate New York have mandated that the IID be installed for a ... Read More »