| Admissibility of Evidence of Drug Use in Driving Under the Influence of Drugs Cases |
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| The finding of a drug of abuse in a subject's blood or urine may result in extreme prejudice against the defendant even if evidence of impairment is not convincing. The mere presence of such a controlled substance may be enough for conviction. For this reason, many courts require probable cause for suspecting drug impairment before a sample can be taken and/or analyzed for the drug. The Drug Evaluation and Classification program (DRE) evaluation in some cases will be enough to show probable cause. More... |
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| Consequences of Guilty Plea in DUI/DWI Cases |
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| The first suspension in most drunk driving cases is the Administrative License Suspension (ALS). The ALS takes place immediately upon refusal to submit to the driving under the influence (DUI) tests, or upon testing over the state limit (usually .08) for breath. More... |
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| Sleep Disorder Defense to a DUI Charge |
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| In its report, Drowsy Driving and Automobile Crashes, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, NCSDR/NHTSA Expert Panel on Driver Fatigue and Sleepiness, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) conservatively estimated that 100,000 police-reported crashes were the direct result of driver fatigue each year, resulting in an estimated 1,500 deaths, 71,000 injuries, and $ 12.5 billion in monetary losses. More... |
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| Necessity Defense to a DUI Charge |
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| There are certain defenses that can be raised by a motorist charged with the offense of drunk driving, either driving while under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI). One such defense is the "necessity" defense. This defense, which is sometimes referred to as ''choice of evils,'' and ''competing harms'' defenses, is presented when the motorist admits that he or she drove while intoxicated, but did so under threatening circumstances. The necessity defense exculpates the motorist for conduct that would otherwise be a crime when the motorist engages in the conduct in order to prevent something worse from occurring. More... |
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| The Driver License Compact and DUI/DWI Cases |
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| The Driver License Compact (DLC) is an interstate agreement among the party states to share traffic safety information and to ensure that drivers who commit traffic and vehicle code violations in party states are sanctioned in the driver's home or licensing state. More... |
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