Archive for February 2008
Government incompetence allows Murderer to claim two more victims while innocent men do 15 years on wrongful convictions
27. February 2008 by admin.
Two Innocent Men Cleared Today in Separate Murder Cases in
Mississippi, 15 Years after Wrongful Convictions
Kennedy Brewer, who served time on death row, is first post-conviction DNA exoneration in Mississippi; Levon Brooks’ conviction is thrown out and he is free (NOXUBEE COUNTY, MS; February 15, 2008) – Two men who were wrongfully convicted of separate child murders in Noxubee County, Mississippi, were cleared in the crimes at a hearing this morning based on evidence proving their innocence. Kennedy Brewer and Levon
Brooks, who are represented by the
Innocence Project, have maintained their innocence for 15 years and were joined by more than 100 of their relatives at this morning’s hearing. New evidence, which includes DNA testing and a confession, has identified the actual perpetrator in both cases, who was arrested last week. At today’s hearing, the case against Brewer was dismissed – making him the first person in Mississippi exonerated through post-conviction DNA testing. Brewer served time on death row. Brooks’ conviction was vacated and he was released from custody; Brooks will be fully exonerated when the indictment against him is dismissed, which the Innocence Project expects in the next few weeks. “It has taken 15 long years, but Kennedy Brewer and Levon
Brooks are finally free. The evidence clearly shows that they are innocent – what’s troubling is that their innocence has been clear for years, but they remained incarcerated while the true perpetrator was at large,” Innocence Project Co-Director Peter Neufeld said. “The system wasn’t just broken in these cases – different elements within the system actually conspired to convict two innocent men of heinous crimes, while the actual perpetrator remained at large. These cases should haunt
Mississippi and the nation, and they should lead to a top-to-bottom review of how the state is investigating and prosecuting cases.”The same sheriff’s officer investigated both crimes, the same District Attorney prosecuted both crimes, and the same discredited forensic dentist and same controversial pathologist conducted the post mortems and misled juries in both cases with false testimony implicating Brooks and Brewer. Because of concerns about whether Brewer and Brooks’ cases would be handled appropriately once new evidence emerged, the Innocence Project persuaded the Mississippi Attorney General to intervene in the reinvestigation of the cases. This is the first time in the nation that a case has ended in exoneration after a state Attorney General has intervened and removed it from a local prosecutor, according to the Innocence Project.In 1992, Brooks was convicted of the 1990 rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend’s three-year-old daughter. The child was taken from her home in the middle of the night, and her body was later found in a pond near her home. Her skin had slippage and other marks consistent with a child who had been killed and then dumped in a pond – but the local forensic analysts falsely claimed that the marks on her wrists were “bite marks” from Brooks. In 1995, Brewer was convicted of an identical crime that happened just 18 months after the one for which Brooks was convicted. Brewer’s girlfriend also had a three-year-old daughter who was taken from her home in the middle of the night, raped and murdered. Her body was found in a creek near her home, with cuts that the same prosecution witness said were “bite marks” from Brewer but were actually caused by insects and animals in the creek.In 2001, while Brewer was on death row, DNA tests excluded him as the source of the semen recovered from the girl’s body. His conviction was vacated, but the District Attorney (who had prosecuted the case at trial) said he was going to re-try Brewer for the crime, and again seek the death penalty. For a full five years, the prosecutor did not move the case to trial – so Brewer waited for five years in the county jail. Finally, last summer, the Innocence Project helped Andre de Gruy of the Office of Capital Defense Counsel in Mississippi secure Brewer’s release from jail and geared up to represent him at a new trial. Meanwhile, seeing the similarities between the two cases, the Innocence Project took Brooks’ case – but quickly learned that the biological evidence from the crime was too degraded to yield results from DNA testing. The Innocence Project was concerned that conflicts of interest in Noxubee County would hamper efforts to secure justice for Brewer, so the Innocence Project asked the Mississippi Attorney General to intervene. Ben Creekmore, the District Attorney of Oxford, was appointed Special Prosecutor of the Brewer case.Meanwhile the Innocence Project continued its own investigation of both cases – which led to Justin Albert Johnson, a 51-year-old Noxubee
County man who was an initial suspect in both cases. At the time of the Brooks case, Johnson frequently stayed in a house very close to the victim’s home; at the time of the Brewer case, he lived with his parents just a couple of houses down from that victim’s home. Although Johnson was the only suspect with a history of committing sexual assaults against women and young girls, local law enforcement investigating both crimes ignored him after they prematurely locked onto Brooks and Brewer as prime suspects. In recent months, the Innocence Project secured DNA testing on evidence from the Brewer case which matched Johnson’s DNA profile. If the police had not rushed to judgment on Brooks and done the hard work to catch the real killer, Johnson, Brewer’s girlfriend and three-year-old daughter would be alive. Just as it had in Brewer’s case, the Innocence Project feared that local conflicts and regional concerns could compromise Brooks’ quest for justice. Neufeld appealed to the Attorney General to intervene and take over the arrest, interviewing and prosecution of Johnson. The Attorney General assigned its elite Integrity Unit to work on the continuing investigation of the case.Last week, based on the DNA match, the almost identical modus operandi and his proximity to both crimes, investigators from the Attorney General’s office arrested Johnson and questioned him about both cases – and he confessed to both. He also assured the investigators that he acted alone. The confession was recorded. The Innocence Project expects that he will be prosecuted for both crimes. “If local law enforcement had properly investigated these crimes, they would have stayed focused on Albert Johnson from the beginning. In fact, if Albert Johnson had been apprehended for the first crime, the second one would never have happened – and the three-year-old victim would be approaching her 18th birthday,” said Innocence Project Staff Attorney Vanessa Potkin. The forensic analysis and testimony in both trials was deeply flawed and further illustrates the corruption that led to the two wrongful convictions, the Innocence Project said. Dr. Michael West, a Mississippi dentist who has testified for the prosecution in cases in nine states, claimed that cuts on the victims’ bodies were human bite marks caused by only the two top teeth; in each case, he testified with certainty that Brewer and Brooks were the sources of the alleged bite marks. By the time of Brewer’s trial, West had already been widely discredited; he was the first member ever suspended by the American Board of Forensic Odontology. Regardless, prosecutors continued to use West as an expert for years and courts allowed his testimony.West has routinely collaborated with Steven Hayne, a medical examiner for hire who conducts nearly every autopsy for prosecutors in Mississippi – even though he flunked his board certification. He nets nearly $1 million a year from conducting autopsies across the state, and West helped set up the system that allows Hayne to handle so many autopsies (each year, Hayne conducts six times more autopsies than the recommended standard). Hayne conducted the autopsies on the victims in the Brewer and Brooks cases – and called West in for both autopsies. “It’s well known across Mississippi that Steven Hayne works closely with police and prosecutors to make determinations in autopsies that suit their criminal investigations and prosecutions. It’s also well known that Michael West will dispense with professionalism and objectivity to provide favorable testimony for prosecutors, even if his misrepresentations and fabrications could lead to the execution of innocent people. Their hubris and misconduct sent the innocent Brewer to death row and the innocent
Levon
Brooks to languish in prison for the rest of his life,” Neufeld said. “These cases are an urgent call for a thorough review of how crime scene evidence gets analyzed and makes it into
Mississippi courtrooms and how we can make sure only the most credible, objective, reliable science is used in criminal cases.”Meanwhile, the officer who investigated both cases, Earnest Eichelberger, told Neufeld and Potkin last summer that his practice in such cases is simply to arrest everyone who had been in the house for the preceding 72 hours, then let the case sort itself out. Eichelberger worked in the Noxubee County Sheriff’s office at the time of the crimes and now works for the Mississippi State Police, where he is tasked with helping solve crimes in rural communities. Last summer, Eichelberger said that he saves all of his old case files in his home, but he has since claimed that files in the Brewer and Brooks cases don’t exist. Brewer and Brooks are African-American men in rural Mississippi. They received inadequate, under-financed defenses, not that different from what many other poor black defendants received and continue to receive in Mississippi.Including Brewer, 213 people nationwide have been exonerated with DNA testing, according to the Innocence Project, which is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at
Yeshiva
University.
Mississippi – unlike 42 other states – does not have a law granting post-conviction DNA testing to resolve claims of innocence. “An extraordinary number of people have helped secure justice for Kennedy Brewer, Levon Brooks, their families and the victims’ families,” Neufeld said. The newly established Mississippi Innocence Project is co-counsel on the Brooks case. Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher LLP and Affiliates provided extensive pro bono assistance on the case. Andre de Gruy of the Office of Capital Defense Counsel in Mississippi has been co-counsel on the Brewer case.
Jackson attorney Robert B. McDuff is also co-counsel on the Brewer case. Lauren Kaeseberg, a Cardozo School of Law clinic student at the Innocence Project, worked on the cases for two years. Forensic Science Associates conducted DNA testing in the cases. John R. Wallace, Aquatic and Forensic Entomologist, worked on the case, along with three world-renowned experts in bite marks: Dr. David Senn of the
University of
Texas; Dr. David Sweet, of the
University of
British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada; and Dr. Iain A. Pretty of
University of
Manchester in the
United Kingdom. Author John Grisham, who serves on the Innocence Project’s Board of Directors, provided support and assistance throughout the cases. We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
TRIAL WIZARD JAMES NESCI SETS OUT WHEN MIRANDA IS REQUIRED
26. February 2008 by admin.
a. The Test is Whether a Reasonable Person Would Not Feel Free to Leave
When deciding if an arrest occurred, a significant consideration is the extent to which freedom of movement is curtailed and the degree and manner of force used. State v. Waicelunas, 138 Ariz. 16, 672 P.2d 968 (App. 1983); United States v. Beck, 598 F.2d 497 (9th Circuit 1979). Another significant factor is the display of official authority such that “a reasonable person would have believed he was not free to leave.” State v. Winegar, 147 Ariz. 448, 711 P.2d at 587 quoting Florida v. Royer, 460
U.S. 491, 501, 103 S.Ct. 1319, 1326, 75 L.Ed.2d 229 (1983). Circumstances in which a reasonable person would not feel free to leave include those where the person was read Miranda warnings, placed in handcuffs and then placed in a patrol vehicle. State v. Rowland, 172
Ariz. 182, 836 P.2d 395 (App.1992). A person’s freedom of movement is interrupted and restricted when that person is handcuffed and placed in a patrol vehicle.
Id. Even where a suspect voluntarily agrees to have his freedom of movement restricted, such as when he “would have given his consent to be taken to the hospital,” the suspect would not believe he is free to leave.
Id.
b. Physical Restraint is Not a Requirement for an Arrest
While an arrest definitely occurs with the use of physical restraint, an arrest certainly may occur without physical restraint by the police or even the “magic words” You’re under arrest being uttered. The varied forms of arrest without physical restraint or an express statement are documented as follows:
United States v. Morrison 546 F.2d 319, 320 (9th Cir. 1976) (Seizure occurs when police officer first communicates the command to halt).
United States v. Palmer, 603 F.2d 1281 (8th Cir. 1979) (Police officers see suspect walking down a residential street. Action of the officer of waiving his hand and calling defendant to come over towards patrol car was a seizure). Johnson v.
United States, 468 A.2d 1325 (D.C. App. 1983) (Officers order of driver of vehicle to halt, come here, police officer, was a seizure under the Fourth Amendment). United States v. Davis, 94 F.3d 1456 (10th Cir. 1986) (Officers ordered suspect to stop, take hands out of pockets, and escorted accused to a police car constituted seizure).
United States v. Wood, 981 F.2d 536 (D.C. Cir. 1992) (Officers ordered suspect to halt right there, stop, constituted seizure). People v. Boodle, 46 N.Y. 2d 398, 391 N.E. 2d 1329 (1979) (Order by police officer to keep hands where I can see them amounted to seizure). Brown v.
Texas, 443 U.S. 47 (1979) (Officers asking suspect for identification and to explain what he was doing in an alleyway constituted seizure). State v. Jones, 283 S.E. 2d 483, (1983) (Seizure occurred when officer ordered man to step back from the vehicle with his hands in plain view).
United States v. Bowles, 625 F.2d 526 (5th Cir. 1980) (Agent sees suspect and others engaged in suspicious activity. Suspect starts walking down hallway in airport. Agent’s action of walking past the accused, showing his identification, and asking him if he could talk to him for a moment, while identifying himself as a narcotics agent amounted to a seizure).
United States v. Turpin, 920 F.2d 1377 (8th Cir. 1990) (Seizure occurred when officer with drug-sniffing dog displayed credentials and requested that suspect sit down). United States v. Green, 783 F.2d 1364 (9th Cir. 1986) (Seizure occurred when suspects told to put hands on car, officers’ weapons drawn).Commonwealth v. Houle, 35 Mass. App. 474, 622 N.E. 2d 638 (1993) (Seizure occurred when officer asked accused if his name was “Bill,” and upon seeing something in the accused’s mouth ordered that he spit it out).
c. An Arrest Occurs When there is a Show of Force by Police
Seizure justified under the Terry standards can soon become a full-blown arrest requiring probable cause when the seizure is other than momentary. For instance, when the accused is ordered to halt and lie face down, on the street, this conduct amounts to an arrest and not a temporary detention, United States v. Delgadill-Velasquez, 856 F.2d 1292 (9th Cir. 1988). United States v. Del Vizo, 918 F.2d 821 (9th Cir. 1990) (Officer’s stop of vehicle and order for defendants to get out at gunpoint and forced to lie in the street while handcuffed was an arrest).
d. Passage of Time may Convert a Detention into an Arrest
The simple fact that the accused believes that he would be detained for a lengthy period of time without freedom to leave can be considered an arrest without actual force being used, See, Florida v. Royer 460 U.S. 491, 103 S.Ct. 139, 75 L.Ed 2d 229 (1983); State of Arizona v. Winegar, 147 U.S. 440, 711 P.2d 579 (1985).
Washington v. Lambert, 98 F.3d 1181 (9th Cir. 1996) (Police action in shining search light into suspect’s car, handcuffing occupants and placing them in the back of a patrol car for five to twenty-five minutes amounted to an arrest). An investigative detention is lawful if the officer is “able to point to specific and articulable facts which, taken together with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant … [the officer’s] intrusion” upon the person’s Fourth Amendment rights. Terry v. Ohio, 392
U.S. 1, 21, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 1880, 20 L.Ed.2d 889, 906 (1968). Whether an officer’s conduct was ‘reasonable’ or ‘appropriate’ depends on the facts and circumstances of the particular case, so that the decision in one case seldom furnishes a pat answer in another case. (Cites omitted.) A principle to be applied generally however is that in judging the reasonableness of the actions of the officer the circumstances before him are not to be dissected and viewed singly; rather they must be considered as a whole. So considered they are to be viewed through the eyes of a reasonable and cautious officer on the scene, guided by his experience and training. See
United States v.
Davis, 147 U.S.App.D.C. 400, 458 F.2d 819 (1972).”
United States v. Hall, 174 U.S.App.D.C. 13, 15, 525 F.2d 857, 859 (1976).
The Supreme Court of the United States in Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 434 U.S. 106, 108-09, 98 S.Ct. 330, 332, 54 L.Ed.2d 331, 335-36 (1977), set forth the test for Fourth Amendment violations in this fashion:
“The touchstone of our analysis under the Fourth Amendment is always ‘the reasonableness in all the circumstances of the particular governmental invasion of a citizen’s personal security.’ Terry v. Ohio, 392
U.S. 1, 19, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). Reasonableness, of course, depends ‘on a balance between the public interest, and the individual’s right to personal security free from arbitrary interference by law officers.’ United States v. Brignoni-Ponce, 422
U.S. 873, 878, 95 S.Ct. 2574, 45 L.Ed.2d 607 (1975).” James Nesci, Esq.
Regent, National College for DUI Defense
Board Certified by the National College for DUI Defense
Chair, NCDD Curriculum CommitteeThis is all in Nesci’s books available at www.lawyersandjudges.comArizona DUI Defense
Oklahoma DUI Defense Nesci, St. Louis & West PLLC
(520)622-1222
216 North Main Avenue(520)624-7817 (FAX)
Tucson AZ
85701 We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
Virginia’s breath testers unfair to Women and Blacks
25. February 2008 by admin.
Attorney Claims More Problems With DUI Tests
Briefs claim Intoxilyzer inaccurate when used by women, blacks
By CHRISTIAN NOLAN
A Connecticut defense attorney said he has found further evidence of problems with a device used by police to measure blood alcohol levels.
Hearings before the state Department of Motor Vehicles have revealed that the Intoxilyzer 5000 can give inaccurate results when used by women and African-Americans, said Jay Ruane of
Shelton, whose practice focuses on DUI defense.Ruane hopes that the evidence will eventually cause the state to cease using the Intoxilyzer because, he said, the accuracy issues mean that the device violates the equal protection clause to the state Constitution. He said the state should not use a machine that is “inherently biased towards a percentage of the population.”“This is something of national significance I would think,” said Ruane. “It could be the start of a national trend.”There are about 170 Intoxilyzers in use in
Connecticut, with each one costing about $5,000. The manufacturer, CMI, a Kentucky-based corporation, acknowledges an overall margin of error of up to 10 percent, but does not concede that the variations can be explained by the gender or race of the user. Connecticut State Police have repeatedly defended the accuracy of the device.New Britain Superior Court Judge George Levine ordered the DMV hearings in 2006 while presiding over a drunken driving case involving two men, represented by Ruane, who failed Intoxilyzer tests.Most the hearings took place in the fall. In covering one of them, the Law Tribune reported on testimony that the device was less accurate when used by shorter people and people with asthma and other lung disorders. An expert also testified that the way a person breathes into the machine could affect the reading. Attorneys for both sides had until Feb. 15 to submit final briefs. In doing so, Ruane emphasized evidence that he said showed the machines have accuracy issues when used by women and blacks.Dr. Michael Hlastala, of the University of Washington, who does forensic consulting in physiology of breath testing and alcohol in the body, testified at one hearing that a woman who ingests the exact same amount of alcohol as a man will produce a breath reading that exceeds the man’s by 5.6 percent.“Thus, a 5.6 percent margin of error is implicit in every case where a woman is the arrestee giving the breath sample,” argues Ruane.Further, Hlastala testified that the lung capacity of an African-American male is approximately 3 percent smaller than a Caucasian. “Because of the smaller capacity, an arrestee must expel a greater fraction of his lung capacity, the Intoxilyzer 5000 results are inflated by a factor of 3 percent,” Hlastala concluded.Dr. Robert Powers, the state’s chief toxicologist, did not rebut any of the newfound evidence during the hearings, Ruane said.
Attorneys handling the matter for the DMV could not be reached for comment as of press time Thursday.The DMV hearing officer, attorney William Grady, will take all of the evidence submitted by both sides and submit the findings to Levine. Ruane estimates that it will be two or three months before any further action is taken.
He said the losing side would likely appeal the decision in the state Appellate Court. He said the dispute is, at this point, “one-third to halfway through a very long process.” •
Virginia also uses the Intoxilzyer 5000 although an earlier model.
We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
The Breath Tester Virginia Police use to Prosecute You for DUI
25. February 2008 by admin.
In the mid 1990’s Virginia Division of Forensic Science (now Department of Forensic Science) began using the Intoxilyzer 5000 model 68. This breath tester is listed as the CD/FG5 on the NHTSA conforming instruments list. There have been several models of the Intoxilyzer 5000 including the model 64, 66, 68 and 68-EN. The 68 model is two generations back since it was replaced by the 68-EN and the current Intoxilyzer 8000.
The Intoxilyzer 5000 is simply a computer based on very old technology. The brains of this outfit is a Z-80 microprocessor which was introduced almost 30 years ago in 1975. The Z-80 microprocessor was the basis for some of the very first home computers in the early 1980’s such as the “Radio Shack” TRS-80.
The Intoxilyzer 5000 works on the theory of infrared absorption. The machine has a light bulb positioned at one end of a breath capture cylinder. There are filter wheels at the other end of the cylinder and on the other side of these filter wheels is a light receiver.A person suspected of or under arrest for DUI blows into a breath tube which leads to a breath chamber cylinder. The machine shines an infrared light through this cylinder and the filter wheels will be spinning on the other end of the breath tube chamber. The infrared light causes the alcohol molecules to “vibrate” or “absorb” light at a particular frequency.
The filter wheels are designed to filter out potential contaminants.The amount of the breath sample and any reading of alcohol are very minute. The machine must make a multiplication conversion to an amount great enough for us to understand. The difference in light emitted and received is computed through a computer program in the machine to come up a value that can be compared to a .08.
A small mistake in the beginning becomes a large mistake at the end.
We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
Maryland DUI prosecutor arrested for DUI in County Owned Vehicle
25. February 2008 by admin.
Wicomico County State’s Attorney Arrested
OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) ― Wicomico County State’s Attorney Davis R. Ruark apologized Saturday for his drunken driving arrest the night before, calling it “a tremendous error in judgment” and saying he hoped the community would forgive him.
Ruark, 52, was pulled over Friday night in Ocean City after officers observed him speeding and crossing the center line, police said.
After failing field sobriety tests, Ruark was arrested and taken to Ocean City police headquarters, where he agreed to take a breath test and was found to have a blood-alcohol concentration greater than .08 percent, Maryland’s legal threshold for drunken driving, police said.
“This, by far, is the saddest day of my professional career,” Ruark told a small group of reporters Saturday, according to The (Salisbury) Daily Times. “I made a tremendous error in judgment.”
Ruark said he would attempt to get his case heard as soon as possible. In the meantime, he said he would not personally handle any alcohol- or drug-related cases that involve vehicles.
He said he hoped he would be forgiven in time. “This will never, ever happen again,” he said.
It was Ruark’s first drunken driving arrest, and court records show no other run-ins with the law. However, his 22-year-old son, Davis Lee Ruark, was arrested for driving under the influence last year. Prosecutors did not pursue the charge — in part, Ruark said, because his son was under consideration for entry into the armed forces.
“I did not intervene on Lee’s behalf at all,” Ruark wrote in an e-mail, adding: “I have spoken on the dangers of drunk driving on any number of occasions, including with my own family.”
Ruark, a Democrat, has been state’s attorney in Wicomico since 1989. He is a member of the county’s Drug and Alcohol Abuse Council, and in 2004, he prosecuted Olympic swimming star Michael Phelps for drunken driving. Phelps pleaded guilty to driving while impaired and received 18 months’ probation.
Ruark said he had been working late Friday and stopped for drinks at an establishment in Salisbury before heading in a county-owned vehicle to a condominium in Ocean City where he had been staying. He did not say how long he was at the bar or how much he had to drink.
He said he did not argue with police after he was pulled over and did not try to use his role as the top prosecutor in neighboring Wicomico to influence the officers’ decision to charge him. Police corroborated that account, saying Ruark was cooperative.
“It was all fairly routine,” said Officer Michael Levy, an Ocean City police spokesman.
Ruark praised the officers for their professionalism and said he left a message apologizing to Ocean City Police Chief Bernadette DiPino.
Officers began following Ruark after on Coastal Highway after getting a 911 call about someone driving erratically on Route 90 heading into Ocean City.
“That is not an uncommon thing, for people in our jurisdiction to call us when you have people on Route 90 that are causing problems,” Levy said. “If we have the availability to watch for that car, that suspect vehicle coming in, we do it.”
Ruark was driving about 50 miles per hour in a 40 mph zone on Coastal Highway, and he turned onto westbound 94th Street, where he crossed the center line and was stopped, police said.
He was charged with driving under the influence, speeding and failure to keep right of center.
We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
DO THE MATH—saying you cannot afford to hire a lawyer for your reckless driving (by speed) charge may be very expensive
25. February 2008 by admin.
Bob Keefer started practicing law in Virginia in 1983. During that time he has helped thousands of motorists charged with this serious Class One criminal misdemeanor offense have their charge reduced to a traffic infraction or dismissed. Often he has been able to accomplish this without the accused even coming to court.
Recently Keefer spoke with a young lady charge with reckless driving by speed in Shenandoah County, VA. She had been told by someone that she should appear on her own, plead guilty and then ask for a reduction. In Keefer’s experience, 100% of persons who plead guilty are found guilty. With a competent lawyer, such cases are usually reduced or continued and then dismissed upon completion of driver improvement and good behavior.
Keefer has seen people that contacted him attempt to represent themselves in Court. It is usually unsuccessful if for no other reason than the accused did not understand how the Court works.
What most accused persons do not realize is that most Judges view their mandate from the Virginia General Assembly as an umpire, not an advocate for the accused. If the evidence shows you were doing 81 mph or more in a 65 you will be convicted as charged. You need an attorney to increase your chances of a much different result.
Once convicted the cost to the motorist is:
1. A permanent criminal record;
2. Fines and costs;
3. The $350 first civil remedial fee payment (the legislature has not repealed the civil remedial fee)
4. Increased insurance—approximately $3,000 over three years, if the Judge suspends the person’s license the insurance consequences are greater;
5. 6 points on a Virginia Driving Record and transferable offense to his or her state of licensure;
6. Loss of one or two days of work; and,
7. Loss of job or potential job due to criminal record: possibly hundreds of thousands of dollars.
We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
Driving Under the Influence of Drugs (DUID) or Driving Under the Influence (of drugs and/or alcohol) with a minor child in the car is grounds for deportation!
24. February 2008 by admin.
Click to open
DUID immigration
We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
Little known trigger for deportation by ICE: Misdemeanor conviction for driving under influence of drugs or while transporting someone under 17 years
24. February 2008 by admin.
dui-duid-immigration-2.pdf
Michelle Smith, The Assistant Chief Counsel for ICE confirmed recently at a CLE that a legal alien who pleads or is convicted to DUID (Drugs) or DUI and child
abuse (e.g., a child passenger) is subject to deportation.
This can be a hidden consequence for a non-citizen client who pleads guilty to DUI with the aggravating factor of transporting a minor 1We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
7 years or under.
Virginia Legislature thinks up new laws to keep us safe.
22. February 2008 by admin.
Driving Safety
Fees aren’t the only way the General Assembly tries to get at abusive drivers.
Virginia’s infamous abusive driver fees may have captured most of the public’s attention last summer but General Assembly members submit dozens of bills aimed at curbing bad driving each year.State legislators drafted about 75 bills related to driver safety in 2008. About one-third asked for the direct repeal of the state abusive drivers fees – a series of large fines imposed on those convicted of traffic violations that drew the collective ire of the public last year. But some 50 bills sought to impose stiffer fines or penalties for other traffic safety laws.Legislators have proposed stiffer punishments for those driving without a license, more sweeping punishment for those convicted of drunk driving and tighter restrictions on teenage drivers. Some local representatives said driving safety continues to be a problem, particularly in
Northern Virginia where congestion is so much greater than in other parts of the state.”There are always a lot of those bills because young people keep on killing themselves. … There are three roadside memorials between my house in Fairfax Station and my office in Springfield,” said Del. Dave Albo (R-42), who said about 42 people are injured on
Northern Virginia’s roads every day.”People have no idea when they get into their car how dangerous it is. The odds of getting killed in a dark alley at night are much smaller than the odds of getting hurt on a
Northern Virginia roadway,” added Albo. The Republican was the architect of the abusive driver fees and specializes in traffic court law.In 2006, nearly 1,000 people died in motor vehicle accidents in
Virginia and the commonwealth is in the middle of the pack when it comes to road and driver safety laws, according to Judie Stone, president of the Advocates for Highway Safety.In a report released Feb. 18, Stone’s organization rated
Virginia, along with 30 other states, as “yellow” when it came to road safety laws. Washington D.C.,
Maryland and 16 other states were rated in the highest category “green.”Stone said
Virginia could easily be a “green” state if it made its seat belt requirement a “primary offense.” Currently, it is illegal not to wear a seat belt while in a moving car in
Virginia but the violation is only a “secondary offense.” A person can only be charged with not wearing their seatbelt if they are pulled over for another reason.According to the report, about 55 percent of people killed in car accidents in 2006 were not wearing seat belts and the organization estimates that about 294 of
Virginia’s 4,200 lives lost between 1996 and 2003 to car accidents could have been saved if the commonwealth’s seat belt law had been a “primary offense.”People are more likely to change their behavior and wear a seat belt if it is more likely that they will be hit with a ticket, said Stone.Two local legislators introduced bills to make
Virginia’s seat belt law a “primary offense.”Sen. Patricia Ticer (D-30) saw her bill pass out of the senate while Del. Kris Amundson (D-44), of Mount Vernon, had her bill killed in the House of Delegates Police, Militia and Firearms committee. Advocates expect that Ticer’s seat belt bill will be killed by the same House committee that killed Amundson’s before the end of the session.”There are some bills that are perennials. The primary seat belt bill has been introduced since 1972 and it has never passed,” said Kurt Erickson, president of the Washington Region Alcohol Program that lobbies the General Assembly on behalf of such laws.
Those who opposed the primary seat belt bill, like local privacy activist Mike Stollenwerk, have said that the bill gives too much discretion to the police. Stollenwerk has argued that officers would now be able to pull over any citizen and question them easily by claiming that they suspected the person was not wearing their seat belt.
He has raised similar objections about other laws in the General Assembly this year, including those that would convert “secondary offenses” of provisional licenses given to minors to “primary offenses.” According to Stollenwerk, officers could pull a person over for allegedly violating one of the limitations placed on a provisional license – like talking on a wireless communication device – even if that person was of age and legally allowed to do so.
But there can be other less concrete reasons why certain driver safety laws do not gain support from members of the General Assembly. For example, some members have cited “state sovereignty” as their reason for killing bills that would ban open containers of alcohol from the passenger area of a moving vehicle, said Erickson.
The federal government pushes states toward banning open alcohol containers by allowing local governments to have more control over $14 million worth of annual federal highway funding if they enact or keep the law. Some
Virginia lawmakers resent the fact that the federal government would meddle in their affairs and so they refuse to pass the law and are thereby required to use the money for highway safety programs, said Erickson.In other cases, driving safety laws appear to get killed because of politics. Erickson supported a law to stiffen punishments for underage drunk driving proposed by Sen. Ryan McDougle (R-4) that failed to pass earlier this session because of a vote along political party lines in the committee, he said.”The merits of that bill were barely discussed before it was voted on,” said Erickson.
In a tough budget year, the fiscal impacts of a bill can also be a large factor in whether it passes out of a committee or not, said Albo, who heads up the Courts of Justice committee.
“If you create a crime that requires prison time, then you have to find the money for that prison space. That can make it more difficult to pass in a tough budget year,” said Albo.
Erickson and other advocates hope to see a few bills that should not have large fiscal impacts pass the senate.
Del. Sal Iaquinto (R-84) has proposed a law that would require those convicted of drunk driving to install an ignition interlock on their car following the first offense. A person has to breathe into the ignition interlock to start the car and then periodically breathe into the device while driving to keep the car running.
Iaquinto has included a $75 fee and $30 per month user charge that the offender would have to pay to cover the cost of the machine.
The device is meant to prevent repeat drunk driving offenders from doing so again. According to the Advocates for Highway Safety Report, studies have shown that a person has driven while intoxicated an average of 87 times before they are caught.
Advocates also support bill proposed by Del. William Janis (R-56) that would increase the period of time a minor’s license was suspended for drinking and driving from six months to one year and require a minimum fine of $250. The number of underage crashes involving alcohol is up over 40 percent in the last five years, despite teen consumption of alcohol remaining relatively flat, said Erickson.
“The greatest spike among DUI fatalities was among teens [in
Virginia],” said Erickson.Since both bills originated in the House of Delegates, it remains to be seen how much traction they can get in the Senate.
When asked about tougher driving laws in general, and not about these specific laws, Sen. Chap Petersen (D-34) said: “I find it overkill. We have pretty tough laws right now. … People make mistakes and we just can’t subject them to a huge debt or lengthy imprisonment for everything.” We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net
Charlottesville Police Officer hits wheelchair bound man with police cruiser.
21. February 2008 by admin.
We can only hope that the injured man did not receive additional injuries by being lifted without the aid of backboard or neck stabilization. Previously handicapped people are in even more danger of such injuries as they are often unable to feel pain from their new injuries.
We represent people charged with DWI/DUI, reckless driving, speeding tickets and people injured in car crashes. If you have questions about any of these topics please look on our site for the information E-Books: http://www.bobkeeferlaw.com. Attorney Bob Keefer has been practicing in the Shenandoah Valley area of Virginia for over 25 years. He routinely goes to court in Rockingham County VA; Harrisonburg VA; Augusta County VA; Staunton VA; Woodstock VA; Shenandoah County VA; and Waynesboro VA. His other sites are http://www.keefercard.com; http://www.duidriver.net; http://www.recklessdriving.net