DUI DWI News: Why You Don’t Want a Conviction.

Phoenix Justice of the Peace to Retire
It appears that Downtown (Phoenix) Justice of the Peace Mendoza is going to be retiring. This has the potential to impact DUI cases in that court.   More as the story evolves. (…)

It appears that Downtown (Phoenix) Justice of the Peace Mendoza is going to be retiring.
This has the potential to impact DUI cases in that court.
  More as the story evolves.

Quoted from http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2008/05/under_fire_justice_of_the_peac.php:

Valley Fever - Under fire, Justice of the Peace Mendoza retires

Now, the idea of "retirement" may sound a little fishy to you. After all, Mendoza, a justice of the peace in the Downtown Justice Court, was facing charges from the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct for some pretty serious stuff: Lying under oath, challenging another judge to a fistfight outside the courthouse, and filing false financial statements.

Source: feeds.feedburner.com

Utah Justice Courts

I found this article in the Ogden Standard Examiner.  The opinion of the writer is one that I have heard many times.  I see what the writer is talking about quite often in reference to "overly aggressive" prosecutions.  We don’t seem to care what happens to people incarcerated, at least, until one of our loved ones ends up there.

Publication:Standard Examiner; Date:Jan 11, 2008; Section:Opinion; Page Number:4A

Utah’s justice system needs repair

What’s wrong with the justice system?

Prosecutors are overly aggressive and seek convictions at any cost to further their careers, and different levels of law enforcement are abusive to inmates. The system has corrupt officers who hide behind their badges while breaking the law, and a judge who failed to recuse himself from a trial due to friendship with the victim’s family.

There are people who are innocent and are sent to prison, and people who have mental disabilities and need help but are sent to jail or prison without getting the help they need.

The state then asks for more federal funding, and our taxes are raised because a new prison needs to be built.

The problem is there is not one elected official who is willing to step up to the plate and recognize that there is a problem, nor do they use their position to promote a healthy, safe rehabilitation program within the prison or jail. They have the feeling that prison is a problem with no solution.

The temptation is always to look away, hoping the troubles inside the walls will not affect us.

Every day people go to prison, but the public knows very little about their conditions of confinement (rape, abuse by officers, infectious diseases, etc.) and whether they are being punished in ways that no jury ever intended. Unless the experience of incarceration becomes real through the confinement of a loved one, the people inside the confined walls are far removed from daily concerns.

Bonnie Terry

West Haven

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lidrun0530,0,6039849.story:

Teen blames kiss for her drunken driving arrest — Drunk Driving, Volkswagen AG — Newsday.com

After the 17-year-old from Glen Cove recorded a 0.15 percent blood-alcohol level in a portable breath test — nearly the twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent — she told the officer who pulled her over, "I didn't drink! I was kissing a boy who was drunk," according to the police report.

Source: feeds.feedburner.com

Do DUI Roadblocks Work? (Part II)
As I discussed in a recent post, the fatalities statistics used by MADD and government agencies to justify DUI checkpoints are flawed. In fact, the statistics can be viewed as indicating quite the opposite. Well, all right, so checkpoints may not reduce fatalities — but, according to MADD, they certainly result in more DUI arrests. […]

As I discussed in a duicenter.com/sitz01.html” mce_href=”http://caselaw.duicenter.com/sitz01.html”>Michigan v. Sitz) upholding their constitutionality, a dissenting justice pointed out the “the findings of the trial court, based on an extensive record and affirmed by the Michigan Court of Appeals, indicate that the net effect of sobriety checkpoints on traffic safety is infinitesimal and possibly negative”. (Emphasis added)

This is confirmed by National Highway Traffic Safety Administration studies, which conclude that “the number of DWI arrests made by the roving patrol program was nearly three times the average number of DWI arrests made by the checkpoint programs”.

Then why do we have DUI roadblocks? Consider the following news story:

PENNDOT GRANTS TOTALLING $1 MILLION FUND SOBRIETY CHECKPOINTS STATEWIDE

Chester County officials said recent recommendations from the national headquarters of Mothers Against Drunk Driving have been implemented by area police departments for years. Among the recommendations are an increased focus on prevention tactics such as sobriety checkpoints.

“We work with MADD and will continue to work with them to reduce the incidents of drunken driving in Pennsylvania,” (DOT spokesperson Jenny) Robinson said….

“I’ve read that police are less than enthusiastic about DUI checkpoints because they don’t make as many arrests,” (MADD official Bryce) Templeton said….

Richard Harkness, superintendent of the Tredyffrin Police Department, said checkpoints keep drivers aware that police are on the lookout for drunken drivers. He said there usually aren’t many DUI arrests at checkpoints, but they help educate the public.

“There should be as many DUI roadblocks as economically feasible,” Harkness said.

So…Roadblocks are invasive, don’t reduce fatalities and don’t produce more arrests — but we should have lots more of them. Why? To educate us.

Source: www.duiblog.com

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