Utah Highway Patrol Has Quotas to Make DUI Arrests

Its Memorial Day weekend for 2008.  Troopers have often claimed in the newspapers and in open court that there are no quotas to make arrests.  In this story below, Trooper Cameron Roden tells the news reports that the troopers are encouraged to average at least one DUI arrest per officer involved in the DUI Blitz.  Further, the Trooper is asked if the Blitzes work to deter drunk driving.  The Trooper responds that the Blitz is not effective in that regard.  The DUI arrests never go down, according to the Trooper.  Well that brings up an interesting point.  If officers are encouraged to get one arrest per officer, then there seems to be an incentive to arrest borderline cases and perhaps innocent people. 

Tucson DUI Attorney - Arizona DUI Lawyer

Tucson DUI Lawyer

SO YOU'VE BEEN ARRESTED FOR DUI IN TUCSON: You probably already have your court date, unless you are being charged with a felony. Assuming you were arrested by the Tucson Police Department or the Pima County Sheriff's Department, you may have given a breath sample, a blood sample, or both.

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California Prosecutor Gets Drunk Driving Charge
It never ceases to amaze me when anybody gets two DUIs during the same drinking episode. Add to it the fact that this was a prosecutor, and you have quite a story. (…)

It never ceases to amaze me when anybody gets two DUIs during the same drinking episode. Add to it the fact that this was a prosecutor, and you have quite a story. Not much to say here that isn't obvious or already said.

Quoted from http://www.lvrj.com/news/20595859.html:

ReviewJournal.com - News - Nye County district attorney cited for DUI after two wrecks

Nye County District Attorney Robert Beckett is facing a drunken driving charge in California — and what figure to be some uncomfortable questions from his constituents — after crashing two vehicles on the same desert highway six hours apart.

Beckett, 49, totaled his county-issued sport utility vehicle in the first rollover accident, which occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday on California Route 127 just south of Shoshone, Calif.

Then, after catching a ride back to his home in Pahrump in a tow truck, Beckett headed back out on the same highway in the family van, only to crash again at 7:35 p.m. about 35 miles south of the first accident scene.

The California Highway Patrol officer called to the scene of the second wreck reported smelling alcohol on Beckett's breath.

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DUI Trials: Prosecutors Must Prove Each Element
The article below is a good example of a defense lawyer using the strategy of attaching just one of the elements in a DUI case. (…)

The article below is a good example of a defense lawyer using the strategy of attaching just one of the elements in a DUI case.

It is entirely the state's burden to prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt.  So if, in the typical DUI case all of the following aren't proven, then a jury should find the DWI defendant not guilty.

1. Driving
2. Alcohol in system
3. Consumed before or during driving
4. Impairment by alcohol
5. Driving ability lessened at least to the slightest degree
6. Jurisdiction
7. Identity of driver

If they fail to prove every element, then the law mandates a not guilty verdict.

Quoted from http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/criminal/article628470.ece:

Lawyer says client wasn't at wheel in DUI fatalities - St. Petersburg Times

As Stephen went on trial Monday for their deaths, his lawyer conceded that, yes, his client's maroon Chevy pick-up was involved. And yes, his client was drunk in those early morning hours of March 26, 2006.

But defense attorney Kenneth Foote said the state will not be able to prove that Stephen was the one behind the wheel.

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