States Continue to Crackdown on DWI Enforcement

In Texas, DWI enforcement just got a little bit tougher.

Last week a new statutory bill passed the Texas state senate. The bill, the Nicole “Lilly” Lalime Act, does three main things:

  1. Expands the definition of offenses committed while intoxicated to include operating water crafts, which were previously not covered.
  2. If an officer has reason to believe suspect has a prior DWI conviction or a child is in the car, the law permits the officer to collect breath and blood sample without a warrant.
  3. Law has also been expanded to allow any magistrate who is a state-licensed attorney to issue a blood search warrant — and such magistrates are at the jail 24/7

The new law goes into effect in September.

Source: Dallas Observer

DWI Checkpoints Ruled Legal but Challenges Expected to Continue

The legality of DWI checkpoints has come into question in a number of recent New Hampshire cases.

One such case came into question last summer when more than 800 cars were pulled over at various checkpoints across the state of New Hampshire. Ten arrests were made from these stops, and a guilty verdict with regard to the arrest of Christopher Shields was just issued this week, declaring checkpoints to be statutorily legal.

According to the Boston Herald, the attorney for this particular case claimed the “roadblock was illegal because the process by which cars were stopped was not random as required by law.” The Judge decided otherwise.

District Court Judge Morrison did not issue an official decision with his verdict. Essentially, this decision provides there is no legal precedent from which future cases can cite. While prosecutors claim Judge Morrison’’s decision paves the way toward a consensus on DWI checkpoint legality, police officers expect challenges with checkpoint arrests to continue.

New Hampshire residents should expect to see many more checkpoints over the course of the summer, and potentially this Memorial Day Weekend. While some residents may be outraged or question checkpoint legality, the important point to remember is safety. If you are not safe to drive, don”t drive. It may seem to be common sense, but most of us have been in the position of making unsafe decisions.

Not a “Fiesta” for all – Mandatory Blood Testing

San Antonio, home of the Alamo, is also known for hosting one of the largest parties of the year – Fiesta. Its Battle of Flowers Parade and Fiesta Flambeau parade draw more than 100,000 spectators, and the 10-day, citywide party hosts hundreds of individual parties and celebrations.

With any large party comes excessive drinking.

Texas is currently considering new measures with regard to drunk driving. The Texas Senate recently passed two bills that have yet to become law; one to establish sobriety check points in major metropolitan areas and another for mandatory blood tests of DWI suspects.

Bexar County District Attorney, Susan Reed, has already passed such measures for holidays with high incidence of DWI arrests and accidents. Memorial Day 2008 and this past New Year’s District Attorney Reed issued the “No Refusal Accepted” ordinance which permitted police to acquire warrants to draw blood on any DWI suspects refusing a breath test.

This measure has gone into effect again for the 10-day Fiesta celebration, which kicked off today in the Alamo City.

Bexar County’s goal, aligned with a broader Texas goal, is to make mandatory blood tests the rule, rather than the exception.

More information can be found in a recent San Antonio Current article:
http://www.sacurrent.com/blog/queblog.asp?perm=69655

Texting while drunk driving – a bad combination

Sending text messages while driving is dangerous, though not illegal in some municipalities.

Now combine texting while driving intoxicated; that”’’s a combination for danger. Thankfully no one was hurt in a recent stop in Amsterdam, NY. Safe driving – and no texting, please!

http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=786798