Author Archives: wthornburg

This Week’s Traffic and DWI News

• Missouri State Highway patrol must get prior approval before spending over $100,000 on any vehicle. This occurred after lawmakers were not notified about the purchase of a $5.6 million plane.
• St. Louis Cabdrivers want to charge a fee for people who vomit or otherwise soil their cabs.
• The DWI checkpoint in Lincoln County over the weekend resulted in a total of 524 vehicles were stopped during the five-hour operation. Members of the Missouri State Highway Patrol made the following enforcement contacts:
  10 — DWI arrests,   1 — uninsured motorist summons,   2 — driver’s license summonses,   6 — non-moving summonses,   3 — warrant arrests,   1 — drug arrest   83 — warnings issued

 

Missouri DMVs will no longer print your license while you wait

If you have been in to renew your license within the last six months, you may have been surprised when the government employees scanned in your personal documents (social security card, passport, birth certificate, etc). That has changed thanks to new legislation recently signed by Governor Jay Nixon.

Department of Revenue officials defended the scanning as an attempt to make Missouri licenses more secure.  The DOR recently switched to using a centralized vendor in Georgia to print Missouri licenses. This is supposed to be a cheaper alternative to having printers in every office. Under the old policy, electronic copies were kept in a state database in Jefferson City.

The DOR indicates they can still continue to issue drivers licenses without scanning documents, but residents must bring in Social Security numbers, provide proof of residence and present proof of citizenship. The applicant will receive a paper license and the permanent license will be mailed about two weeks later.

Blood testing lab in Colorado found to have many problems with training of staff.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) requested a workplace investigation that resulting a report that could be considered mitigating evidence in criminal trials where the CDPHE was involved. This report issued on March 18, 2013 was not released to the Criminal Defense Bar in Colorado by the Colorado Attorney General until June 7, 2013, almost three months after it was issued. The full report can be found here.

The report was initiated after an employee quit and contacted the Director of Legal and Regulatory Affairs making several allegations with regard to training, security of samples and unprofessionalism. Additional issues were discovered during the course of the investigation.

The investigator found that the blood alcohol training protocols for toxicology lab analysts were inadequate. This was due to a non-standardized system of training, lack of follow up and not training employees on how to train their peers. The investigator also indicated that the training was inadequate to prepare the lab technicians to testify in court regarding their findings.

There were also findings that the samples were not kept in a secure location. The untested blood and urine samples were kept in an unlocked refrigerator that could be accessed by various people and thus subject to tampering.

The investigation also showed that the supervisor took employees away from their job duties in order to assist her (note: gender is not disclosed in the report) with drafting her Master’s Thesis. The supervisor’s statements did not correspond with the statements of other employees thereby adversely affecting her credibility. The supervisor was also found to have a bias towards the prosecution.

CDPHE was also found to be understaffed for the workload. The lab technicians were also found to be burdened by accommodations made to law enforcement and the District Attorney.

 

 

 

Man “Fails” Sobriety Test, Blows .000 after DUI Arrest

In Surprise, Arizona an Ohio native who was initially charged with a DUI later blew a .000.

Jessie Thornton a 64 year old man was pulled over after swimming at the gym. He tried to explain to the officer that his blood shot eyes were due to the pool. He also told the officer that he could not perform the field sobriety tests as he had bad knees and was scheduled to have hip replacement surgery in two days.

He failed the field tests and was handcuffed and taken to the station. At the station he blew a .000 and passed all tests done by a drug recognition expert. According the Thornton, the drug recognition expert indicated he showed no signs of impairment and he (the expert) would have never arrested him. The DUI was dropped, but his car was impounded.

He is suing the City of Surprise for half a million dollars.

Appeals Court Upholds St. Louis City Red Light Cameras

On Tuesday this week, the Eastern District Missouri Court of Appeals upheld St. Louis City’s red-light cameras.

This ruling was a result of the City of St. Louis appealing the decision made by St. Louis City Circuit Court Judge Mark Neill from February of 2012. Judge Neill ruled that the city lacked the authority to enact such an ordinance which voided the law.

Even though Judge Neill’s ruling was over a year ago, St. Louis City has continued to ticket red-light runners caught on camera. Appellate Judge Kurt S. Odenwald wrote: “As disconcerting as it may seem, the financial windfall enjoyed by municipalities implementing the automated camera system does not diminish the benefits to public safety occasioned by any potential reduction in traffic accidents within their municipal boundaries.”

Mayor Francis Slay’s spokeswoman has indicated that any problems with the notification wording sent to violators was remedied last year.

The appeals court had previously ruled that as long as the offense was treated like a parking violation the red-light cameras were okay. In March, the court heard multiple cases from throughout the state regarding this cameras, but none of those cases were included in this ruling.

It is currently unknown if the Plaintiffs are going to try to take this to a higher court.

Tips for Dealing with a Police Officer that Pulls You Over.

Police Officers are people too. It is important to remember that when you encounter an officer even for something as simple as a traffic stop. It is imperative that you are nice to the officer. Being nice doesn’t mean not asserting your rights, but the fastest way to a ticket is to belittle and/or berate an officer. Here are some more tips for dealing with a police officer.

1. Do not get hostile
2. Do not talk back
3. Do not raise your voice
4. Do not use profanity
5. Pull over immediately
6. Turn off your car
7. Place your hands on the steering wheel (Do not reach for your paperwork until the officer asks you to do so.)
8. At night, turn on your interior light.

An officer may order you to exit the vehicle; you will need to comply with this order.

You can refuse a search. Do so calmly. Stating that you know your rights is superfluous and arrogant. Simply saying no will suffice.

Be advised that a police officer can lie to you. Do not let these lies trick you into waiving your rights.

The easiest way to take the Fifth is to be quiet.

The choices you make on how you react to the officer can have an impact on your stop.

For further information, here is a documentary on dealing with the Police.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/10-rules-dealing-police/

Share the Road with Motorcyclists

The National Motorist Association has provided a set of safety tips for drivers and motorcyclists. As the weather gets warmer, there will be more and more bikers on the road. Also please note that June 17, 2013 is National Ride to Work Day.

The safety list from the NMA is below in its entirity:

1. “A motorcycle has the same rights and privileges as any other vehicle on the roadway.
2. Allow a motorcyclist a full lane width. Although it may seem that there is enough room in the traffic lane for a motor vehicle and a motorcycle, the motorcycle needs the room to maneuver safely. Do not share the lane.
3. Always signal your intentions before changing lanes or merging with traffic. This allows motorcyclists to anticipate traffic flow and find a safe lane position.
4. Because of their smaller size, motorcycles may look farther away than they really are. This may also make it difficult to judge a motorcycle’s speed. When checking traffic to turn at an intersection or out of a driveway, realize that an oncoming motorcycle may be closer than it looks.
5. Motorcycles can be easily hidden in a car’s blind spots or masked by objects outside the vehicle. Before changing lanes or turning at intersections, take an extra minute to thoroughly check traffic around you.
6. Don’t be fooled by a flashing turn signal on a motorcycle—motorcycle signals may not be self-canceling and motorcyclists sometimes forget to turn them off. Wait to be sure the rider is going to turn before you proceed.
7. Remember that road conditions that are minor annoyances to motorists can pose major hazards to motorcyclists. Motorcycle riders may change speed or adjust position within a lane suddenly in reaction to road and traffic conditions such as potholes, gravel, wet or slippery surfaces, pavement seams, railroad crossings, and grooved pavement.
8. Allow more following distance—three or four seconds—when following a motorcycle so the motorcycle rider has enough time to maneuver or stop in an emergency. In dry conditions, motorcycles can stop more quickly than cars.
9. Motorcyclists often slow by downshifting or merely rolling off the throttle, so you won’t see a brake light. At intersections, a motorcyclist may slow down without visual warning.”

 

NTSB is recommending lowering the legal limit to .05

Last week the National Transit Safety Board (NTSB) recommended lowering the legal limit for drunken driving from .08 to .05. According to NTSB, more than 100 other countries have reduced the limit to .05. They reported that this reduction has lowered traffic deaths attributable to drunken driving by more than half within 10 years.

For the average individual .05 would be no more than one or two drinks.

“Our goal is to get zero related deaths because each alcohol-impaired death is preventable,” stated NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman.

An official with the Governers Highway Safety Association feels that it will be difficult to get states to lower the threshold. Further MADD nd AAA declined to endorse NTSB’s suggestion. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration also did not endorse the suggestion.

NTSB also made several other recommendations including more frequent used of Ignition Interlock Devices (IID) for those convicted. 17 states require the use of IID for all convicted drivers, but according to NTSB reports only about a 1/4 of those ordered to use them do. NTSB indicates that driver’s use excuses such as they don’t own a car or they won’t drive at all.

St. Louis City Marijuana Penalty Reduction Goes Into Effect in June

Mayor Francis Slay signed into law a bill which allows St. Louis City Police Officers the ability to issue marijuana cases to municipal court.

Currently, under state law, a first time offense for under 35 grams is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail and a $1000 fine. This new law makes the offense a criminal infraction under the municipal code. The new penalty under the city ordinance would be a fine of $100-$500.

The law will go into effect on June 1, 2013.

Catholic Bishop Arrested For Drunk Driving After Hit and Run

Catholic Bishop Robert J. McManus was arrested in early May for Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in Narraganset, Rhode Island. Police indicate that McManus was involved in an accident with another motorist and drove off. The other driver followed him and called the police. McManus was arrested approximately 2 miles from the accident.

In a statement McManus said, ‘”I made a terrible error in judgment by driving after having consumed alcohol with dinner. There is no excuse for the mistake I made, only a commitment to make amends and accept the consequences of my actions.”

McManus received charges for drunken driving, leaving the scene of an accident and resisting arrest.