You are currently browsing the Blog weblog archives for the day 27. June 2008.
27. June 2008 by admin.
People like to rush to judgment when tragedy occurs. In this case the police arrest this young man thereby branding him a drunk driver when he had not been drinking. This young man will always be remembered as the drunken monster when he actually had not been drinking. Did law enforcement decide he had been drinking and then filled in all the facts thereafter? We don’t know as we were not there; however, the police were later proven mistaken — no alcohol.
http://www.lohud.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080610/NEWS02/806100386
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
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27. June 2008 by admin.
It seems that everyday we learn that something we believed is not quite what we thought it was. 20% of the persons on death row freed by DNA from execution for murders they did not commit confessed to their guilt prior to trial. Sometimes like in the case of Virginia’s Earl Washington the confession is manufactured by law enforcement eager to frame a supposed guilty man. I personally had a DWI client who was arrested for erratic driving. He confessed to drinking most of a fifth of whiskey. The problem was the blood test showed no alcohol in his system.
The Association for Psychological Science’s (APS) journal *Current
Directions in Psychological Science* has scheduled for future
publication an article: “False Confessions Causes, Consequences, and
Implications for Reform” by Saul M. Kassin .
Here’s how the article begins:
[begin excerpt]
In criminal law, confession evidence is highly persuasive–
Despite the pervasive myth that people do not confess to crimes they did
not commit, the pages of American history, beginning with the
witch trials of 1692, bear witness to all the men and women who were
wrongfully convicted and imprisoned, often because of false confessions.
Although the prevalence rate is unknown, recent analyses reveal that 20
to 25% of prisoners exonerated by DNA had confessed to police, that the
percentage is far higher in capital murder cases (White, 2003), and that
these discovered instances represent the tip of an iceberg (Drizin &
Leo, 2004).
After reviewing a number of cases throughout history, and drawing on
theories of social influence, Wrightsman and I proposed a taxonomy that
distinguished three types of false confessions: voluntary, compliant,
and internalized. Still used today, this classification scheme has
provided an important framework and has since been used, critiqued,
extended, and refined in subtle ways (Kassin & Wrightsman, 1985).
Voluntary false confessions are those in which people claim
responsibility for crimes they did not commit without prompting from
police. Often this occurs in high profile cases. When Black Dahlia
actress Elizabeth Short was murdered in 1947, more than 50 people
confessed. In 2006, John Mark Karr confessed to the unsolved murder of
young JonBenet Ramsey. There are several reasons why innocent people
volunteer confessions, such as a pathological need for attention or self-
punishment, feelings of guilt or delusions, the perception of tangible
gain, or the desire to protect someone else. In contrast, people are
sometimes induced to confess through the processes of police
interrogation. In compliant false confessions, the suspect acquiesces in
order to background image escape from a stressful situation, avoid
punishment, or gain a promised or implied reward.
Like the social influence observed in Milgram’s classic obedience
studies, this confession is an act of public compliance by a suspect who
perceives that the short-term benefits of confession outweigh the long-
term costs. This phenomenon was dramatically illustrated in the 1989
Central Park jogger case, in which five
confessed after lengthy interrogations, each claiming he expected to go
home afterward. All the boys were convicted and sent to prison, only to
be exonerated in 2002 when the real rapist gave a confession that was
confirmed by DNA evidence.
Lastly, internalized false confessions are those in which innocent but
vulnerable suspects, exposed to highly suggestive interrogation tactics,
not only confess but come to believe they committed the crime in
question. The case of 14-year-old Michael Crowe, whose sister was
stabbed to death, illustrates this phenomenon. After lengthy
interrogations, during which Michael was misled into thinking there was
substantial physical evidence of his guilt, he concluded that he was a
killer: “I’m not sure how I did it. All I know is I did it” (Drizin &
Colgan, 2004, p. 141). Eventually, he was convinced that he had a split
personality-
Michael” blocked the incident from consciousness. The charges against
Crowe were later dropped when a drifter from the neighborhood was found
with his sister’s blood on his clothing.
Inspired by tales of innocents wrongfully convicted, recent research has
focused on three sets of questions: (a) Why are innocent people often
misidentified for background image interrogation, (b) what factors put
innocent suspects at risk to confess, and (c) how accurate are police,
juries, and others at judging confession evidence?
[end excerpt]
Here’s the abstract: “Despite the commonsense belief that people do not
confess to crimes they did not commit, roughly 25 percent of all DNA
exonerations involve innocent prisoners who confessed. After
distinguishing between voluntary, compliant, and internalized false
confessions, this article suggest that a sequence of three processes is
responsible for false confessions and their adverse consequences.
First, police sometimes target innocent people for interrogation because
of erroneous judgments of truth and deception. Second, innocent people
sometimes confess as a function of certain interrogation tactics,
dispositional suspect vulnerabilities, and the phenomenology of
innocence. Third, jurors fail to discount even those confessions they
see as coerced. At present, researchers are seeking ways to improve the
accuracy of confession evidence and
its evaluation in the courtroom.”
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
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27. June 2008 by admin.
Ohio is considering joining other states in allowing poorly trained police officers to draw blood in non-sterile conditions from persons suspected of DWI. Recently, a New Jersey Appellate court dismissed a lawsuit against police officers who inflicted permanent injuries during a forced blood draw. Where will the DWI exception to the Constitution stop?
http://www.thenewspaper.com/news/24/2443.asp
If you have been charged with DUI/DWI in the Harrisonburg/ Rockingham County; Staunton/ Augusta County or Woodstock/Shenandoah County, VA area please call us. www.BobKeeferLaw.com
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27. June 2008 by admin.
Prosecutors have gotten so used to winning DWI cases that they forget to do the basics. In this case the prosecutor did not go to the trouble of pulling the dental records of the person killed in the accident. Since the body was burned beyond recognition that was an important point. It would also help the family in case a life insurance company wanted proof of the death of the deceased.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/crime/ny-lidwi275743201jun27,0,1545290.story
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
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27. June 2008 by admin.
Dr. Jan Adams was stopped in his 2004 Jaguar due to calls from concerned motorists. This was Dr. Adams third DWI since 2004. You may remember Dr. Adams from Discovery Channel. He also performed the tummy tuck and breast lift on the mother of rap star Kanye West.
http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2008/06/27/2008-06-27_doc_in_kanyema_case_has_new_dwi.html
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
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27. June 2008 by admin.
Virginia adopts a harsh new penalty for those caught driving with alcohol in their system. Effective July, 1, 2008 if you are under 21 years of age with a .02 BAC you will receive a mandatory one year license suspension with a possible 12 months in jail and $2,500 fine. The minimun fine is $500 or 50 hours community service.
This legislation was initiated by William R. Jarvis, who represents Goochland, Louisa and a portion of Henrico County in the House of Delegates. Jarvis justifed this new law saying, “Harsher penalties should go to those who choose to act recklessly…” Jarvis did not explain how trace amounts of alcohol in one’s body constitued reckless conduct.
Zero tolerance supporters cited that the penalty for underage driving was less than for mere possession of alcohol. They did not explain that one charged for underage driving could be and often was charged with both offenses.
Jarvis further demonstrated his misunderstanding of the law saying, “It doesn’t seem fair to me that kids who choose to drive while under the influence are held to a lesser degree than those who were in mere possession,” Mr. Janis said. “It didn’t seem fair to the kids.” Jarvis did not acknowledge that no one has ever proven that .02 constitutes driving under the influence.
Further promoting his misunderstanding Jarvis said, “The kid arrested holding a beer could lose his license for a year,” Mr. Janis said. “The kid who drove away [under the influence] only loses his license for six months.” Jarvis failed to point out that the person under 21 years old qualified for first offender treatment for mere possession and upon successful completion of probation would have no conviction; the driving offense does not provide for such treatment and would result in a conviction. Jarvis is comparing apples and oranges.
Virginia joins the trend for zero tolerance for persons under 21 years of age inflicting a 12 month suspension on such persons. Virginia, like such other states does not acknowledge the breath machines used are not capable of accurately reading alcohol levels that low. The error margin for Virginia’s breath tester is .02 when it is operating perfectly.
Jarvis went on to say that “The vast majority of accidents that result in deaths involve drivers who are under 21 … the theory is that it’s dangerous enough when you’re young and inexperienced, but when you add alcohol to the mix, it’s just reckless and dangerous.” Jarvis is advocating a one size fits all system that does not take the facts of the individual case into account.
According to Virginia DMV, in 2001, Virginia had 358 alcohol related driving fatalities including 54 deceased under the legal drinking age; in 2007 we had 378 alcohol related driving deaths including 49 victims under 21 years of age.
It is important to note that the DMV does not say these deaths were caused by drunk drivers; instead, DMV says alcohol related. Alcohol related includes fatal accidents where anyone involved whether passenger, driver, or pedestrian was intoxicated. Under alcohol related we have no idea of whether the deaths caused by drunk drivers has increased or decreased since that information was not used.
It also appears that the number of persons under 21 years of age actually killed has decreased from 54 to 49 since 2001. If the number of underage persons killed has decreased how does that merit an enhanced penalty to underaged drivers?
In addition, these numbers do not take into account the increased number of motorists on the highways over that 6 year period. If there has been a signficant increase in miles driven during that time the death rate may have dropped dramatically for total miles driven.
Jeff Levy, a board member for MADD commented that he hopes the stiffer punishments will shock young people away from such risky behavior. Levy was confused that the law applied only to children. This law applies also to adults between the age of 18 and 21.
Emphasing this misunderstanding Levy said, “Take a license away from a 16-year-old, and they won’t drive because they’re under parental supervision. Suspending or revoking a license is extremely effective for young kids. … There’s a certain level of acceptance for drunk driving in the country, and it’s gotten out of control. This isn’t just a slap on the hand anymore.”
Levy must be living in a different country than I am since drunk driving conviction carries mandatory jail, compulsory alcohol education, compulsory alcohol counseling, mandatory loss of license, $20,000 in direct and indirect costs, loss of employment, loss of security clearance, loss of automobile insurance, loss of health insurance and a permanent criminal record. Slap on the hand indeed.
We represent persons charged with drunk driving and attempt to gain justice for them. If you have a drunk driving case in Harrisonburg, Rockingham County, Staunton, Augusta County, Woodstock or Shenandoah County email us. Bob@BobKeeferLaw.com
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27. June 2008 by admin.
Virginia joins the crowd attempting to stop intoxicated drivers by punishing persons under 21 years of age who are not intoxicated. With limited resources, Virginia decides that law enforcement should focus on unimpaired drivers rather than focusing on the career drunk driver with the high blood alcohol content. Those resources could be better spent educating young people on drinking responsibly or indentifying the career drunk drivers and devising strategies for keeping them off the road.
Makes as much sense as selling your feet to get the money for shoes.
http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0608/531384.html
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
www.bobkeeferlaw.com
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