Chicago DUI lawyer comments on the Mormon State Senator's DUI arrest

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here on alcohol prohibition. Now comes news of a Utah State Senator's DUI arrest. He's a Mormon, member of the Church of Latter-Day-Saints, that prohibits its members from alcohol consumption (see health practices section here).

January 16, Salt Lake City, UT

Senate Majority Leader Sheldon Killpack resigned from the Legislature Saturday, the day after his arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, telling the Deseret News that wasn't the first time he'd taken a drink.

Killpack is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which counsels its members to abstain from alcohol, but he acknowledged that evening was not the first time he'd taken a drink.

"It was an occasional, social thing," he said of his drinking. Asked if he was giving up alcohol, Killpack said, "I don't know that I have a lot of interest in that anymore." He said he expected to undergo some sort of court-ordered treatment.

He said he is in contact with his church leadership about his drinking and that it is something he and his wife were already talking about. "This was nothing that came as a surprise to my wife," Killpack said.

First appointed to the Senate in 2003, Killpack was up for re-election this year. He served as co-chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee in addition to other committee assignments. Among the issues he advocated was strengthening Utah's DUI laws, telling his fellow lawmakers last year during a debate on a DUI bill that when he was just a teenager, his father was killed by a drunken driver.

Perhaps it's time for MADD to take a closer look at the politicians they use as the mouthpiece for their alcohol prohibition agenda.

Chicago DUI lawyer thinks police need more training to handle mentally ill

This Chicago DUI lawyer is saddened by some of the early murders this year. I've posted here about police killing suspected DUI drivers now comes word of a similar tragedy too close to home.

January 14, Chicago, Il

The family of a man shot to death by police after a low-speed chase through
the western suburbs said Wednesday that he likely suffered from delusions or diabetic shock behind the wheel, and they questioned the use of deadly force.

Patty Mojziszek said her ex-husband, Dan Mojziszek, 52, had been treated
twice at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital last weekend for dangerously low blood-sugar
levels. She also said he had been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, a mental
disorder characterized by psychosis and mood swings.

Dan Mojziszek was supposed to take insulin for his diabetes and medication
for his mental illness, but he often took neither, she said. Patty Mojziszek
said this could explain why police found him driving erratically and ignoring
"numerous verbal commands" before they opened fire Monday night near the border of Northlake and Stone Park.

Mojziszek, however, had a long history of traffic incidents. His license
was revoked in 1991, and he was convicted of DUI five times and received seven
citations for driving on a revoked license, according to secretary of state
spokesman Dave Drucker. Mojziszek wasn't eligible to get his license back, he
said.

It looks like this tragedy could have been avoided. Let's hope law enforcement gets additional training to deal with the mentally ill.

Chicago DUI lawyer wonders who else does MADD want to have an Ignition Interlock Device?

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, and here about MADD. Now comes news that they want the Breath Alcohol Ignition Interlock Device (BAIID) placed on more cars.

January 11, Bellevue, Il

Kristi Hosea, a victim-services specialist with Illinois Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said stepped-up efforts by police have been helpful, but there won't be a significant decrease in drunken driving until breath-alcohol ignition interlocks are more widely required in vehicles.

"People's behaviors aren't changing after they're arrested for a drunk-driving case," she said. "One of the things we're doing in Illinois is pushing for more ignition interlocks."

Under a state law that took effect a year ago, first-time offenders now must use a breath-alcohol ignition interlock device if they want to drive while their licenses are suspended.

Hosea said, "We need to make cars inoperable for drunk drivers."

Well, whose left to have a BAIID installed on their car after those charged with drunk-driving? Get your wallet ready, MADD is about to reach in and take money away from you in order to move forward their alcohol prohibition agenda.

Chicago DUI lawyer says you can't see the 2016 Olympics in Chicago, but if you have a DUI you can't go to the 2010 Olympics in Canada either

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here about the impact of DUI's on immigration status. She also posted here about an old DUI keeping a husband and wife on separate sides of the Canadian/U.S. Border. Now comes news that Canada will enforce its laws barring non-Canadians entry for a DUI.

From Twitter:

dollbabytina

@chicagoduilaw was just reading ppl will be denied entry to Canada if convicted of a dui w/in 10yrs,even if it was red. to a lesser chargeabout 23 hours ago from web in reply to chicagoduilaw

December 30, Vancouver, Canada

Americans wanting to get into Canada to attend Olympic events may be told to turn around and go home if they’ve been convicted — or even charged — with drunk driving.

In Canada, drunk driving is considered a criminal offence, though in the United States, it’s often considered a only a misdemeanour.

But Phillip Chicola, the U.S. consul general in Vancouver, says Americans shouldn’t bother complaining to their government about it.

Chicola says it’s Canada’s laws and there’s nothing his office can do to help.

Did you notice this is just another way to be punished with the Scarlet Letter for a DUI arrest?

Chicago DUI lawyer says looks like MADD has Governor Quinn on the ropes

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about Illinois sentencing. Now comes news that MADD just sucker punched the governor by deeming DUI convicts just as violent as those that literally sucker punched, raped, or killed.

December 25, Chicago, Il

Anti-drunken driving advocates reacted angrily earlier this week when the Chicago Sun-Times revealed that Gov. Quinn's administration had released 18 felony drunken drivers from prison early to serve the rest of their prison time on home confinement.

On Thursday, those same anti-DUI advocates were cheering after the governor ordered all 18 back behind bars to serve the remainder of their prison time. Each will be paroled between mid-January and mid-October under the terms of their original sentences.

MADD officials said repeat DUI offenders should have been considered violent. After reviewing the program, the state Corrections Department agreed.

The 18 DUI offenders were rounded up during the past two days. No more DUI drivers will be eligible for early release.

"A decision was made to eliminate any and all DUI offenders from the electronic-detention program," Corrections Department spokeswoman Januari Smith said.

I bet you want to see who gets to stay out under early release right?

January 7, Naperville, IL

Five men with ties to the Naperville-Aurora area — including a street gang member found guilty of murder conspiracy — were among more than 1,700 Illinois prison inmates recently granted early release under a controversial state program Gov. Pat Quinn has since called a "mistake" and which he has ordered discontinued.

Also freed under the program were 20 other criminals from throughout Illinois with murder or attempted murder in their backgrounds, records showed. Six were convicted of murder, five of second-degree murder, one of manslaughter, one of murder conspiracy and seven of attempted murder.

Under the now-scuttled program — called "MGT-Push" or "accelerated meritorious good time" — inmates' past crimes were not factors in determining their eligibility for early release. By law, Quinn's corrections chief, Michael Randle, considered only the offenses for which inmates were currently in prison, officials said Tuesday.

During a news conference last week, neither Quinn nor Randle pointed out the degree to which people with murder, armed robbery, rape and other convictions for violent crimes had been released under the program. The issue is expected to remain front-and-center as Quinn and Illinois Comptroller Dan Hynes, his opponent in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, head into the Feb. 2 election.

Does anyone else at MADD want to tell Governor Quinn why the DUI convicts were sent back to prison but not the folks convicted of murder?

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on the conflict between driving and technology

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about distracted driving. Now comes news of the conflict between technology and, dare I say it, safety.

January 6, Las Vegas, NV

To the dismay of safety advocates already worried about driver distraction, automakers and high-tech companies have found a new place to put sophisticated Internet-connected computers: the front seat.

Technology giants like Intel andGoogle are turning their attention from the desktop to the dashboard, hoping to bring the power of the PC to the car. They see vast opportunity for profit in working with automakers to create the next generation of irresistible devices.

This week at the Consumer Electronics Show, the neon-drenched annual trade show here, these companies are demonstrating the breadth of their ambitions, like 10-inch screens above the gearshift showing high-definition videos, 3-D maps and Web pages.

Granted lots of prototypes are displayed at these trade shows without any intention of bringing the concept to market. This time I don't think the technology will remain a prototype. The trick will be to make the technology readily available while decreasing the risks of accidents. Many of us view internet access as practically a necessity. We all know that necessity is the mother of invention.

FYI- Don't forget that it is now illegal in Illinois to send, read, or write text messages, emails, or any other type of electronic messaging while driving.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on the shortened process for DUI blood draws

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about blood testing for those suspected of DUI. Now comes news that law enforcement wants to speed up the process of forcibly taking your blood.

December 27, NYC, NY

Quicker Procedures Planned for Sobriety Tests on Drivers

The New York Police Department and the city’s five district attorneys announced on Sunday new procedures to speed the process of taking blood from drivers suspected of drunken driving who have refused to take sobriety tests.

The announcement came in response to a committee formed by the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, after it took the police more than seven hours to take the blood of an officer who had fatally struck a woman and refused breath tests. No alcohol was detectable in the officer’s system when his blood was eventually taken.

Under the current guidelines, prosecutors cannot apply for a warrant to take the blood of someone suspected of drunken driving until the suspect has refused on two occasions to take a breath test after being arrested. The concern was that the process took too long, potentially allowing drunken drivers to sober up and escape prosecution.

Under the new guidelines, officers will be able to start the process of getting a warrant after the first time a driver refuses to take a breath test.

“These changes streamline the process to better assure that a culpable drunken driver does not escape justice through delay,” Mr. Kelly said in a written statement.

So what about those suspects that aren't culpable? For whatever reason it seems we never seem to get much traditional media coverage of people who are suspected and then released or acquitted because they weren't under the influence of anything. They just mistakenly believed they had a Constitution that protected their rights.