Alabama DUI Lawyer Blog

Drunken driving in Alabama is quite commonplace, although so-called dry counties that have laws against beer, wine and hard liquor sales may have fewer DUI arrests than the rest of the state. As a Birmingham drunken driving defense lawyer, I represent people who have been pulled over in Montgomery, Huntsville, Mobile and Tuscaloosa, to name just a few.

Lately, a number of municipalities are getting the chance to change from being a dry town, to being able to sell alcohol within city limits. The question is, will approval of the sales of alcohol such as hard liquors or beer and wine mean an increase in arrests for driving under the influence? Time will tell, but the fact remains, voters will decide.

Based on the latest new reports, residents of Town Creek and Moulton, AL, may be voting on whether to allow alcohol to be sold within their city’s boundaries. Already the mayors of these two municipalities have announced that folks are asking what it will take to get such as proposal on a future ballot.

Last year, the Alabama Legislature made changes in the state's liquor laws that allows more towns in dry counties to vote on the so-called “wet-dry issue.” This change in state law now allows towns with populations of at least 1,000 to vote on the issue. Based on the last census, both Moulton and Town Creek find themselves in this 1000-plus resident category.

The law also changed the number of names needed on a petition calling for a wet-dry referendum. It currently takes 30 percent of the total voters who participated in the last municipal election. The petition signers must be registered voters of the municipality holding the referendum.

It is not that easy to know how much revenue alcohol sales would produce for these towns, but the amount is not expected to be very great. Furthermore, while intuitively one might assume that drunk driving arrests would be poised to go up after a town goes wet, it may turn out to be just the opposite. According to reports, both Florence and Athens, Alabama, went wet a while ago, yet police in each town state that alcohol-related DUI arrests actually dropped since the switch.

City wet/dry votes possible, MoultonAdvertiser.com, January 28, 2010

As an Alabama drunk driving defense lawyer, I see how strict our state’s DUI pratrols and drunken driving enforcement can be. In Birmingham, Mobile, Dothan or any number of cities and towns across the state, driving while intoxicated will get you a stiff fine and sometimes even jail time. Being caught for operating a motor vehicle while under impaired due to consuming alcohol, such as beer, wine or hard liquor, means you may spend a night at a local police department until someone can take you home.

Understanding how harsh the penalties are for a DUI conviction, it may be just a little bit surprising that the rest of Alabama’s traffic laws only garnered the state a seven out of 15 score in a recent study by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety AHAS), a group of nationwide organizations focus on traffic safety across the U.S.

According to the study, Alabama scored behind 41 other states when it comes to having laws on the books that promote safe driving. The state got low grades and criticism from this coalition of safety experts for failing to ban text messaging behind the wheel and for lacking tougher restrictions on teenage drivers.

Based on news reports, the AHAS ranked Alabama in the last 20 percent of all states. The highest score, by the way, went to New Jersey with a 13.5. South Dakota fared worst with 3 points.

Alabama did score high (and received a full point) for its primary seatbelt law, which allows police to pull over a driver for not wearing a safety belt, as well as the legal requirement that motorcyclists wear helmets; our state’s ban on open alcoholic beverage containers in vehicles; the law on impaired drivers injuring children; and the requirement of six months' supervision for newly licensed teenage drivers.

However, the group called for Alabama to raise the age at which a learner's permit is issued to 16 years of age from the current 15 years. It also suggested that the state restrict cell-phone use by teenage drivers, raise the age to 18 for full driving privileges, and require more supervised time behind the wheel before teens earn a license.

The group gave the state partial credit for a number of other laws including the legal requirement for mandatory blood-alcohol testing, which allows a police officer to take a motorist’s driver’s license away on the spot if he or she refuses to take a blood alcohol test. This rule also provides for an automatic 90-day license (or longer) depending on the circumstances.

Alabama lags in comparison of highway safety laws, AL.com, January 12, 2010

Let’s say you got pulled over last week for drunk driving in the Huntsville area. Having a suspicion that you might be impaired, the officer asks you to take several field sobriety tests. If you failed, there’s a good chance that your next stop would be the local police department for a breathalyzer test. As a Birmingham DUI defense attorney, I know that being convicted for driving under the influence of alcohol can impact a person’s life for a long time to come.

Assuming you blew a 0.08 percent blood-alcohol reading on the department’s breathalyzer, you may think that you have no option but to plead guilty in front of a judge, however you would be wrong. Whether a motorist is arrested for DUI in Birmingham, Mongomery, Tuscaloosa or down in Mobile or Dothan, you have the same real option: contacting a qualified drunk driving defense lawyer.

For anyone stopped for DUI in Alabama’s and issued a summons for driving while intoxicated, the question you should ask yourself is were you truly drunk? Perhaps you had something to drink, but was a charge of drunk driving really warranted? Maybe yes and maybe no. Just like other aspects of the law, not every DUI arrest is completely cut and dried.

Many clients I have represented felt that they were unjustly accused. While some may have broken the law, they also understand the often severe consequences of a DUI conviction. If you want to improve your outcome in court, don’t automatically assume that you “have it coming.” That’s simply the wrong way to think about this kind of situation.

Something that really makes people believe the authorities have a strong case against them is the results of a breath test. You should understand that blowing a reading over the legal limit (that is, more than 0.08 percent blood-alcohol content or BAC) does not automatically mean you can or will be convicted of a DUI charge. Do not feel you are “out of luck” because the breathalyzer registered a high BAC.

There are several factors that affect your BAC, and there are also a number of other things that can influence the final breathalyzer reading. Every experienced drunk driving defense lawyer should know the how a breathalyzer functions, how it should be maintained and how a police office should use it to measure a driver’s BAC.

Continue reading "Birmingham DUI defense Lawyer: Will a High Breathalyzer Reading result in an Alabama Drunk Driving Conviction?" »

Drunken driving, or DUI (driving under the influence), is a chargeable offense in Alabama, not only on public roads but also on public waterways throughout the state. As a Birmingham drunk driving defense lawyer, my advice to anyone taking the wheel of a car or the helm of a boat is don’t do it if you've had too much to drink. Impaired judgment can result in a lifetime of hardship. Kill someone while intoxicated from alcohol or prescription drugs and you run the risk of jail time as well.

This scenario played out for a Montgomery, AL, man who recently received his sentence for a 2008 boating accident on Lake Martin in Elmore County. According to reports, 22-year-old Patrick Leigh Cumbie had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.19 percent on an August night in 2008 when the speedboat he was piloting ran into a pontoon boat carrying a large number of people from Prattville.

According to court records, the crash killed Donnie Tatum and severely injured the man’s sister-in-law, Sue Tatum. Ms. Tatum was knocked unconscious as a result of the impact and reportedly died in the hospital several months later. Three other people aboard the pontoon boat were also injured, but not seriously.

According to court reports, Cumbie had pleaded guilty to the deaths of Sue and Donnie Tatum in exchange for a plea deal. Relatives of the two deceased individuals also asked the court for leniency.

Cumbie was sentenced to 24 months for homicide by vessel, another 24 months for second degree assault, both felonies, and 12 months each for three misdemeanor assault charges -- all to run concurrently based on the plea arrangement. Court records showed that Elmore County Circuit Judge Ben Fuller sentenced Cumbie to a year in the Elmore County Jail, followed by three years' probation.

Lake Martin double-fatal boat wreck: Family asks judge for leniency in BUI case, AL.com, January 12, 2010

Cumbie sentenced after boating DUI deaths, WSFA.com, January 11, 2010

Being convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol can impact a person’s career, perhaps even end it. This is just one of the pitfalls of being arrested for DUI in Alabama. As a Birmingham drunk driving defense attorney, I have seen what happens to people arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated. Even if one is not found guilty, the stigma of a DUI arrest can haunt a person years after the original episode.

Recently, the mayor of Union Springs, AL, was arrested for DUI not far from his home in Bullock County. Although he denied doing anything wrong, John McGowan was taken into custody in late December and charged with driving while intoxicated. The event took place around 2:30am on a Saturday morning while the mayor was attempting to assist his step-daughter who had herself been pulled over earlier for driving without her headlights turned on.

According to news reports, the mayor allegedly tried to persuade the Union Springs police officer in charge from writing a citation for McGowan’s step-daughter. During the encounter, the officer requested that the mayor return to his car and leave the scene. At that time, based on the police report, the patrolman detected the smell of alcohol on McGowan’s breath.

The officer on the scene then conducted several sobriety tests on the mayor, who was subsequently arrested for DUI. He was also charged with obstructing government operations. McGowan, who has been mayor of Union Springs for just over a year, was taken into custody but later released on bond.

According to news reports, the mayor’s arrest has punctuated an already contentious relationship between him and the municipality’s police department, which has included various allegations of police intimidation as well as a local controversy where the law enforcement officials were forced to move sobriety checkpoints farther away from a night club allegedly owned by one of the mayor's family members.

McGowen’s court date has been set for January 13, 2010, at the Union Springs Municipal Court.

Union Springs mayor arrested, WSFA.com, December 26, 2009

It’s no surprise that being charged with, or worse, convicted of drunk driving in Alabama will impact your life going forward. As a Birmingham-based DUI defense lawyer, I have seen the statistics for people arrested for driving while intoxicated arrests, as well as charged with fatal DUI-related crashes. Everyone makes mistakes, but for most people these errors in judgment don’t result in death or serious injury. Whether you live in Montgomery, Tuscaloosa or Mobile, the latest traffic safety data out of the U.S. government illustrates the number of people affected by drunk driving and the trend.

According to news articles, more than 11,000 people across the nation dies in alcohol-related traffic accidents in 2008. While any deaths from drunk driving are unacceptable, the better news is that the percentage of fatal DUI crashes was down by nearly 10 percent from the previous year -- more than 13,000 in 2007.

Then we swing back to the bad news, which is that 32 percent of all fatal auto accidents are a result of drinking and driving. In fact, 2008 reportedly was the third year in a row where alcohol-related deaths exceeded 30 percent of all fatal traffic accidents.

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, 1.5 million motorists were arrested by law enforcement officers in 2008 for driving under the influence of alcohol or drug DUI. At that time, the suspect could have been given a field sobriety test followed by a breathalyzer test to determine blood-alcohol content (BAC).

To make things worse, an alarming trend may be in the offing. According to various reports, drunk driving among female drivers apparently rose between 2007 and 2008. Based on information from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), as the overall number of drunk driving arrests fell across the country, the amount of women involved in fatal DUI-related crashes increased in 10 states and remained steady on five others.

Finally, the NHTSA’s drunk driving statistics showed that the number of people aged 16 to 20 years old who were killed in crashes involving a drunk automobile operator or motorcycle rider rose nearly four percent in 2006 compared with 2005 (the latest data available). In the 21- to 34-year-old age group, total drunk driving fatalities rose 0.7 percent for the same period. Fatalities for all other age groups dropped during the 2005-2006 time period.

Inside Insurance: Drunk drivers on land, in the air and on the water, TimesFreePress.com, November 13, 2009

There’s never a good excuse for a law enforcement officer, much less a chief of police, to be arrested for drunk driving. As an Alabama DUI defense attorney in the Birmingham area, I have very little tolerance for persons of authority who fail to observe the laws they are entrusted to enforce. The recent news of a Tuscumbia police official charged with driving while intoxicated is a sad statement, but one that has occurred from time to time followed by the public’s outrage.

According to news reports, Tony Logan, the police chief for the Tuscumbia Police Department, is on the wrong end of a DUI charge after a recent arrest. Apparently, the chief’s white SUV ended up in a neighbor’s yard in Florence, AL. When officers arrived, the vehicle was still in the man’s yard -- across the street from the chief's house -- with the keys still inside and Logan nowhere to be seen.

When Florence police officers arrived on the scene at about 3:30pm on Saturday, December 5, Chief Logan's mailbox was missing and a second vehicle, which was parked on the street, was damaged. Based on the police report, the neighbor removed the keys from the SUV and handed them to the officers, after which he gave them a complete statement about what he had seen.

Logan, who has been chief of police in Tuscumbia since July 2008, was subsequently arrested at his Florence residence on Castleton Road. According to the police report, Logan refused to take a sobriety test, as well as refused a breathalyzer test. Florence police took blood and urine samples after Logan was taken into custody. He was charged with DUI and booked into the Florence County Detention Center, where he was later released.

Based on a press release that came out of the Tuscumbia city attorney’s office, Logan has requested administrative leave. The release also stated that the city would review the incident and that Logan had agreed to cooperate with Tuscumbia officials in the matter.

Prior to taking over in Tuscumbia, Logan had served as the deputy chief for the Florence Police Department. He reportedly resigned in February of 2008 while the Alabama Bureau of Investigation looked into allegations of misconduct on Logan’s part.

Questions remain about DUI arrest of Tuscumbia police chief, WAFF.com, December 7, 2009

Christmas and the New Year are times of great celebration even in these difficult economic times. Still, people are always surprised by the number of Alabama motorists pulled over for driving while intoxicated during the season. As a Birmingham DUI defense lawyer and resident of these parts, I too see the results of alcohol use and motor vehicle operation on our roads. Understanding the consequences of driving under the influence, I can say without hesitation that DUI arrests can lead to convictions, which can adversely affect an individual’s life and livelyhood.

If the Thanksgiving holidays were any example, it looks like this Christmas and New Year’s Eve will present yet another opportunity for drunk driving enforcement patrols to catch those revelers who don’t know when to quit. According to reports from Alabama’s police agencies, there were 146 DUI arrests during the four days surrounding Thanksgiving last month. Additional figures included 28 alcohol-related wrecks resulting in six deaths on our state’s highways.

From the beginning of the holiday enforcement period -- Wednesday at 6pm -- until midnight Sunday, November 29, police investigated 418 crashes; cited 3,532 motorists for speeding; gave out 943 tickets for seatbelt violations and 76 for child restraint violations.

With the usually high number of parties and festive gatherings going on during the upcoming holidays, it’s important to remember that Alabama has one of the highest death rates due to drunk driving in the U.S. Based on a 2007 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) study, alcohol-related fatalities on the highways around the country tend to increase significantly during the holidays.

Nationwide, it’s said that accidents due to alcohol consumption claim an average of about 45 lives each day during the days on either side of Christmas; while up to 54 deaths every day occur during the New Year’s holiday. On average, that’s more than a one-third increase in traffic deaths compared to the balance of the year.

Over indulgence during this joyous season can easily turn a festive occasion into a sad memory for the rest of one’s life. My suggestion to all drivers is to use good judgment and have a safe and cheerful holiday.

Six people died in highway crashes in Alabama over holiday, AL.com, November 30, 2009

Drunken driving, driving under the influence (DUI) and intoxicated driving. Whether you live in Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville or anywhere else in Alabama, these simple words cannot cover the range of possible scenarios too numerous to list here. As a Birmingham drunk driving defense lawyer, I have represented many individuals in dozens of drunk driving cases. Some are minor, some others are terribly grave.

One recent news article shows what can happen when a driver mixes a little bit of alcohol with a motor vehicle and a public road. Whatever your experience in this area, even under the best circumstances the personal price of drunk driving can prove truly devastating. But when a fatality is involved, that is when you need to consult with a legal expert in the field of DUI defense.

According to news reports, a Roanoke woman was recent arrested and charged with driving under the influence and negligent homicide when her actions allegedly resulted in a fatal wreck in Auburn, AL, earlier this year. Reports indicate that two Alabama women lost their lives as a result of the accident, which occurred along Interstate 85 on May 17.

Dana McFarland, 33, and Kenneka Houston, 25, were passengers in the back seat of a vehicle driven by the suspect, 29-year-old Sabrina Renee Sutton. The vehicle was apparently stalled on the highway when a pickup truck rear-ended the car, killing the two rear-seat passengers. The driver of the pickup apparently was not charged in the accident, having told police that the truck couldn’t be stopped in time to avoid the collision.

Following the crash, Sutton and a front-seat passenger, Ayonna Sutton, then 26, were both taken to East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika for treatment of their injuries. The driver of the pickup truck was reportedly unhurt in the accident.

Now, nearly five months later, it would seem that the authorities feel Sutton’s actions resulted in the deaths of those two back-seat passengers. According to reports, police arrested the woman on October 4 and charged her with driving under the influence (DUI) as well as criminally negligent homicide.

Roanoke woman charged in fatal wreck, TheRandolphLeader.com, October 28, 2009

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Roberts was apparently unhappy with the denial of a recent appeal brought before the top court. According to news reports, the Supreme Court declined to review a case of driving under the influence of alcohol, which was under appeal due to a reversed conviction of an impaired driver. The reversal was based on the fact that the police did not actually see the drunk driver do anything wrong. Instead, they stopped the driver based on an anonymous tip of a car being driven by someone allegedly intoxicated.

As a Birmingham DUI defense lawyer, I was pleased to see that the Supreme Court refused to review this appeal. Not because I believe the top court shouldn’t be handling DUI cases, but because this goes to the core of what the police need to be doing, which is observing traffic violations and acting on those observations. In the original drunk driving case, which occurred in Virginia, the police answered an anonymous call advising them that a person may have been driving under the influence of alcohol.

The original outcome was a conviction for DUI and affirmed by the Virginia Court of Appeals, which upheld the legality of the stop. However, on further appeal to the Virginia State Supreme Court, justices voted 4-to-3 to reverse the conviction and also to adopt a rule that commands police officers following a driver reported to be drunk to do nothing until they see the driver actually do something unsafe on the road.

The case was then brought before the U.S. Supreme, which has declined to review it. This apparently has upset Justice Roberts who wrote in his dissenting remarks, “Ordinary citizens are well aware of the dangers posed by drunk driving, and they frequently report such conduct to the police. A number of States have adopted programs specifically designed to encourage such tips….”

Roberts argues that the US Supreme Court should hear the case because he is not convinced that the law requires independent confirmation of an anonymous tip. “I am not sure that the Fourth Amendment requires such independent corroboration before the police can act, at least in the special context of anonymous tips reporting drunk driving. This is an important question that is not answered by our past decisions, and that has deeply divided federal and state courts. The Court should grant the petition for certiorari to answer the question and resolve the conflict.”

Continue reading "Alabama DUI News: U.S. Supreme Court Turns Down Appeal for DUI Arrests Based Anonymous Tips" »

An Alabama man was recently sentenced to a maximum of 20 years in prison for driving under the influence when he killed a U.S. serviceman on February 2, 2008. According to news reports, Kenneth Allen Keith, a resident of Birmingham, AL, was drunk when he drove head-on into another vehicle driven by Tech. Sgt. John W. Templin, 42. According to court records, the 47-year-old Keith had two previous misdemeanor DUI convictions, as well as a prior felony conviction, which did not involve alcohol of drung DUI.

As a Birmingham DUI defense lawyer, I have represented clients with similar backgrounds charged with driving under the influence of alcohol. In this case, the charge of vehicular homicide was very serious, and should have required the services of a drunk driving defense attorney. The man’s prior drunk driving history likely did not help his case. This is probably why the defendant entered a guilty plea.

According to reports, Keith had a blood-alcohol content (BAC) of 0.20 percent -- more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 in Mississippi where the accident occurred. Apparently driving in an intoxicated state, Keith lost control of his Toyota Tundra and allowed it to cross into the oncoming lanes of Pass Road near Stennis Drive. His pickup struck a 2003 Mitsubishi Montero driven by Templin, a native of Minnesota.

Following the guilty plea, Harrison County Circuit Court Judge Roger Clark sentenced Keith to 20 years in prison for the DUI-related traffic death. Based on the law in that state, the man must serve 85 percent of his term, which comes to 17 years.

It has been suggested that the judge based his decision, in part, on the fact that the Keith had prior DUI convictions. Reports also indicate that judges in that part of the country are leaning toward the high end of the sentencing guidelines when it comes to felony DUI homicide cases involving a prior DUI conviction.

Man gets 20 years for DUI in deadly collision, SunHearld.com, October 20, 2009

As a Birmingham DUI defense lawyer, I have noted how much funding is going toward traffic safety campaigns, which includes drunk driving enforcement. Much of these funds go for increased patrols looking to catch Alabama drivers allegedly operating their vehicles under the influence of alcohol. Millions of dollars are provided by the federal government to the state every year to combat DUI violations. While I commend our police and law enforcement agencies for making our streets and highways safer, I sometimes question how these monies are used, and whether innocent motorists are harassed by drunk driving patrols and sobriety checkpoints.

According to a news article, Alabama has targeted eight counties for highway traffic safety enforcement over the coming 12 months. Governor Riley awarded $4.1 million in grants to fund highway safety programs around the state including campaigns named “Drunken Driving. Over the Limit, Under Arrest,” and “Click it or Ticket.” The state has focused the funding on eight of Alabama’s sixty-seven counties and has based this, in part, on those areas’ tendency toward higher rates of traffic accidents, injuries and fatalities.

According to reports, Alabama is expecting an increase in the number of DUI arrests now and into 2010. Statistics from the Highway Safety Department demonstrate that there are more drunk driving arrests around holidays, while reckless driving appears to be more of a problem on Wednesday through Saturday.

The grant monies reportedly go towards equipment, education and paid overtime for officers. New articles indicate that the educational aspect of these programs is making a difference, as there is a marked shift downwards in the incidences of drunk driving arrests and a rise in the number of people wearing their seatbelts when those educational campaigns are in full swing.

The counties receiving funds include Autauga, Bullock, Elmore, Lee, Lowndes, Macon, Montgomery and Russell.

Start of Semester Spike in DUI Arrests, ThePlainsman.com, September 30, 2009