In a recent report published by the PEW Center entitled, "One in 100: Behind Bars in America 2008", Texas was recognized as a forerunner in the integration of new criminal justice practices. Most notably, the state was identified as the largest user of a high-tech, alternative sentencing program known as Continuous Alcohol Monitoring (CAM) Programs. The CAM Program focuses on providing a solution to the root cause of the DUI epidemic, alcohol addiction.

The CAM Program relies on a high-tech anklet which is worn continuously by the DUI offender. The anklet tests the offender's sweat every thirty minutes for any traces of alcohol in the individual's system. This anklet, also known as a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM), completely automates the alcohol testing and reporting process, providing local courts and corrections agencies with the ability to monitor the alcohol content in a DUI offenders' body continuously and efficiently. The average cost of the SCRAM system is $12 per day, the costs of which are largely covered by the offender. Comparably, it costs the state and local taxpayers approximately $44 a day to house these high-risk, multiple DUI offenders in jail.

Currently, seventy one of Texas's two hundred and fifty four counties have access to the in-demand technology and reports indicate that the SCRAM system is currently monitoring 1,300 DUI offenders in the state of Texas alone. The state of Michigan monitors the second largest daily number of SCRAM clients, totaling nine hundred offenders statewide.

Texas corrections officials stated that the main objective of the CAM program is to target high-risk, repeat DUI offenders who have a drinking problem. Mike Iiams, Chairman and CEO of Alcohol Monitoring Systems, Inc. explained, "These individuals aren't driving drunk over and over because they want to break the law, they're driving drunk because they have a drinking problem, and when they drink, bad things happen...This isn't just a criminal issue, and it's not an automobile issue. This is an addiction issue." By monitoring alcohol intake of high risk individuals on a daily basis, the courts and local law enforcement are constantly aware of any alcohol violations made by the offender which could possibly lead to another drunk driving offense.

Furthermore, statistics indicate that SCRAM monitoring not only aids in the monitoring of repeat offenders, but also has a significant, life-changing impact on the lives of the offenders. According to retired Texas District Court Judge Vickers Cunningham, "It's easy to lock people up and throw away the key. But all you have to do is look at the repeat offender statistics to know that just wasn't working. What I quickly began to find with alcohol-addicted offenders is that, when you effectively remove alcohol from the equation 24/7, they begin to become productive members of the community. They pay taxes, they work, and they support their families. It changes lives."

Please take some time to visit our websites:
San Francisco DUI Attorney
San Mateo DUI Lawyer
Marin County DUI Defense
Northern California DUI Defense Lawyers
San Francisco County DUI Defense Lawyers

Posted by L.M. at 12:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

For the first time since 1963, the Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming has updated their traffic laws, establishing much stricter penalties for drunk driving offenses. The most notable of these changes is the lowering of the blood alcohol concentration limit and the establishment of a zero tolerance policy for repeat DUI offenders. Prior to updating the reservation's traffic regulations, the reservation's drunk driving laws required individuals convicted of driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.10% or higher to pay a fine of $250 and a court fee of $10.

Under the updated traffic laws, the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes have established a lower blood alcohol concentration (BAC) limit which is stricter than Wyoming's state laws. The newly established legal limit for drivers on the Wind River Indian Reservation is a blood alcohol concentration of 0.05%, compared to Wyoming's state mandated limit of 0.08%. Additionally, the new laws are increasingly harsh on repeat drunk driving offenders. Once an individual has been convicted of driving under the influence, the conviction triggers a future "zero tolerance" policy, where any detectable level of alcohol in the individual's blood while driving is considered a subsequent offense.

Convicted first time DUI offenders will be fined between $500 and $1,000, while repeat offenders will be fined $750 to $2,000. Repeat offenders will also be sentenced to thirty days to a year in jail. Fortunately, the individual's jail sentence can be waived if the individual completes a court-approved alcohol and drug safety education program.

Leslie Shakespeare, Chairman of the joint Shoshone-Arapaho Code Revision Committee, explained the reasons for the reservation's decision to establish harsher DUI penalties, stating, "One is a sovereignty issue. If tribal members are going to write laws for the tribes and tribal memberships, our laws shouldn't reflect anything else but what we feel we need. Secondly, we looked at DUI laws not only nationally, but internationally, and a lot of countries across the world have a standard below .08. In fact, the U.S. has one of the highest average limits in the world; most countries are lower."

Most countries in the European Union have already lowered their blood alcohol concentration limits to below 0.08%. Canada, Argentina, Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, and Spain have all established blood alcohol concentration limits at 0.05% in an effort to reduce alcohol-related accidents and fatalities. Some countries, such as the Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania, and Slovakia, have established zero tolerance laws aimed at preventing individuals from driving with any measurable amount of alcohol in the blood.

According to Ivan Posey, Chairman of the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, driving under the influence of alcohol is one of the main causes of premature death on the Wind River Indian Reservation and poses a statistically greater threat of death to tribal members than any other factor, including drugs. Of the new laws, Posey stated, "Public safety was the first and foremost reason we changed these laws. There was really no deterrent, or very strong deterrent, to keep people from putting themselves and others in danger." Posey voiced his hope that the decrease in the Reservation's blood alcohol concentration limit will inspire the state of Wyoming to revise its' own DUI laws.

Please take some time to visit our websites:
San Francisco DUI Attorney
San Mateo DUI Lawyer
Marin County DUI Defense
Northern California DUI Defense Lawyers
San Francisco County DUI Defense Lawyers

Posted by L.M. at 12:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Individuals in Orange County, California are trying to convince local bars that placing breathalyzers in their businesses will help to cut down on the number of driving under the influence arrests and accidents. Corder Hudson, owner of Common Cents Vending, has taken it upon himself to travel around Orange County to popular bar districts in order to encourage local bar owners to install the coin operated breathalyzers. Hudson also plans to target his sales to fraternity houses on college campuses.

Hudson says that the breathalyzers that would be placed in the bars use the same technology as breathalyzers utilized by law enforcement officers. In order to test your blood alcohol level, a disposable straw is inserted into a small hole in the machine. The individual is instructed to blow a steady breath into the straw for ten seconds, and the results appear moments after on a LED screen. Hudson explains that while the machine costs one dollar per use, the benefits of its' use far outweigh the cost because the average DUI costs approximately eight thousand dollars.

While Hudson believes that placing the $2,500 machines in places where alcohol is served seems like a promising idea, bar owners and bar-goers alike have not shown the same type of enthusiasm. So far, Hudson has only been able to get one bar to install the breathalyzer machine, Mikey's Sports Bar in Fullerton, CA.

Bar managers expressed their disapproval of placing the machine in their place of business, stating that they are in the business of serving alcohol and a breathalyzer would severely curtail alcohol consumption. Bar owners also foresaw a problem if patrons were to use the machine as a game to see who could get the highest blood alcohol content (BAC) reading. A random sampling of bar-goers admitted that they would rather not know if their blood alcohol content was over the legal limit when they were planning to drive home anyway.

Despite the technologically advanced nature of the equipment, police officers have spoken out against the use of such machinery, saying that the device could provide a false sense of security for individuals who have consumed alcoholic beverages and are planning to drive. It takes a certain amount of time for alcohol to fully metabolize in the body and if an individual uses the breathalyzer before the alcohol has completely metabolized, the individual's blood alcohol level could rise above the legal limit once the individual is in the car driving home.

The idea of placing breathalyzers in bars is not a new idea. In 2005, officials in Rockland, Michigan purchased several breathalyzers to place in local bars as a supplement to local police enforcement. More recently in Connecticut, State Senator Andrew J. McDonald proposed a bill that would give bars and restaurants incentive to install breathalyzer machines by lowering their liability from $250,000 to $100,000. Also in Orange County, a San Clemente couple has created a company called Drive Safe, which works to place breathalyzers in local bars, much like Hudson's company, Common Sense Vending.

Please take some time to visit our websites:
San Francisco DUI Attorney
San Mateo DUI Lawyer
Marin County DUI Defense
Northern California DUI Defense Lawyers
San Francisco County DUI Defense Lawyers

Posted by Robert Tayac at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)