Flawed blood draw procedures in DUI cases not uncommon

Image via WikipediaEvery jurisdiction has specific procedures in place for DUI blood draws. These procedures exist for a very good reason: to prevent improper draws that could result in flawed test results and the subsequent conviction of innocent people. However, it's not uncommon for local police departments to ignore the important procedures in place and allow unlawful blood draws to occur. This recently happened in Tracy, California. As explained in this Recordnet.com article, for almost 8 months, the Tracy Police Department allowed firefighters to draw blood from suspected drunk drivers. This occurred even though California law specifically excludes firefighters from drawing blood for DUI cases since they are not certified paramedics. According to the article, this error is expected to have an impact on pending and closed DUI cases:

Gil Somera, a Stockton attorney who has defended clients charged with driving drunk, said the validity of the blood sample is vital to a DUI case.

"It is probably the most important component of the evidence," he said.

Somera said the fact that the blood was drawn by firefighters could affect closed cases.

A similar issue was encountered in Indiana last year, resulting in a change to the state's DUI laws, as described in a recent WIBC.com article:

The Indiana Court of Appeals ruled a year ago the law doesn't let a lab technician do your blood-alcohol test -- the law says "certified phlebotomist," and Indiana has no such certification. In March, legislators eliminated that language, and said anyone with the proper training, including a lab tech, can take blood -- but they still have to follow established protocols, or be under the supervision of a doctor.

However, even after the Indiana law was amended to expand the classifications of people authorized to draw blood, local police departments still allowed unqualified people to draw blood for DUI cases. As explained in the article, in one recent case, an unsupervised and unqaulified lab technician drew blood in the absence of any protocols. Accordingly, the blood test results obtained from the blood draw have been held to be inadmissible, resulting the dismissal of the DUI-related charges pending against David Bisard. The danger of DUI blood and breath testing is in the inaccuracy. There is so much room for error, whether from faulty equipment, errors in the underlying software programming, calibration errors or human error in obtaining the breath or blood sample. These cases are further examples of how error-prone these procedures can be and just go to show that what at first glance might appear to be a fool-proof case against someone accused of DUI, in many cases, is just the opposite.

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Some people can't hold their liquor

Image by meltedplastic via Flickr

Apparently, cops, guns and alcohol just don't mix. We learn this lesson straight from the heart of Texas, where it was reported last week via Fox News that a highly intoxicated Dallas police officer fired her gun into the floor of a police vehicle. From the article:

According to the Dallas Police Department, Officer Kelly Beemer was off-duty and heavily intoxicated when another off-duty police officer tried to help her into his personal vehicle.

When Beemer attempted to exit the moving vehicle, two officers who were on-duty came to the scene.

Beemer was seated in the back seat of Officer Zachary Helm’s squad car when she unfastened a revolver strapped to her ankle and fired into the back right floorboard, police said.

It seems this cop was as loaded as her gun! Fortunately, no one was hurt and an investigation is pending in the matter. Visit Americas Top DUI and DWI Attorneys at www.1800dialdui.com or call 1-800-DIAL-DUI to find a DUI OUI DWI Attorney Lawyer Now!

Watch Out--Law Enforcement Uses Social Media

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It was simply a matter of time. Social media has become increasingly popular in recent years and law enforcement is now beginning to collect user data from social media sites for evidence. In fact, as reported in this AP article, some FBI officers are actually "going undercover" on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace by creating fake profiles. In some cases, undercover officers actually communicate with suspects in an effort to obtain information to support criminal charges. Similarly, as explained in the article, social media sites are being used to confirm suspect's alibis and are being mined for information about suspects, including their activities, their personal relationships and their spending habits. However, as explained in this post from AlterNet, it's unclear whether the warrantless attempts of law enforcement to collect evidence on social media sites is legal:

As law enforcement agents increasingly find reasons to use social-networking sites, questions regarding crime-fighting and privacy arise. The bad news is there are no real good answers regarding what users' rights really are, what social-networking companies are required to do (and not to do), and what regulations ought to govern the use of these sites in investigative law enforcement work given that there isn't really a legal system designed to supervise social-networking sites.

Unfortunately, this is one of the areas where the laws and regulations that control law enforcement agencies' actions haven't yet caught up with new technologies. And, until a court holds that these warrantless intrusions are unlawful, the police will continue to mine social media sites for evidence. What does that mean for you? It means that you should exercise caution when using social media. Don't post anything on social media sites that you wouldn't want shared with the entire world. If you are currently facing DUI charges, don't post pictures in which you are drinking alcohol or are out with friends who are drinking. Don't allow others to photograph you engaging in questionable activities that could reflect poorly on you or on your pending case. The bottom line--use common sense. Think before you post updates to a social media site. If you think it might be a bad idea to post a particular photo, it probably is a bad idea. Finally, don't accept friend requests from people that you don't know. Social media is a part of our lives; it's not going away. If you'd like to participate in social media, then by all means, do so. But be smart about it. Don't give law enforcement--or anyone else--access to information that could be used against you. Just like anything else-- it's better to be safe than sorry. Visit Americas Top DUI and DWI Attorneys at www.1800dialdui.com or call 1-800-DIAL-DUI to find a DUI OUI DWI Attorney Lawyer Now!