On December 6, 2011 the Southern District of Missouri filed the following opinion regarding the inference of operation of a motor vehicle.

In this case, when the officer arrived, the vehicle was stationary and not moving. No witnesses were presented that physically saw the vehicle in Motion. Defendant appeared to be asleep when the office approached the vehicle. While the engine was running, the police office admitted it sounded as though it was having mechanical issues.

The prosecuting must prove two things to win a criminal DWI case. 1. Operation of the Vehicle; 2. While intoxicated.

In this case, as the engine was running, significant additional evidence of driving is not required.

As defendant was in the driver’s seat when the officer approached and the vehicle was running, the jury could reasonably conclude that the defendant was positioned as necessary to operate the vehicle.

To read the case, click here.

The attorneys at PulledOver.com keep up to date on all the new changes and court decisions for Missouri DWI law. If you have been arrested for DWI in Missouri, you need a top Missouri DWI Attorney to protect your legal rights.

"Sobriety checkpoints have been proven ineffective at stopping drunk drivers," says Sarah Longwell, Managing Director of the American Beverage Institute, and she has the research to back up her claim. The following information is from a December 10, 2010 ABI press release:

The average BAC of a drunk driver in a fatal crash is .19% — that’s more than double the legal limit. Because checkpoints are highly visible by design and publicized in advance, they are easily avoided by the chronic drunk drivers who cause the majority of alcohol-impaired traffic fatalities.

A 2009 University of Maryland study found that checkpoints don’t have "any impact on public perceptions, driver behaviors, or alcohol-related crashes, police citations for impaired driving, and public perceptions of alcohol-impaired driving risk."

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has reported that after reviewing checkpoint programs in several states "changes in awareness, perceptions, and self-reported behavior did not occur."

Additionally, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), "typically, sobriety checkpoints do not yield a large volume of DUI arrests." For example, in 2008, over a million vehicles went through 1,469 California checkpoints. Police arrested just one-third of 1 percent of those motorists for drunk driving. A similar analysis in Arizona found that over a two year span, sobriety checkpoints arrested less than one percent of 46,000 drivers stopped and cost taxpayers over $140,000.

State Supreme Court Cases from both Pennsylvania and New Hampshire revealed that roving patrols caught 10 times more drunk drivers than checkpoints. According to the FBI "It is proven that saturation efforts will bring more DUI arrests than sobriety checkpoints." Patrols also stop speeding, aggressive, drowsy, and distracted drivers because officers can catch them in the act.

Longwell concludes that "Roadblocks target moderate drinkers instead of the root cause of today’s drunk driving problem—hard core alcohol abusers." "Having a glass of wine with Christmas dinner, a beer while watching a football game, or a Champagne toast at midnight are perfectly safe and legal activities," Longwell continued. "Police tactics should focus on stopping dangerous drunk drivers, not responsible drinkers."

St. Louis, MO DWI Lawyers – Criminal Defense Attorneys

St. Charles DWI arrest saturation patrols on Saturday night netted 14 arrests according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Half of the drivers arrested on suspicion of drunken driving also had existing warrants for their arrest outstanding on unrelated charges.

Police from St. Charles, St. Peters, O’Fallon teamed up with the St. Charles County Sheriff’s Department for the effort. The DWI saturation patrol was conducted along the I-70 corridor.

Funding for the extra patrols was provided by federal grants distributed by the State of Missouri to local police agencies. The stated purpose of the DWI enforcement saturation patrol was to discourage drunken driving.

Experienced St. Charles, MO DWI Lawyer – Criminal Defense Attorney

DWI saturation patrols are planned to catch drunken drivers this Saturday night in St. Charles County.  Sheriffs and police officers from St. Charles (City and County), O’Fallon and St. Peters will participate in the effort.  Twenty vehicles will be.

The saturation patrol will be funded by a federal grant to discourage driving while intoxicated.  DWI checkpoints will not be used in Saturday night’s law enforcement.

St. Charles, MO DWI Attorney

Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C announced that it will partipate in the 2010 C.A.R.E. (Combined Accident Reduction Effort) Life Saver Weekend scheduled.  The effort is scheduled to begin just after midnight on Friday, December 17, 2010, and will end on Sunday, December 19, 2010 at Midnight.

Troopers will focus on the enforcement of Missouri traffic violations including speeding, aggressive driving, and driving while intoxicated (DWI).

The goal of the effort is to reduce drunken driving and other holiday travel safety issues.   Troopers are encouraging drivers to wear their seatbelt, drive within the speed limit, and not drink and drive.

Troop C covers the following counties: Franklin, Jefferson, Lincoln, Perry, Pike, St. Charles, St. Francois, St. Louis, Ste. Genevieve, Warren, and Washington.

DWI Lawyer – St. Louis, MO Criminal Defense Attorney

Missouri’s 2010 statewide DWI enforcement campaign, “You Drink & Drive, You Lose,” will begin August 20 and continue through September 6. Missouri state troopers and local police will conduct sobriety checkpoints and DWI saturation patrols. Advertisements will remind drivers of the consequences of impaired driving.

Almost 200 law enforcement agencies participated in the 2009 “You Drink & Drive, You Lose” campaign from August 21 to September 7. More than 900 DWI arrests were made.

Missouri DWI Criminal Lawyers

Columbia, MO

Sobriety checkpoint nets 7 DWI arrests

Seven people were arrested on suspicion of driving while intoxicated during a Boone County Sheriff’s Department sobriety checkpoint on southbound Highway 63 near the Route AC exit this weekend.

The department conducted the checkpoint with the assistance of the Hallsville Police Department, the Columbia Police Department, and the University of Missouri Police Department and with the support of the Boone County Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving.

About 675 vehicles were stopped between 11 p.m. Friday and 3 a.m. yesterday and the following actions were taken: Six arrests for driving while intoxicated, alcohol; one arrest for driving while intoxicated, drugs; four arrests for driving with a suspended or revoked license; three arrests for outstanding warrants; two citations issued for no valid driver’s license; and two citations for child restraint violations.

Columbia, Boone County, MO DWI Criminal Defense Lawyer

Increased police patrols underway to snare drunk drivers

Hillsboro, MO

St. Patrick’s Day isn’t until Wednesday, but the state’s annual crackdown on drunk drivers is underway and this year’s effort includes a unit of the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office devoted only to getting those motorists off the roads.

Some of the Jefferson County vehicles that are part of DWI enforcement.

The statewide effort, which started Friday and runs through Sunday, is one of five geared around holidays associated with heavy drinking, officials announced at a press conference Friday in Arnold. The Jefferson County unit, which is comprised of three deputies and four Chevy Tahoes, was formed to combat the county’s serious problem with drivers who are under the influence of drugs and alcohol. It is funded by a $399,223 grant from the Missouri Department of Transportation Highway Safety Division.

For the past two years, Jefferson County has topped the state in alcohol-related crashes, including crashes that end in death or with a serious injury, said Lt. Col. Steve Meinberg of the sheriff’s office. Last year, 32 people died in traffic crashes in the county – 14 were alcohol-related.

Jefferson County became the eighth such unit in the state. The unit has made 125 arrests since it formed in October, Meinberg said. The unit runs seven days a week and officers only work on getting drunk or high drivers off the streets. They do not respond to other calls for police service, he said.

Authorities warned of a higher-than-usual police presence on the roads this weekend and urged people who had too much to drink to not get behind the wheel.

“We’re going to be all over the place,” said Sgt. Al Nothum of the Missouri State Highway Patrol.

St. Louis County police planned to do sobriety checkpoints on Friday and today, and St. Louis police said they would do checkpoints today. Illinois State Police will have extra troopers on the roads this weekend as well as next weekend, said Trooper Mike Link. Police also said they plan to search for drunk drivers on St. Patrick’s Day.

Last year’s increased patrols on the weekend before St. Patrick’s Day in Missouri resulted in 467 drunken-driving tickets being issued, as well as 1,752 speeding tickets, 518 for not wearing a seat belt and 30 for children who were not properly restrained.

Jefferson County, MO DWI Lawyer – PulledOver.com

Statewide DWI enforcement for St. Patrick’s Day in Missouri

Jefferson City, MO

In advance of the St. Patrick’s Day holiday, a statewide DWI enforcement is planned this weekend.

The Boone County Sheriff’s Department and Jefferson City Police Departments are just two of the agencies participating in the “You Drink & Drive. You Lose” campaign.

A MoDOT grant will pay for officers to work extra shifts.

Anyone caught driving while intoxicated, could face fines and jail time.

Repeat offenders face fines up to five thousand dollars and possible prison time.

DWI Lawyer – St. Louis, MO – PulledOver.com

St. Louis City Police arrest 5 for DWI during Mardi Gras?

St. Louis, MO

If you saw our earlier post today about the 92 arrests made by St. Louis’ finest on the biggest drinking holiday of the year, you already know that a whopping 48 kids were cited for underage drinking on Saturday.

But with more than 100,000 adults (a new record, according to Mardi Gras Inc.) taking to the Soulard streets to get sloppy drunk, how many of the remaining arrests were for driving under the influence?

Go on, hazard a guess. Lower. Getting warmer….

Five.

How does that happen in a city and state, where drinking and driving caused several horrific fatal accidents last year, causing local officials to declare DWI enforcement a priority in 2010?
Katie O’Sullivan, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department, told the Daily RFT this morning that the arrests were made by a team of officers specifically assigned to “the Mardi Gras detail.” They were working on a state grant and their “purpose was to look for impaired drivers.”

So only five out of the 100,000 in attendance drove home drunk?

“You have to remember a large portion of people couldn’t drive in Soulard because the streets were closed,” O’Sullivan explained. “And the [Mardi Gras arrest] statistics are only up to 8:30 p.m. Saturday, so there may have been more later that night.”

The bad news for the five DWI offenders is that the city recently ended the practice of “pleading down” on DWI arrest charges, meaning that their crimes will remain on their driving records as an alcohol-related offense. Mayor Slay even went so far as to remind St. Louisans of this new policy on his Twitter feed on the day of Mardi Gras.

There is, however a silver lining to all this. The number of 2010 DWI arrests was actually an improvement from last year. And how many drunk drivers did St. Louis’ finest take off the road in 2009?

Four.

DWI Attorney – St. Louis, MO