According to an article in the Annapolis Capitol today, “Police arresting fewer for DUI” arrests are down for DUI in Anne Arundel County. The subheadline says “Officials hope stats mean not as many are driving drunk.” This is consistent with recent national news showing that DUI arrests are down in…
In the past year there have been a number of developments in the area of DUI law in Maryland, and most of them favor the State. The Court of Appeals has issued a number of decisions favoring the MVA. In Hill v. Motor Vehicle Admin., the Court of Appeals rejected…
An article with the above title caught my attention this morning. “Innocent often fall victim to DUI laws” was published in the Picayune Item in Mississippi on August 24, 2011. The article makes many excellent points. Police, in their anxiousness to enforce the drunk driving laws, arrest many people who…
20 years ago it was not uncommon to for a person convicted of automobile manslaughter to avoid going to jail entirely. Sentences in cases we have handled have ranged from zero to 18 months. This week the Washington Post reported that a woman was sentenced to serve 20 years for…
This week a jury found Casey Anthony not guilty of murder of her daughter Caylee. It was the right verdict. The prosecution failed to prove the cause of death, when Caylee died, how she died. The jury could not say whether Caylee died accidentally or was murdered. The jury could…
Last week I wrote about the decision of the Supreme Court in Bullcoming v. New Mexico. Everyone who participated (I helped to author the amicus brief filed by the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers – NACDL) was thrilled. The Supreme Court held that a surrogate chemist could not testify…
Yesterday, the United States Supreme Court announced its decision in Bullcoming v. New Mexico, reversing the New Mexico Supreme Court’s decision allowing the state to introduce a blood alcohol result through the testimony of a chemist who did not conduct the test. The case was argued and won by Jeffrey…