You ought to have a duplicate from the complaint billed against you in addition to a copy from the police report whether it’s available. Next, you have to look at your BAC or Bloodstream Alcohol Concentration. In many states, if you are 21 years of age and above, the legal limit is.08%. This means that should you exceed this when you are examined, you are likely to be charged with DWI case, where you will surely need the aid of specialist DWI defense lawyers. In case your test result shows something below .08%, you could nonetheless be charged though the odds are lower.

 You need to know the amount of DWIs you have had in the last ten years before your current offense. If you had another case before the current offense, you are not qualified for a “Standard First” offer and you ought to think twice about getting defense lawyers to help your personal case. However, if you get a DWI and discover it has been charged like a first offense, you need to go ahead and take the deal. A second or 3rd time charge includes minimum incarceration so you must make the most of charging errors.

Once you have determined you need defense lawyers for DWI, choose only the best there is. You will never be disappointed.

As reaction to the high rate of drunk driving accidents in the past years, the state of Texas has intensified its campaign to deter people from drinking and driving.  An offender can be arrested and charged with DWI (drinking while intoxicated) or DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol).  DWI is charged to adults who are caught driving with a BAC or a blood alcohol content of .08%. DUI, on the other hand, is charged to individuals below 21 years, who commit the same act. Conviction for DUI and DWI can result to the suspension or revocation of driver’s license. On top of this, offenders must pay a substantial fine and may expect jail time as imposed by the court of law. Greater penalties await those with repeated conviction.

Accountability for drunk driving accidents also extends to licensed establishments who allowed the sale of alcohol to the driver involved. Alcohol sellers with valid license are given the responsibility to train their employees to follow proper procedures in serving alcohols to customers.   Administrative and criminal actions can be made once a licensed seller violates this law especially if such negligence resulted into a car accident.

Somehow intensified law enforcement can still lose out to people who take the risks in drunk driving lightly.Every time someone gets away with drunk driving, the confidence of repeating it increases. This is why the public is expected to do its part in decreasing drunk driving cases. The simple act of persuading an intoxicated person from driving can decrease the risk for accidents.  Studies reveal drunk- driving accidents are prevalent during the weekends and holidays as these are the times that people party and consume excessive alcohol.  Avoiding driving during the late hours of Fridays and Saturdays can lower the risk of accident involvement. People are also advised to be extra alert and precautious when driving pass bars and pubs areas during these dangerous times.

The hard fact is that when drunk driving strikes, its devastating effects does not discriminate anyone. People who come out of it alive are considered fortunate. However, such accident does not only result to physical injuries, it can also bring a variety of problems. Someone who has gone through a traumatic incident may face more confusion and stress due to issues such as medical bills payment and work inhibition due to injuries. Knowing the proper steps to take after the accident can significantly help someone avert financial losses and inconvenience. One very important step is to immediately consult a personal injury attorney.

                                                      JOE PATRIOT

The University of Texas at Austin boasts an enrollment of over 50,000! One of the  most salient features of the area that surrounds the campus is the high number of law offices. It makes sense that the region enveloping a large international University would be loaded with lawyers, attorneys and bail bond companies.

After all, when you have a high concentration of young males strutting their stuff on the weekends, a percentage of them will end up in jail facing DWI/DUI charges. So the presence of attorneys who specialize in defending those who have been indicted for Driving While Intoxicated or Driving Under the Influence is no surprise.

Nationwide, 42%  of college students in a recent survey admitted they had been drunk sometime in the last two weeks! Now apply the 42 per cent to the 50,000 students enrolled in Longhorn Land and you get a whopping 21,000 potential clients for DWI attorneys in Austin.

Of course, the same high concentrations of DUI/DWI lawyers would exist in any city with a large university. Arizona State University has an enrollment of around 58,000. Ohio State and the University of Minnesota have enrollments of 56,000 and 52,000 respectively.

Image via Wikipedia

Driving while intoxicated or while under the influence of drugs or alcohol has reached proportions that are disturbing.  I live on Long Island, NY and am left dumbfounded every morning as it seems that every night someone is arrested for DUI/DWI, many times resulting in deadly consequences.  It is obvious that this is not a new problem that we are dealing with, yet it doesn’t seem to be getting any better.  Could it be that the people who are drinking and driving are not aware of the consequences or have they done it so many times and gotten away with it, they figure what’s one more time?  I would think that at some point one would have to believe that their luck is going to run out, that someone is going to get hurt

I do not understand the lack of personal responsibility that an individual lacks when they decide to get behind the wheel of a car after consuming enough alcohol to make them drunk.  I do not believe the argument that they did not realize how drunk they were.   Anyone, who drinks knows that at some point during a “drinking session” you realize that you are drunk.  When that happens, it is up to that individual to realize that they cannot drive a vehicle. 

This past weekend in Commack, two men were struck while walking, one of whom later died  because some guy decided to leave a Super Bowl Party with his 9 year old son in the car while he was drunk.  Is it logical to believe that no one at the party could see that this guy was drunk, I think not!  Even though the other attendees at the party allowed him to drive, to put his 9 year old son and numerous innocent people in danger, the decision and responsibility to drive his vehicle ultimately belongs to him. 

As a result of his actions, he has destroyed many lives, including his own.  The man that was killed was a father of four children between the ages of 17 and 2 their lives will never be the same.  In addition, this man has ruined his own life, the consequences that are to follow will change his and his family lives forever.  It is a wonder that the second gentleman that was hit only suffered nonlife-threatening injuries.

Look, my friends and I go out all the time and although we don’t drink all the time, there are parties we throw where we know we are going to get drunk.  The thing is that we always, always have designated drivers.  We also do not let anyone get behind the wheel of a car that we know has been drinking.  I don’t know why this is so difficult for other people to do.  This is not a bragging session of how perfect my friends and I are, it is a way of saying that you can have fun, get drunk and still be responsible.   I guess what I am trying to say is that we love each other so we tend to look out for each other. 

If you are somewhere drinking and you question yourself as to whether or not you are sober enough to drive, you aren’t, do not get behind that wheel.  Although you may be lucky enough to get home unscathed, chances are you won’t.  Believe me when I tell you that there are people who care enough about you that will get out of bed in the middle of the night and pick you up, just call them.  You will thank yourself in the morning and probably save someone else’s life. 

If you are out with your friends and you see one of them or even a stranger drinking enough to incapacitate them, please do not let them drive.  Try to persuade them to call someone, offer to give them a ride home threaten to call the police. If by chance they decide to get behind that wheel then do just that, call the police.  The life you save may be theirs or one of your family members that they may be crossing on their drunken path home.

©Ken Emmanuelli 2011

you dont feel it your in soo much pain

flashbacks of life running through your mind

if only that light you could find

barely breathing on life support

only in her twentys, life may be cut short

drinking and driving next came the crash

here and there she has a deep lash

finally family arrives

mother says hwo is she dr says rare if she survives

as tears pore down the mothers cheaks

she recalls her daughters first weeks

holding her tight

wishing is wasnt her daughter but her in this fight

as she remembers those days she prays

please give her strength while next to her daughters body she lays

its been two years sence shes drank

and shes alive, strong and healthy with her higher power to thank!

Daniel Cogan

Teenage Drunk Driving

When ask about the leading cause of car accidents, most people would probably reply, “alcohol,” and they would be right because every 20 minutes someone dies in an motor vehicle crash linked to alcohol.  Did you also know that, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, motor vehicle traffic accidents are the leading cause of death among teens at over 39%.  With these two combined facts, alcohol, combined with driving, is the greatest cause of death among teens today.

There are probably many reasons why drunk driving accounts for a much higher percentage of teen deaths than the percentage for adult deaths which is around 2%.  The first reason is that teens are much more inexperienced in driving than adults.  This is obviously true and can directly affect the driving habits of teens.  Some may make the argument that, when intoxicated, driving experience becomes a non-factor when compared to the intoxication of the driver.  If this is true, then the main cause for the higher percentage of deaths in teens has to do with “why teens drink and drive” and not “how teens drive.”  

Teens drink alcohol for many of the same reasons that adults do, but apparently, after drinking, teens seem to be more inclined to drive than adults do.  This could be explained by the contrast in experience with alcohol related accidents.  Teens hear about drunk driving accidents a lot but chances are that if a teen drinks and drives, he has not been directly related to a car crash caused by alcohol.  If he had been in such a crash or knew a friend who had been, he would know the consequences and probably would decide not to drive.  Adults who have survived through their teen years most likely have seen many drunk driving incidents or have even been in one themselves.  They already know the consequences and are less likely to drive when intoxicated.  Besides, the ones who would have driven drunk are probably dead before they reach adulthood because they are more than four times more likely to be killed while driving when they are intoxicated than when they are sober.  

The fact is that teens are much more likely to drink and drive than adults.  The best way to prevent a drunk driving accident is to stay abstinent or at least do not drive drunk.

Bibliography

Statistics – Top 10 Causes. October 27th, 2010. <http://www.statisticstop10.com/index.html>.

http://www.flvtube.net/9520

In Florida several judges have thrown out breath-alcohol tests that show some drivers were driving when legally drunk.

The state of Florida will not disclose how the machines work — because it does not know.

The judges threw out over 500 cases.

What is happening in Florida is not usual.

If a person accused of a “no DUI” asks how the machine works, the court can’t provide it, therefore the breath test is not considered as evidence.

Since this has happened, more than half the cases have been dropped.

The manufacturer will not give let anyone know their secret of how the machines work, and therefore, the court can’t prove that the machines are accurate.

Just another case of money and politics overriding common sense.

Why is it so hard to get legislators to pass laws that have some chance of dealing with this problem? Pitiful slaps on the wrist, even for manslaughter, really try people’s patience with their representatives. Is it that elected officials are heavy drinkers and drivers and don’t want to take the chance of getting caught?

“With intent. cause the death of…..” First Degree Murder Charge excerpt.

“Did accidentally cause the death of …….by stabbing (shooting,strangulation, whatever)” Manslaughter Charge excerpt. A guy leaves a bar drunk, gets yelled at outside the club and pulls a gun killing two bystanders. Can you imagine him being charged with “drunk shooting” or “shooting causing death while impaired.” No, he gets charged with Murder, or at least Manslaughter, his being drunk has nothing to do with the offense charging.

Why the double standard?

Substitute car or drunk driving. Get the picture? These should be no difference either in the charging, or the sentencing.

Mute Swans really getting “muted” to Protect Chesapeake Bay Grasses.

  Mute Swans eat a lot of bay grasses (how much can they eat in an area of thousands of miles of shoreline; and many, many thousands of acres?); Bay grasses are endangered; solution: kill Mute Swans-a very pretty creature by the way, a real vision of calm and contemplation.

  The real problem is that pollution runoff, primarily from farm fertilizers, but also from paved surfaces runoff into streams and thence to the Bay, causes such oxygen deprivation and pollution that bay grasses have been dying back for over a generation, maybe 40 years or more. We know what causes the problem-pollution, but politicians can’t and won’t muster the will to “offend” farmers and livestock ranchers-did I mention the hundreds of millions of chickens on Maryland’s Eastern Shore whose droppings are very nitrogen concentrated, used for fertilizer and whose excess-a lot of excess- runs into the Bay? Homeowners and commercial developers are guilty as well, applying ever increasing amounts of chemicals and pesticides to homes, lawns, parks, apartment landscaping- some of which gets washed into the groundwater, and into streams and rivers that feed the Bay.

  However, Bay environmentalists make the point that swans “crowd out” or at least threaten other endangered species, and swan’s feeding habits disturb, even destroy fragile nurseries for crabs, another endangered species. All in all, for the time being, keeping the population at five hundred seems reasonable; however, the goal should be stopping pollution, restoring all the Bay’s grassy habitats, which would allow all the species to thrive.

And. unless and until we are willing to manage humanity to a “zero net impact” on our environment and ecology, there is  limited ability to change the impact of evolving species, whose habitats have been harmed by society, or whose accidental introduction into new areas is a product of man’s indifference and lack of consideration, caution, or consequence.

Judges Appearance of Impropriety leads to Supreme Court Recusal Decision

In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court forced a lower Appeals Court to reconsider a decision, which because of one of the Appeals court Judge’s election campaign receipt of over three million dollars from the principle party- in- interest in the case, was deemed to present “the appearance, and therefore the unacceptable risk of favoritism requiring recusal” (I’m paraphrasing). Correctly rendered in my opinion. Although we may expect more such suits by aggrieved parties. I’m waiting for the suit which claims a refund based on “I paid the guy, and he didn’t give it up. I want my money back.”

Wall Street changes To Whine Street

Here we go. The financial marketplace, everything from S&Ls to Banks, Insurance companies to Investment Banks, Hedge firms to Venture Capitalists, are all paying huge sums to lobbyists, some executives even lobbying themselves, in an effort to prevent strong regulation by a centralized financial markets authority, instead preferring the the pick-and-choose type of regulation that some enjoy. Many would prefer self-regulation in spite of what the lack or regulatory oversight has allowed.

You saw it hear first: Required Equity Capital must increase as financial enterprise size increases.

Minimum of five percent up to Five Billion in size; six percent at Ten Billion, Seven Percent at Fifteen Billion and so on up to Ten Percent up to Fifty Billion. Then Fifteen Percent at fifty to one hundred billion; twenty percent at one hundred Billion to two hundred and fifty Billion, and Twenty Five Percent at two hundred and fifty Billion and up.

In addition, No one class of investments can exceed five percent of invested equity capital, and institution bond debt cannot exceed the equity capital. Financial products underwritten by financial enterprises must carry a reserve against default of five percent minimum up to One Billion, and Ten Percent for underwritings higher than One Billion. Such reserves must be owned in the issuer’s own account.

That will work, and if increased capital reduces the “shoot the moon” attitudes of traders, speculators, and financial engineers, well, I vote yes. They can still make a ton of money (financial institutions have led any segment of the economy for a generation in total profits), and they should, Over-leveraged risk is out, prudent risk management and at-risk personal capital is in, or should be.