Chicago DUI lawyer says sometimes the debt is too high for a DUI

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here about the costs of a DUI. She's even posted here on collateral consequences. Now comes news that a DUI accused decided life was no longer worth living.

January 22, Santa Rosa, CA

A Windsor woman who was arrested Thursday afternoon for violating her probation for DUI apparently hanged herself hours later in her cell at the Sonoma County jail, the sheriff's office said Friday.
Teresa Ellen Hagan, 49, was pronounced dead at the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa at 7:24 p.m. She was found hanging in her cell around 7 p.m., Lt. Chris Spallino said.
Hagan hanged herself on a sweatshirt she wrapped around a pipe in her cell, Spallino said. She was intoxicated when she was booked around 1:30 p.m. for violating her DUI probation and was placed in a sobering cell, Spallino said.

Rest In Peace Teresa Hagan.

If you or someone you know needs help please contact the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

Chicago DUI lawyer sees more proof that anonymous DUI tipsters can't be trusted

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here and here, about anonymous tipsters. Now comes news that DUI tipsters are willing to lie in order to get someone stopped for a DUI.

January 20, Milwaukee, WI

We're all fed up with drunk drivers. It seems the repeat offenders just keep on offending, and lawmakers in Madison can't seem to stomach making the first offense a crime. In the meantime, more innocent people get killed.

Some people on the popular website Craigslist have decided they've had enough, and they want to put a stop to it. They call themselves the DUI Busters, but some are questioning their controversial tactics.

Like any mother of a drunk driving victim, her pain is unmistakable. Yet people continue to drive drunk, despite being arrested.

The so-called "DUI Busters" are trying to put a stop to it, and they're bragging about their exploits on Craigslist.

The DUI Busters say they hang out in bars looking for people who've had too much to drink, trail the unknowing person to their car, then follow them down the road, and call 9-1-1.

Just as you'd expect the idea is not popular at taverns on a Friday night. The idea is about as popular as flat beer. What may surprise you is the Milwaukee County Sheriff's response. Mothers Against Drunk Driving(MADD) agree with the Sheriff's Department. They say the DUI Busters heart is in the right place, but their methods are dangerous.

Liz Rhode is firmly against drunk driving, but the Waukesha woman says something about staking out bars bothers her. She posted her point on Craigslist: How are they going to prevent the DUI they are following from from running through a red light possibly leading to a fatal collision. why not stop them before they get into the car. That's is what a good samaritan would do.

Whether it's true or not, at least one DUI Buster admits telling 9-1-1, "I lie to the police about the prospective drunk driver hitting a parked car when they didn't. As long as you're over the .08 you're legally intoxicated if you hit a parked car or not.", even though the driver wasn't actually swerving or hitting anything.

MADD says making up a story like that helps no one.

How hard is it to conceive of an irate driver calling in a false DUI to the police? It's time for law enforcement to corroborate those anonymous tips before invading the privacy of citizens driving on the roads.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on DUI seizure by trooper beckoning the accused

This Chicago DUI lawyer believes one shouldn't be punished for following police instruction. She's posted on DUI's where the accused was ordered to drive here. Now comes news that the police can't make you drive over to them and then charge you with a DUI.

From Anton Majaev v. State of Alaska, S-13033:

After arriving at the site of a party where underage drinking was suspected, Alaska State Trooper Travis Bordner approached a vehicle driven by Anton Majaev. Majaev pulled away to leave the scene but stopped when he saw the trooper walk into the road to look at the license plate of Majaev’s truck. Trooper Bordner waved Majaev

back, and Majaev complied with this direction by backing up to speak with the officer. At that time, Trooper Bordner found reason to conduct field sobriety tests, which Majaev subsequently failed. Majaev was charged with driving under the influence and moved to dismiss the case against him on the grounds that he was illegally seized in violation of both the United States Constitution and the Alaska Constitution. The district court denied his motion, and the court of appeals affirmed this denial on the basis that no seizure occurred. We conclude that a reasonable person in Majaev’s position would not have felt free to leave the scene because doing so would have violated the law and that, therefore, a seizure occurred. Accordingly, we reverse the decision of the court of appeals that no seizure occurred and remand for a determination by the district court regarding whether Trooper Bordner had reasonable suspicion to seize Majaev.

It's about time. What law had the accused broken when summoned by the trooper? Aren't we all told to obey the instructions of law enforcement? The Alaskan Supreme Court got this one right. That's more than I can say for the U.S. Supreme Court on a completely different matter regarding the First Amendment Rights of non-citizens, namely corporations to buy political elections.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on opting out of the Ignition Interlock Device program

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about the MDDP. Now as money gets tighter and tighter more and more people are opting out of the program.

From Twitter:

Sec. of State envisioned MDDP would be a success-- Surprisingly it has been an abysmal failure! http://bit.ly/SJaJt2:46 PM Oct 22nd, 2009 from TweetDeck

A few months ago I was moderating a panel at the Illinois State Bar Association's Solo and Small Firm Conference. One of the panelists, Marc Loro from the Secretary of State's office, made the above tweeted statement. Now, I have clients opting out of the program based solely on the expense.

There were also practitioners at the conference who said the same thing during the comments and questions portion of the panel. So as the economic penalties of a DUI arrest increase it's getting harder and harder to have the accused take on anything else financially. Many are just doing without.

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on MADD's desire to shun those charged with DUI

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about the "Scarlet Letter" of DUI. Now comes the news that MADD really wants DUI offenders to get the complete Hester Prynne treatment.

January 14, Cleveland, OH

The local Mothers Against Drunk Driving group is upset that Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Bill Mason rode in a car with a man arrested for drunken driving.

Mason, the top enforcer of justice in Cuyahoga County, was a passenger Dec. 30 when Parma City Councilman Tom Regas -- who also serves as Mason's campaign treasurer -- was charged with drunken driving near Mason's home in Seven Hills.

MADD in Northeast Ohio is disappointed because Mason and his office work hard to jail intoxicated drivers and especially those who kill people, Executive Director Julie Leggett said.

"Him being in a vehicle is not something we would have expected," Leggett said of Mason. "It's an unfortunate situation. The outcome could have been very tragic."

"If I had any idea he was intoxicated, I'd have got a cab," Mason said in an interview with Plain Dealer editorial writer Christopher Evans. "I know the impression is out there that he and I were yukking it up, getting hammered. That's not what happened."

Did you notice that MADD is upset because the prosecutor was along for the ride? Equally significant, did you notice that the prosecutor didn't think his buddy was impaired? It's going to be pretty interesting when the prosecutor get's called as an eyewitness in this case don't you think?

Chicago DUI lawyer comments on punishment for Tweets announcing DUI checkpoints

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted on DUI checkpoints and Twitter.com here. Now comes news that other countries are cracking down on announcing DUI checkpoints via Twitter.

From Twitter:

Mexico City cops are cracking down on people tweeting warnings about DUI checkpoints http://bit.ly/83s9IMabout 18 hours ago from bit.lyRetweeted by 4 people

• Reply
• Retweet

Suntimes

Are the police going to look for ways to punish those of us who Tweet about their crackdown against those who send Tweets?

Chicago DUI Lawyer wonders if it's really a DUI or just a DWT?

This Chicago DUI lawyer has posted here, here, and here about Driving While Texting (DWT). Now comes news of one of the first, DUI/DWT combinations.

January 15, Chicago, Il

A Des Plaines man is among the first in the state to be charged under the new no-texting-while-driving law, which took effect Jan. 1.

In Des Plaines after a police officer saw him weaving between lanes on
River Road in the northwest suburb, Des Plaines Police Chief Jim Prandini said.

“Our officer pulled up next to him and saw him texting,” Prandini said. “What brought his attention was the erratic driving.”

He was also charge with felony DUI, based on his prior DUI arrests, as well as driving without insurance, and driving while suspended.

I'm curious how the police decided that the purported erratic driving was because he was DUI, not DWT?