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  • Friday, November 22, 2013 2:09 PM | Anonymous

    All along the I-5 corridor from Canada to Mexico, law enforcement agencies begin emphasis enforcement beginning on Wednesday November 27, 2013.   The goal is to prevent even a single death on I-5 during the Thanksgiving weekend.   To that end, Washington, Oregon, and California law enforcement are combining forces this week to keep the road safe from impaired drivers.  Spread the word!  

                                                

  • Friday, November 15, 2013 2:46 PM | Anonymous

    National collision fatalities went up 3.3% in 2012 from the 2011 totals.  However, Washington continues its remarkable trend downward by cutting 7.6% of its 2011 fatalities in 2012.  

    Congratulations to the entire Washington Traffic Safety Community!  

    The full report is here.  

  • Friday, October 25, 2013 11:19 AM | Anonymous

    Felony perjury charges were filed today against Dr. Joseph Citron, a Georgia Opthomoligist and attorney.   Dr. Citron specializes in eyes, but was largely engaged as an expert witness by DUI defense attorneys.  He is accused of embellishing his credentials in the area of the Standardized Field Sobriety tests to allow him to qualify as an expert witness in numerous courts.   After an FBI investigation, two felony counts and three misdemeanor courts have been filed against him in Pennsylvania--punishable by up to seven years in prison.  Additional counties are expected to file charges against him based on the FBI investigation.

    The indictment is here 

    An article on the story is here. 

  • Wednesday, October 23, 2013 8:22 AM | Anonymous

    The US Supreme Court vacated the defendant's three DUI convictions and ordered the state supreme court to consider the issue anew in light of it recent decision in Missouri v. McNeely.   The Minnesota Supreme Court agreed McNeely changes Minnesota law, but concluded a warrant was not required because the defendant consented following the implied consent advisory.  The court concluded this allowed law enforcement to lawfully obtain both blood and urine in the three cases consolidated on appeal in Minnesota v. Brooks. 

    The full opinion is here: Minnesota v Brooks SC Opinion 10_2013.pdf  

    Congratulations to the prosecutors of Minnesota on a job well done!   Brooks will undoubtedly seek US Supreme Court review of the opinion, so this may be the first test of implied consent laws following McNeely.  

  • Wednesday, October 16, 2013 11:02 AM | Anonymous

    Thursday Oct 17 & again Friday Oct. 18, 5PM PT.  Check your local listings.  

    This National Geographic presentation explores the drug scene in "Junkytown", from cocaine to marijauna. 

  • Tuesday, September 24, 2013 10:36 AM | Anonymous

    Drivers are responsible for more than 90 percent of collisions, but we don't know exactly what happens in the moments leading up to a crash.  A new study involving 3100 cars, including many Seattle drivers, is being conducted by Virginia Tech may help answer those questions.  The Naturalistic Driving Study is being coordinated by the Strategic Highway Research Program, known as SHRP 2, which was authorized by Congress to conduct the work, and administered by the Transportation Research Board. The total SHRP 2 budget is around $70.4 million.

    An article discussing the study may be found here.

    A man uses his cell phone while driving in Newark, N.J.

  • Monday, September 09, 2013 8:30 AM | Anonymous

    22-year old Matt Cordle has not been charged, but he posted a video taking full responsiblity for the death of photographer Vincent Canzani in a drunk driving crash. Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said Matt Cordle is a suspect in the deadly wrong-way crash and a grand jury will be asked to indict him for aggravated vehicular homicide.   The video is here.   The CNN story is here. 

  • Thursday, August 01, 2013 11:10 AM | Anonymous

    After over two years of litigation in cases ranging from Vehicular Homicide to DUI, the court decisively settled the Measurment Uncertainty issue.  The defense had argued the State is required to provide measurement uncertainty calculations to the defense as part of its discovery and must also offer that evidence at trial along with the test. 

    History of Case: Following a 6-day hearing involving 4 expert witnesses, the 3-judge trial court panel agreed with the defense and ordered measurement uncertainty calculations be provided in discovery and at trial or risk suppression.  King County was granted a writ of review and Judge Kessler reversed the trial court ruling on all bases.  The Decision on Appeal: The Court of Appeals Division 1, the Fausto court utterly rejected the defense arguments and affirmed Judge Kessler.  

    The full opinion may be read here. 

    Congratulations to the DPAs at King County who worked the issue and both the State Toxicology Laboratory and Impaired Driving Section for their time and expertise on this issue!

  • Monday, July 22, 2013 7:20 AM | Anonymous

     

    Walk like MADD  – September 15th.  Please click the link below for more information.

    If you are unable to attend in person you can also register as a virtual walker. Join us now by registering at www.walklikemadd.org/seattle.

    Click here to view the team page for Trooping to Target Zero
    If the text above does not appear as a clickable link, you can visit the web address:
    http://support.madd.org/site/TR?team_id=83993&pg=team&fr_id=3249&et=uyJZLOKKrhqTYlQrNkUvFA

    If you have any questions, please contact Bobbi Parker at (206) 734-3205 or email bparkermaddwa@comcast.net

  • Monday, June 17, 2013 9:07 AM | Anonymous

    The US Supreme Court reversed itself on whether a jury must decide facts that decide a mandatory minumum sentence or if a judge can find those facts as "sentencing factors."  Previously, the court decided Harris v. United States, 536 U. S. 545 (2002) and held the judge could constitutionally decide facts in support of a higher mandatory minimum sentence.   

    In Alleyne v. United States, No. 11-9335 (Jun. 17, 2013) the court expressly overruled Harris and held that the legislature cannot force a judge to impose a higher mandatory minimum sentence unless a jury finds the requisite statutory factual predicates. 

    The case means that in any crime involving a mandatory minimum must now allege those facts in the criminal complaint and prove those facts to the jury before the judge is compelled to sentence the defendant to the greater mandatory minimum.  If the prosecution fails to properly plead or prove the elements for the enhanced penalty, the court may still exercise its discretionary authority to impose the higher sentence, but is not compelled to do so.

    Note: In a footnote, the court affirms its prior decision allows judges to determine prior offense enhancements, as stated in Almendarez-Torres v. United States, 523 U. S. 224 (1998)

    The full case is available here.  

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