Memphis DUI Lawyers, “It just depends on how good of an attorney you get,”.
December 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
In an article running in today’s Memphis Commercial Appeal, Memphis Metro DUI Seargent Chris Jones huffs that when it comes to getting out of a DUI, “It just depends on how good of an attorney you get.”
The article in the paper also states that Since 2003, the Shelby County Attorney General’s Office has had a DUI Prosecution Task Force. That head of that task force is prosecuting attorney Charles Bell, who spent more than a dozen years prosecuting violent crimes.
Mr. Bell had this to say about prosecuting DUI cases, “I came to DUI, quite honestly, not realizing how difficult it is to prosecute cases,” he says.
The article goes on to talk about how Memphis and Shelby County are working together to try and crackdown on drinking and driving this holiday season.
At one point in the article the prosecutor is quoted as saying “You can be a little buzzed and be impaired” and follows that up by saying “On the other hand, I’m sure the defense bar will tell you it’s not illegal to have a drink and drive.” These quotes came in response to whether he thought the breathalyzer even mattered, which he apparently does not believe.
It seems that Mr. Bell thinks that anyone drinking and driving should be arrested for DUI. The problem is that it is not against the law to drink and drive. It is only against the law the be intoxicated and drive. There’s a big difference between the two, but I guess Mr. Bell doesn’t think so. In his opinion if you’ve had a beer and drive then you should be behind bars.
This is the type prosecutor and officer that you’ll be against when facing a DUI charge. Unfortunately they sometimes don’t care about the law, just about putting someone behind bars.
To read the full article you can click here.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” written by DUI Lawyer James Ferrell, just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
Olive Branch, Mississippi Receives Grant for New DUI Officer
December 7, 2007 | Leave a Comment
According to the latest issue of the Desoto Times the city of Olive Branch will be adding a new DUI officer to the city payrolls courtesy of a $42,000 grant received through the state.
This is good news for everyone in Olive Branch. Adding a well-trained DUI officer should end some of the unneccesary arrests that occur each year when a poorly trained officer arrests someone for DUI who clearly is not intoxicated. The truth is that a well-trained DUI officer really helps the community in two ways. The first is that he gets people off the streets who shouldn’t be driving and the second way is that he actually cuts down on the number of arrests where people weren’t actually drunk.
Statistically speaking, DUI field sobriety tests are only accurate roughly 60% of the time. That means that a large number of people who are arrested each year because of failed sobriety tests were actually not intoxicated. That’s a pretty scary statistic. Just think about it. Up to 40% of the people arrested for merely failing a field sobriety test could possibly be not guilty. That’s why we need experienced law officers and that’s why you need a good dui lawyer.
To get a copy of the free report “The Unauthorized Guide to Memphis DUI Defense” or “The Unauthorized Guide to Mississippi DUI Defense” written by DUI Lawyer James Ferrell, just email us at info@lawferrell.com or call our 24/7 automated line at 1-800-546-2713 today.
DUI Field Sobriety Tests Are Not Fair
November 15, 2007 | 1 Comment
Here is some information that all Memphis and Mississippi DUI lawyers should know. According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) the most reliable test to determine whether or not a person is guilty of driving under the influence outside of a blood or breathalyzer test is the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test.
The HGN test is basically the “watch my finger” test. It consists of the dui arrest officer conducting a very specific technique where he asks you to follow his finger as he crosses it back and forth. The test sounds simple but it really isn’t. To conduct the test properly the officer must go through a specific protocol of using correct timing, angles, positioning, and passes. The test is so exacting that the NHTSA manual prints the instructions to giving it on over four pages. Because the test is so difficult to administer properly most dui arresting officers can’t conduct the test to the specific protocols that it requires. Hower, even when they do it correctly the test is a reliable indicator of intoxication 77% of the time. That means that almost 25% of the people who police believe are intoxicated when they give this test are not actually intoxicated. This is according to the NHTSA’s own statistics
Think about that. Of the people who are arrested for DUI following a HGN test it is likely that 25% of them were not intoxicated. If you were arrested for DUI because you failed the HGN there is a good chance that there was no probable cause for your arrest. And without probable cause you should have never received a ticket.
Contact a Memphis DUI Lawyer or Mississippi DUI Lawyer to help you in your DUI case.
