Alabama DUI Lawyer Blog

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