Along with Memorial Day weekend and July 4, the Labor Day holiday typically keeps cops and Philadelphia DUI lawyers plenty busy.
]]> Carmen Pettine, chief of Haverford Township Police Department, said his will be one of many suburban Philadelphia police forces to participate in the "Over The Limit, Under Arrest" DUI-busting operation:"Our message is simple and unwavering: if we find you drunk, we will arrest you. No excuses, no exceptions, and zero tolerance."
It's unclear how this is different from DUI enforcement at any other time of the year, apart from the increased number of officers on the roads and the checkpoints. But Labor Day usually claims a number of drunk-driving victims; 16 people died on Pennsylvania highways during the holiday last year, many of them alcohol-related.
The Northfield Police Department also plans to conduct roadside sobriety checkpoints this weekend though Sept. 6, according to Shore News Today. And Pennsylvania State Police Checkpoint Strikeforce II, Troop C is conducting a sobriety checkpoint in Clearfield County during the three-day holiday weekend, according to The Progress News.
Even park rangers at the Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area will step up enforcement of DUI laws during the Labor Day weekend, according to the Pocono Record. A sobriety checkpoint will be set up in the park beginning Sept. 3 in partnership with the Pennsylvania State Police, with another one planned for Halloween weekend.
Contact a Philadelphia DUI attorney if you have any questions about your rights and options with respect to sobriety checkpoints.
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But was he stoned when he went the wrong way on a highway ramp and collided into George and Diane Parker, killing them? Brian O'Neill's Pennsylvania DUI lawyer, of course, argued that he was not.
]]> Now that a Chester County jury has returned with its verdict, the wait is over. The Chester County Daily Local News reported that the jury found Brian O'Neill guilty of two counts (each) of homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter and causing an accident involving death.However, they also found him not guilty of being too impaired to drive a vehicle safely, not guilty of driving under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance and not guilty of homicide by vehicle while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance.
In other words, the jury did not believe he was impaired by marijuana when the deadly incident occurred. They did find him guilty of driving with traces of marijuana in his system at the time, which he did not deny.
The 20-year-old remains free on bail until his sentencing hearing. His Pennsylvania DUI attorney, Dan Bush, said his client accepts the verdict while acknowledging the tragic nature of the case.
Not surprisingly, the prosecutors and the victims' relatives were not at all happy with the verdict. Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Miller chided the jury in his post-verdict address to them:
"This is what you would call an overwhelming case. You were provided with overwhelming evidence of the defendant's guilt."
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He will serve a one-year prison sentence on top of the five-year prison term he's currently serving in New Jersey for accidentally shooting and killing a limousine driver. Given his recent legal troubles and the fact that his blood-alcohol content registered more than twice the legal limit, a Philadelphia DUI lawyer probably would have recommended a guilty plea as well.
]]> Jayson Williams also was charged with assault for allegedly punching a man in the face in 2009, although the charges were later dropped. Also, his wife divorced him last year. Although he said the sentence seemed excessive, he took a decidedly sober tone as he apologized to his family for letting them down:"But it's a small price to pay if it helps to deter drunk driving. I'll be the poster child for that if it's going to save lives... I'm doing the best I can in New Jersey so this will never happen again."
Jayson Williams last played with the New Jersey Nets under a six-year, $86 million contract but was forced to retire in 2000 due to a leg injury.
The accidental shooting took place two years after his retirement when he was showing his 12-gauge shotgun to friends. He reportedly failed to check the safety mechanism and it went off, killing chauffeur Costas Christofi. He then wiped the weapon clean of his fingerprints and placed it in the drivers' hands.
Jayson Williams' lawyer, Oscar Holt III, said his client is making progress in substance-abuse counseling and problem-solving programs:
"His life spiraled downward, but it's now back on the rise."
Consider speaking with a Philadelphia DUI attorney if you've been arrested for driving under the influence.
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Daniel Bush, Brian O'Neill's Pennsylvania DUI lawyer, insists that the prosecutor's evidence must prove that the marijuana in his system at the time of the accident was actively intoxicating and impacted his ability to drive a car:
]]> Chief Deputy District Attorney Robert Miller told the jury that Brian O'Neill had indeed been heavily intoxicated by marijuana at the time:"What you will see is that this case really was just an accident, one with horrific results that has ripped apart families on both sides of the case, but nevertheless just an accident."
"They died because Mr. O'Neill spent the whole day with his buddies ... smoking pot."
The defendant was driving his dad's pickup truck when he drove the wrong way up an exit ramp. Victims George Parker, 47, and 45-year-old Diane Parker were driving their Suzuki Sidekick in the right lane when Brian O'Neill's truck collided with their car. the head-on collision left the Suzuki crushed and the couple was killed instantly.
Motorists who stopped after the crash, as well as the ambulance crew, told police that Brian O'Neill was "dazed" and "spacey." While that may describe anyone in the aftermath of a serious accident, especially a fatal one, an officer told the jury that his blood exceeded the THC concentration level considered "intoxication" by nearly six times.
And Brian O'Neill's roommate, Bobby Kevil, testified that he and the defendant smoked a "particularly potent" type of marijuana at their apartment on the afternoon and evening before the crash.
As this case illustrates, though, proof of marijuana intoxication is hardly as simple to determine as evidence of alcohol impairment.
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But although he was sentenced to 28 days to six months in York County Prison, the judge gave him credit for 28 days served in a rehabilitation center for substance abuse. Gary Utter was ordered to surrender his driver's license for 30 days and must pay a $500 fine, according to Pennsylvania DUI lawyer Korey Leslie.
]]> The former cop was charged after his police cruiser swerved and struck a stone wall on Aug. 23, 2008 while on duty, according to police records. He had a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.123 percent at the time, above the 0.08 percent threshold for a DUI in Pennsylvania.Attorney Korey Leslie said his client checked into rehab for alcohol addiction that day and has improved since. He admitted to having an alcohol problem and said he drank 12 beers the night before the crash but said he was not drunk when he started his shift the next morning at 6:00 a.m.
Korey Leslie told reporters why his client decided not to keep fighting the charges:
"The primary reason is that this has been going on for more than two years, and he just wanted to close this chapter and move on."
But he also realized that he would be able to successfully appeal the York County District Attorney's decision to deny his request for the Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition program, which allows first-time nonviolent offenders to avoid a conviction.
However, his attorney told reporters he believed it was "a very fair resolution." He served on the force for seven years and was fired on Oct. 10, 2008 following his arrest.
Contact a Philadelphia DUI lawyer if you have been arrested for driving under the influence.
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This is not her first brush with the law, as the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers cheerleader was arrested for public drunkenness in a Texas bar two years ago. And in 2007, she was arrested for punching season 6 bachelor Byron Velvick, who eventually chose and proposed marriage to her.
]]> Although she was released on a $500 bond, she'll likely lose her license for six months to one year for refusing a blood-alcohol test, as is mandated in most states (including Pennsylvania). The concept of "implied consent" means that motorists agree to blood-alcohol testing as a condition of having a driver's license, which a Philadelphia DUI lawyer could explain in more detail.The 42-year-old, Cuban-born reality television star also was featured in the season 5 of "The Bachelor," according to E! Online. She remained with Byron Velvick for five years without marrying the bachelor who proposed to her, splitting in 2009.
Byron Velvick told Us Magazine reporters that the couple was happily engaged shortly after Maribel Delgado's arrest for punching him:
"Just because you met on a reality show, got engaged on this beautiful incredible setting doesn't mean that we're Prince Charming or Beautiful Princess. It's nothing like that. It's just a real couple going through real things."
Speaking of "real things," now the fading reality television star not only will have to find legal representation for her misdemeanor DUI case (if she chooses to defend it) but also will have to buy a good bike or learn to the take the bus.
Talk to a Philadelphia DUI attorney if you've been arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence.
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The deadly boat crash took place on the Susquehanna River on July 10, 2009.
But while his waterborne DUI took the life of a young girl, homicide by watercraft while under the influence is a lesser felony than homicide by land-bound vehicle while under the influence. A Philadelphia DUI lawyer could better explain the reasons for the difference.
]]>The victim's mother, Andi Heidt, had sought a stiffer sentence for the man who took the life of her daughter but the judge said only legislators have the power to change the law. District Attorney Mike Salisbury said the hardest moment of his career was telling Andi Heidt about the lesser sentence for the fatal boating DUI:
"We're handicapped today. Contrary to common sense, if he killed Valerie on Water Street instead of on the river [Englert would have faced a sentence almost twice as long]."
But the DA is hopeful that Valerie Heidt's sad story could change the law and put boating DUIs in line with automobile DUI offenses with respect to sentences.
Andi Heidt pleaded with the judge to hand down a harsher sentence, expressing outrage that the offender who killed her daughter only will be in prison for five to 11 years:
"If John Englert is released after only five years, he will most likely kill someone else in a car or a boat. ... You, your honor, are my last hope. You are the last line of defense in protecting people from John Englert's carelessness and lack of regard for human life."
Mike Salisbury said he already has asked for the support of the Pennsylvania District Attorney's Association and would like, at the very least, longer sentences for deadly boating DUIs where the victim is 14 years old or younger.
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Pennsylvania state police said they discovered an empty bottle of vodka, two unopened bottles of beer and some prescription pills in her van after the accident. The 39-year-old mother didn't have a Pennsylvania DUI lawyer as of Aug. 6, according to court records cited by reporters.
]]> The Westmoreland County woman said she was driving her son home from a baseball game when her van crashed on Interstate 79 near Edinboro at about 3:15 p.m. on Sunday, August 1, as reported by ABC's Pittsburgh affiliate.Her fiancé, Jimmy Stone, said he learned about the tragic news from police:
"I pulled here in my driveway at probably 5 o'clock yesterday, and there was two police officers here, and they asked me if Christa lived here, and they told me what had happened."
Police reports indicated that her van traveled off the left side of the road but when she overcompensated to regain control, the van entered the median and hit an embankment. The van reportedly rolled, throwing Joshua Gibson from the vehicle.
While the boy died at the scene, Christa Logue was treated for minor injuries.
Although police said her blood-alcohol concentration was about twice the legal limit, she claims she did not drink at all that day but had a few drinks the night before. But regardless of her guilt or innocence with respect to the DUI charges, Jimmy Stone said the family is receiving tremendous support from the community:
"It's just unbelievable that people are calling in and offering condolences and anything they could do to help."
Christa Logue is scheduled to appear in court for a preliminary hearing tomorrow.
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The push for more-stringent checks of driver records was a direct response to a Feb. 17 incident where school bus driver Frederick Poust III hit and killed another motorist. He was hired by the district despite a 1999 incident where he struck and killed another motorist while distracted by his mobile phone.
]]> While bans on handheld cell phone use and text messaging by motorists have been implemented in Philadelphia and Harrisburg, currently there is no similar law at the statewide level, according to HandsfreeInfo.com. A bill is being considered by lawmakers, who disagree on the details.A Philadelphia DUI lawyer could better explain how distracted driving charges differ from DUI charges; but as sources in a New York Times article insist, distracted driving often is just as dangerous as drunk driving.
State Rep. Josh Shapiro, D-153, who pushed for better access to driving records of prospective school bus drivers, said he called PennDOT Secretary Allen D. Biehler immediately after learning about Frederick Poust's accident to help change the state agency's policy:
"Without this information, it is virtually impossible for a school district to effectively assess any application to hire qualified men and women to drive our children to school each and every day."
As explained by Pennsylvania Rep. Bryan Lentz, D-161, the new changes will provide school bus companies with better information on prospective new hires. Employers will be provided with a complete driving record of each applicant; before the changes, employers only had access to the past 10 years, which is why Frederick Poust slipped through the cracks.
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And after all six of the department's full-time officers were trained through a 32-hour course, each is qualified to operate the high-tech alcohol-sniffing machine:
"We're probably one of the few or only police departments in Pennsylvania that has every full-time officer certified to operate the testing equipment."
So what's the big deal with DataMaster DMT?
]]> Most Philadelphia DUI lawyers could explain in detail, but it's essentially a more accurate and portable alcohol-detection device that also has several bells and whistles not found on a standard breathalyzer machine. But perhaps the most important thing to know is that its intended to help prosecutors better make their case against DUI defendants.If you're reading this blog, that probably means you or someone you know.
The Datamaster DMT, about the size of a brief case and consisting of an embedded PC, employs real-time graphics displaying the test subject's breath profile and alcohol curve, according to the Web site of manufacturer National Patent Analytical Systems Inc. It also provides full-color printouts of the test results, perhaps to be used as part of the police report.
It's also more than 200 times faster than existing technology, at least according to the company's Web site.
But perhaps most important for police and prosecutors is the purported accuracy of the device. According to the company, which claims the DMT can record blood-alcohol concentrations as low as 0.001 percent, it is the highest accuracy specification in the industry.
The $7,000 device was paid for from a grant secured through the office of state Rep. Gordon Denlinger. And if you're convicted of a DUI (or plead guilty) in East Earl Twp., you'll be billed $135 to cover its cost and maintenance.
Don't say we didn't warn you.
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So in the spirit of DUI arrests on alternative forms of transportation, a 46-year-old Massachusetts man named Victor Rita, who was riding a motorized scooter to the liquor store, was arrested for his fifth drunken-driving charge, as reported by the Boston Herald.
And the reason why he decided to take the unlicensed scooter to get more booze? His license was revoked after his fourth DUI conviction.
]]> Most Philadelphia DUI lawyers would probably tell their clients to stay off all forms of transportation if they've been drinking, or at least have a friend make the beer run for you.In this case, Peabody resident Victor M. Rita was held without bail and pleaded not guilty to his fifth DUI charge. And even though he rode the scooter because he couldn't legally drive his car, he also was charged with driving with a revoked license and driving an unregistered vehicle. The officer said he stopped Victor Rita because he noticed it lacked registration tags.
Patrolman Mark Saia said he smelled alcohol and that the defendant's eyes were bloodshot, even though he was stopped at 9:11 a.m. In his defense, Victor Rita insisted he hadn't been drinking that morning but did the night before.
Regardless, a breathalyzer test indicated that his blood-alcohol concentration was 0.174 percent, which is more than twice the legal limit in the state (as it is in Pennsylvania as well). He also had a bag containing three bottles of vodka and a large bottle of beer.
So remember; unless you don't mind contacting your Philadelphia DUI attorney for a second or third time, just because you're not driving your car doesn't mean you're not driving.
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Like New Jersey, Pennsylvania DUI lawyer Jeff Conrad says the Keystone State also automatically suspends the license of any motorist who refuses a blood-alcohol test. It's called implied consent law, which refers to the implicit consent to a BAC test for the privilege of driving:
]]> In Pennsylvania, as in most other states, motorists who refuse an alcohol test lose their license for one year. Drivers with past DUI convictions or who have refused alcohol testing in the past face at least three years of suspension."Pennsylvania has the same kind of implied consent, so this could have ramifications for [state] law."
But motorists who don't speak English, or at least not well enough to understand an officer's request for a breathalyzer test, sometimes are penalized. The defendant in the New Jersey case, German Marquez, only speaks Spanish; he didn't understand when the officer reminded him about the implied consent law in English.
The court agreed with his attorney (not named in the article), who argued that his client had a right to be informed in a language he actually understands:
"If the statement were translated, it would level the playing field equal to English speakers."
Nearly one-fifth of Lancaster County's Latino population speaks English "not well or not at all," according to 2005 census data. And since Pennsylvania offers drivers' manuals -- which include a section on implied consent law -- in both English and Spanish, some legal observers believe a similar case here could result in a ruling similar to that reach by New Jersey's high court.
It would be interesting to hear whether Philadelphia DUI lawyers believe a similar ruling could be issued by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
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And since it's anonymous, Philadelphia DUI lawyers shouldn't be too concerned that their clients will blurt out anything incriminating.
]]> The survey is actually a new annual requirement by the federal National Highway Traffic Safety Administration in the hopes of better-allocating resources. Open until July 30, information collected by the survey will be used along with DUI arrest data so that PennDOT can better decide how to spend its money on highway safety initiatives.Here is a sampling of questions:
In the last 60 days, how many times have you driven within two hours after drinking alcoholic beverages? How often do you wear a seat belt? On a road with a speed limit of 65 mph, how often do you drive faster than 70 mph?
The hope is that people will provide candid, honest answers. George Geisler, director of law enforcement services for the Pennsylvania DUI Association, said he believes "people are inherently honest" and reiterated the importance of obtaining accurate replies.
And even though the technology exists to track responses to individuals' computers, Penn State University psychology professor and privacy expert Peter Crabb said it's unlikely because it could provoke lawsuits. Still, he said, it might be difficult to get straight answers from those who have something to hide:
"I think that fear, though, would prevent some people from participating in the survey, but I think it's unlikely PennDOT would do that."
Regardless of how you choose to respond to the survey, if at all, it's often helpful to let a seasoned Philadelphia DUI attorney handle your case.
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Police say the incident took place on 12:25 a.m. last Sunday in East Frankford. He was driving a black Ford Taurus that didn't belong to him and lacked a driver's license.
The specific charge against Manuel Albondoz (in addition to a DUI and related counts) is involuntary manslaughter, according to NBC Philadelphia, which may prompt his Philadelphia DUI lawyer to advise a guilty plea.
]]> Celina Langan was riding her bike when the defendant, allegedly under the influence of alcohol, struck her; but few details of the incident were available. Witness Nancy Nelson said she could hear the crash from her nearby home:"He was going fast. I said to my mother 'somebody got hit' and I came out expecting to help who ever was in the car and he [the driver] took off."
She then saw the young woman on the street and unresponsive. Celina Langan was rushed to Hahnemann Hospital, where she was soon pronounced dead. Police found the car involved in the crash in a fenced parking lot.
While a DUI and driving without a valid license are quite serious offenses, courts take a hit-and-run coupled with vehicular manslaughter dead serious.
If the victim dies, as did Celina Langan, and the motorist doesn't stop after the crash, the offense is treated as a third degree felony punishable by a mandatory minimum one-year prison term (PDF, Pennsylvania DMV, pg. 15). Homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence is charged as a second degree felony carrying a mandatory minimum sentence of three years in prison (pg. 13).
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Brian Keener reportedly refused to take a blood-alcohol at York Hospital, according to his complaint. He claims he successfully passed a field sobriety test, and that he only had one beer at the club, but claims the officers said he failed anyway and handcuffed him.
It's unclear whether his Pennsylvania DUI lawyer was able to postpone the DUI trial in light of the lawsuit's claims.
]]> Trooper Brian Torkar repeatedly used homophobic slurs during and after the alleged attack, according to a York Daily Record article citing the lawsuit. The article provides more details from the complaint, which claims the trooper followed Brian Keener for several miles after he left Club XS. He was pulled over after he failed to use a turn signal, which neither side disputes.After the officer arrested him for suspicion of driving under the influence, for which Brian Keener said he lacked sufficient evidence, he was taken to the hospital for a blood draw (since he had refused a breathalyzer test). He ultimately refused to allow his blood to be drawn, after which he claims the officer "clubbed" him and then handcuffed him again.
He claims he was beaten some more and that Sean Taylor joined as well, while Brian Torkar repeatedly called him "faggot" and "queer," according to the suit. His blood was drawn after the beating and Brian Keener claims the results show that he was not intoxicated.
State Attorney General Tom Corbett's office denied any wrongdoing and said Brian Keener's injuries were "due to his own actions," but offered no further details.
Records show that he pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and a DUI on the date of the disputed incident.
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