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 BLOOD ALCOHOL CHART
(Showing estimated % of alcohol in the blood by
number of drinks in relation to body weight.)
                                                               (assume: 12 oz beer)

Drinks Wt.	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
110 lb.	.038	.075	.113	.150	.188	.225	.263	.300	.338	.375	.413	.450
120 lb.	.031	.063	.094	.125	.156	.188	.219	.250	.281	.313	.344	.375
140 lb.	.027	.054	.080	.107	.134	.161	.188	.214	.241	.268	.295	.321
160 lb.	.023	.047	.070	.094	.117	.141	.164	.188	.211	.234	.258	.281
180 lb.	.021	.042	.063	.083	.104	.125	.146	.167	.188	.208	.229	.250
200 lb.	.019	.038	.056	.075	.094	.113	.131	.150	.169	.188	.206	.225
220 lb.	.017	.034	.051	.068	.085	.102	.119	.136	.153	.170	.188	.205
240 lb.	.016	.031	.047	.063	.078	.094	.109	.125	.141	.156	.172	.188

 

 

 

 

 

 

å Has Alcohol Affected Your Driving Ability?

This can be determined by the % of alcohol in your blood.  You can estimate your blood-alcohol level by counting your drinks (1 drink equals 1 volume oz. of 100 proof whiskeys, 1-12 oz. bottle of beer, or 3-4 oz. of wine.

Use the alcohol chart shown above- and under number of drinks and opposite your body weight find the % of blood-alcohol listed.

Subtract from this number the % of alcohol “burned up” during the time elapsed since your first drink.

Hours since 1st drink	1	2	3	4	5	6
Subtract	.015%	.030%	.045%	.060%	.075%	.090%

The remainder is an estimate of the % of alcohol in your blood.

åFOR BEST RESULTS- DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE
IT TAKES TIME

If you go to bed intoxicated with a BAC of .25 and alcohol leaves the system at a rate of .015 per hour, this might be a picture of what happens:

Time	Activity	BAC
2 am	Goes to bed	.25
3 am	Sleeps       (Very restless with	.235
4 am	Sleeps         a lot of tossing	.22
5 am	Sleeps          and turning.)	.205
6 am	Sleeps	.19
7 am	Gets up for work	.175
8 am	Feels dry mouth	.16
9 am	At work	.145
10 am	Still legally intoxicated	.13
11 am	Spills coffee	.115
Noon	Still feels tired	.1
1 pm	Mind feels foggy	.085
2 pm	Cloudy thoughts	.07
3 pm	Feeling irritable	.055
4 pm	Head clearing	.04
5 pm	Starting to feel better	.025
6 pm	Goes home	.01
7 pm	Alcohol-free at last!	.00

å  History of drunk driving laws
 From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The first jurisdiction in the United States of America to adopt laws against drunk driving was New York in 1910, with California and others following. Early laws simply prohibited driving while intoxicated, with no specific definition of what level of inebriation qualified. The first generally-accepted legal limit for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.15 (in 1938, the American Medical Association created a "Committee to Study Problems of Motor Vehicle Accidents"; at the same time, the National Safety Council set up a "Committee on Tests for Intoxication". After some study, these two groups came up with their findings: a driver with 0.15 BAC or higher could be presumed to be intoxicated; those under 0.15 could not).
In the US, most of the laws and penalties were greatly enhanced starting in the late 1970s, and through the 1990s largely due to pressure from groups like Mother Against Drunk Drivers (MADD) and Students Against Driving Drunk (SADD)

1. The legal presumption of intoxication from blood alcohol concentration was reduced to 0.10; more recently, and with federal pressure, all states have further reduced the limit to 0.08%.

2. A second drunk driving offense was created and eventually adopted in all states: driving with a BAC of 0.08% or higher; this was typically charged in addition to the traditional offense of driving under the influence.

3. Zero Tolerance laws were enacted which criminalized driving a vehicle with 0.01 or 0.02 BAC for drivers under 21.

4. Automatic license suspension laws were universally adopted which provided for the immediate confiscation and administrative suspension of the driver's license if the BAC was 0.08% or if the driver refused testing.

MADD and other organizations are also widely cited for getting the drinking age raised to 21 in those states where it had once been lower. Also during this era, enforcement of drunk driving laws became a priority for police for the first time, and constitutional impediments to such practices as Sobriety checkpoint were removed.

å “Club” Drugs

4 What is meant by the term “club” drugs?
             “Club drug” or party drug refers to any one of the many different substances currently being used by young adults at rave parties, all-night dance clubs, and bars.  These drugs are often used in combinations with alcohol, marijuana, and other drugs, making them even more dangerous.

4 What makes these drugs so dangerous?
             Since some of these drugs are illegal or purchased from illegal sources, they may be adulterated and their strength and toxicity may be difficult to measure.  The drugs are generally used in a party-type setting, where the user may be surrounded by strangers.  If the user becomes ill or in danger in any way, he or she may not be able to get help, especially if other party-goers are also intoxicated.  Date rape or acquaintance rape is also frequent consequences, since some of these drugs can be slipped into a drink and used as a sedative.

å “Club” Drugs at a Glance

DRUG NAME	SLANG NAMES	WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE	LEGITIMATE USES	EFFECTS ON BODY
Methylenedioxy- meth-amphetamine (MDMA)	Ecstasy, XTC, X, Adam, Clarity, Lover’s Speed	Tablet or capsule	None, originally developed as an appetite suppressant, but never tested on humans	Produces both stimulant and hallucinogenic effects.  Can cause dehydration, heart or kidney failure, high body temperature, and nerve damage
Gamma- Hydroxybutyrate (GHB)	Grievous Bodily Harm, G, liquid ecstasy, Georgia Home Boy	Can be clear liquid, white powder, tablet, or capsule.  Can be added to beverages.	None, usually manufactured illegally or purchased on the Internet.  Ingredients are also found in some diet supplements in health food stores.	Is a central nervous system depressant.  At high does it can slow pulse and breathing to dangerous levels.  May be used as a date rape drug.
Ketamine	Special K, Vitamin K, cat Valium	Injectable liquid or a white powder that is snorted	Used as a veterinary anesthetic for small animals.  Occasionally used in humans	Causes dream-like states and hallucinations similar to PCP.  High doses can cause respiratory failure, high blood pressure, and impaired motor function.
Rohypnol	Roofies, Rophies, Poche, Forget-Me pill	Tablet, may be ground and dissolved in carbonated beverages.	Used in Europe and other countries as a sedative and pre-surgery anesthetic.  Not approved for use in the U.S.	Causes sedation, confusion, and amnesia.  Used as a “date rape” drug
Meth-amphetamine	Speed, Ice, Crank, Meth, Crystal	Can be found in many forms and smoked, snorted injected, or taken orally.  Often white, crystalline powder.	None.  Manufactured illegally, often using common over-the-counter drugs as an ingredient.	Strong, addictive, neuro-toxic stimulant.  May cause agitation, violet behavior, and heart and nerve damage.
Lysergic Acid Diethylamide (LSD)	Acid, Boomers, Yellow sunshine	Sold in tablets, capsules, liquid, or in drops on sheets of blotter paper	None, manufactured illegally	LSD is a hallucinogen.  It causes dilated pupils, sweating, increased heart rate, and hallucinations, often in the form of sensory misperception.

åALCOHOL AND MALNUTRITION

             Most physical illness brought on by alcohol results from malnutrition.  This is the reason: To get through a normal day, the body needs fuel for energy, for tissue repair and growth, and for proper functioning in general.

             Food, with its proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals, provides the necessary fuel by a chemical process called metabolism.  The calories -- units of food energy – that are not used in daily activities are stored away in the body for future use.

             In some ways alcohol is a food.  An ounce contains 200 calories, as compared to 114 calories in an ounce of carbohydrates, and 270 calories in an ounce of fat.  However, unlike the calories contained in carbohydrates, proteins, and fats, those in alcohol cannot be stored for future use or be used to repair or build tissue, their only use is to produce energy.  What’s more, alcohol contains none of the vitamins and minerals the body needs; its food value is very limited.

             Alcohol can cause malnutrition because while it can’t provide the nutrients the body needs, a problem drinker – or an alcoholic – tends to neglect other foods.  He often loses his appetite, being more interested in drinking than eating.  And where do you get the fuel, building materials, and vitamins you need for health?  You don’t!  As a result, over a period of weeks, receiving about half of the calories from alcohol you have plenty of energy, but you may become severely ill because of serious vitamin and mineral deficiencies.

             Listed below are some consequences resulting from malnutrition or nutritional deficiency:
            

• Carbohydrates – mental lethargy (blackouts)

• Proteins – Gastritis, ulcers, pyloritis, pancreatitis, liver involvement, hypoglycemia, esophageal varicosities, alcohol-induced diabetes.

 

• Minerals – electrolytic disturbances (fluid balance), edema, blackouts, etc.

• Fats – circulatory disturbances (blood vessel blockage with cholesterol), brain damage.

 

• Vitamins – central nervous system degeneration, poor circulation, tremors and shakes, peripheral neuritis, beriberi, pellagra, Wernike’s disease, organic brain damage.

åALCOHOL – AN ANESTHETIC

             In high doses, alcohol produces drunkenness and disorientation and confusion, slurred speech, blurred vision, inadequate muscular control, and often nausea and vomiting.  As larger quantities are ingested, depression of respiration, general anesthesia, and unconsciousness occur, and occasionally, death due to respiratory and circulatory failure.  Few people think of drinking alcoholic beverages as taking anesthetic, but that is what alcohol does; it anesthetizes the drinker.  It might be well to look at the stages of anesthesia:

• Analgesia- lowering of pain
• Excitement- lowering of inhibitions
• Light Sleep- euphoria of “twilight sleep”
• Deep Sleep- unconsciousness
• Coma
• Death

 

The anesthesiologist (M.D.) has careful control in bringing the patient through the stages at will.  The alcoholic does that same thing with alcohol but is unaware of the different stages and therefore becomes intoxicated before he realizes it.  There have been occasions where some younger (and older) people have died as a result of chug-a lugging a bottle of liquor on a dare or taking a series of drinks in rapid succession.

 

 

 

åBreathalyzer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A breathalyzer is a device for estimating Blood Alcohol content (BCA) from a breath sample. "Breathalyzer" is the brand name of a series of models made by one manufacturer of these instruments originally Smith and Wesson, it had became a generalized trademark..

• Law enforcement

Breath analyzers do not directly measure blood alcohol content or concentration, which requires the analysis of a blood sample. Instead, they estimate BAC indirectly by measuring the amount of alcohol in one's breath. Two form factors are most prevalent. Desktop analyzers generally utilize infrared spectrophotometer technology, electrochemical fuel cell technology, or a combination of the two. Hand-held field testing devices, are generally based on electrochemical fuel cell analysis, and depending upon jurisdiction may be used by officers in the field as a form of "field sobriety test" commonly called PBT (preliminary breath test) or PAS (preliminary alcohol screening), or as evidential devices in POA (point of arrest) testing.

• Breath test evidence

- A breathalyzer in action
The breath alcohol reading is used in criminal prosecutions in two ways. Unless the suspect refuses to submit to chemical testing, he will be charged with a violation of the law: it is a misdemeanor throughout the United States to drive a vehicle with a BAC of .08% or higher (.02% in most states for drivers under 21). One exception is the State of Wisconsin, where a first time drunk driving offense is normally a civil ordinance violation. The breathalyzer reading will be offered as evidence of that crime, although the issue is what the BAC was at the time of driving rather than at the time of the test. The suspect will also be charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (sometimes referred to as driving or operating while intoxicated). While BAC tests are not necessary to prove a defendant was under the influence, laws in most states require the jury to presume that he was under the influence if his BAC was over .08% when driving. This is a rebuttable presumption, however: the jury can disregard the test if they find it unreliable or if other evidence establishes a reasonable doubt.
If a defendant refused to take a breathalyzer test, most states allow evidence of that fact to be introduced; in many states, the jury is instructed that they can draw a permissible inference of "consciousness of guilt". Many states also operate under "implied consent", meaning anyone issued a driver's license in the state agrees to submit to a test of his or her breath, blood, or urine when requested by a law enforcement officer. Failure to submit to such a test may result in automatic suspension of his or her driver's license even if not convicted of drunk driving. Failure to submit to such a test may also serve to enhance the penalties for a drunk driving conviction. In drunk driving cases in Massachusetts and Delaware, if the defendant refuses the breathalyzer there can be no mention of the test during the trial
Instruments, such as the intoxilizer 5000, are known as Evidentiary Breath Tests (EBT's) and generally produce court-admissible results. Other instruments, such as the SD-2 by CMI or the Alcosensor III by Intoximeters, are known as Preliminary Breath Tests (PBT's) and their results, while valuable to an officer attempting to establish probable cause for a drunk driving arrest, are generally not admissible in court. Some states don't permit data or "readings" from hand-held PBTs to be presented as evidence in court. They are generally admissible, if at all, only to show the presence of alcohol or as a pass-fail field sobriety test to help determine probable cause to arrest. South Dakota does not permit data from any type or size breath tester but relies entirely on blood tests to ensure accuracy.
åDrunk driving (United States)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Drunk driving is the act of operating and/or driving a motor vehicle the influence of alcohol and/or drugs to the degree that mental and motor skills are impaired. It is illegal in all jurisdictions within the US. The specific criminal offense is usually called driving under the influence [of alcohol and/or other drugs] (DUI), and in some states driving while intoxicated (DWI), operating while impaired (OWI), or operating a vehicle under the influence (OVI). Such laws may also apply to boating or piloting aircraft.
In the United States the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that 17,941 people died in 2006 in "alcohol-related" collisions, representing 41 percent of total traffics death in the US. Over 500,000 people were injured in alcohol-related accidents in the US in 2003. NHTSA defines fatal collisions as "alcohol-related" if they believe the driver, a passenger, or a no occupant of the vehicle (such as a pedestrian or pedalcyclist) had blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.01 or greater. NHTSA defines nonfatal collisions as "alcohol-related" if the accident report indicates evidence of alcohol present. NHTSA specifically notes that "alcohol-related" does not necessarily mean a driver or no occupant was tested for alcohol and that the term does not indicate a collision or fatality was caused by the presence of alcohol. On average, about 60 percent of the BAC values are missing or unknown. To analyze what they believe is the complete data, statisticians simulate BAC information.

åDriving under the influence
Driving under the influence of alcohol (driving while intoxicated, drunk driving, drinking and driving, drink-driving), is the act of operating a motor vehicle (and even a bicycle  boat or horse in some jurisdictions) after having consumed alcohol or other drugs, to the degree that mental and motor skill are impaired. It is a crime in most countries around the world.
4Overview:
In addition to driving under the influence of alcohol and driving under the influence of other drugs, a third "DUI" offense consists of driving under the combined influence of alcohol and other drugs. The drugs causing or contributing to the impairment need not be illegal, but can consist of lawfully prescribed or over-the-counter medication. Anti-drunk-driving advertising campaigns have aimed to raise awareness of the legal situation and the dangers of driving while intoxicated. Drunk-driving is responsible for a large number of deaths, injuries, damage and accidents every year. In most international jurisdictions, anyone who is convicted of injuring or killing someone while under the influence of alcohol or drugs can be heavily fined, as in France, in addition to being given a lengthy prison sentence.
The specific criminal offense may be called, depending on the jurisdiction, driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving while impaired (also DWI), operating while intoxicated (OWI), operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated (OMVI), driving under the influence [of alcohol or other drugs] (DUI), driving under the combined influence of alcohol and/or other drugs, driving under the influence per se or drunk in charge [of a vehicle]. Such laws may also apply to boating (as in Canada), piloting aircraft, and even bicycling in some states such as California.
Historically, guilt was established by observed driving symptoms, such as weaving; administering field sobriety tests, such as a walking a straight line heel-to-toe or standing on one leg for 30 seconds; and the arresting officer's subjective opinion of impairment. Starting with the introduction in Norway in 1936 of the world’s first law which made it an offense to drive with more than a specified amount of alcohol in the body, objective chemical tests have gradually supplemented the earlier purely judgmental ones. Limits for chemical tests are specific for blood alcohol concentration or concentration of alcohol in breath.

 

åSobriety checkpoints
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Sobriety checkpoints or roadblocks involve law enforcement officials stopping every vehicle (or more typically, every nth vehicle) on a public roadway and investigating the possibility that the driver might be impaired to drive. They are often set up late at night or in the very early morning hours and on weekends, at which time the proportion of impaired drivers tends to be the highest.
With a portable and quick alcohol breath test, the police can test all drivers (if the law permits), and process the cars one by one as in a conveyor belt. When there is no quick test, a more complicated routine is necessary. Upon suspicion, the stopped driver is required to exit the vehicle and take a roadside sobriety test that requires the demonstration of both mental and balance skills. If the officer determines that the test has not been passed, the driver is then required to take an alcohol breath test (referred to as a Breathalyzer test in the United States).
åTypical DUI investigation and arrest
Following are common procedures when a law enforcement officer has reason to suspect a driver is intoxicated.

• Reasonable Suspicion to stop

There are several situations in which the officer will come into contact with a driver, some examples are:

• The driver has been involved in an automobile accident; the officer has responded to the scene and is conducting an investigation.
• The driver has been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint (also known as roadblocks).
• The police have received a report, possibly from an anonymous citizen, that a described car has been driving erratically. The officer should verify the erratic driving before pulling the driver over. In some cases, the driver will no longer be in the vehicle.
• The officer on patrol has observed erratic, suspicious driving, or a series of traffic infractions indicating the possibility that the driver may be impaired. This is by far the most common reason for stopping a suspect.
• A police officer has stopped a vehicle for a lesser traffic offense, notices the signs of intoxication, and begins the DUI investigation.
•  
• Investigation

The officer will typically approach the driver's window and ask some preliminary questions. During this phase of the stop the officer will note if they detect any of the following indicators of intoxication

• odor of an alcoholic beverage on the driver's breath or in the car generally
• slurred speech in response to the questioning
• watery, blood shot, and/or reddish eyes
• flushed face
• droopy eyelids
• difficulty in understanding and responding intelligently to question
• fumbling with his driver's license and registration
• the plain-view presence of containers of alcoholic beverages in the vehicle.
• admission of consumption of alcoholic beverage

If the officer observes enough to have a reasonable suspicion to legally justify a further detention and investigation, he will ask the driver to step out of the vehicle. In some states (Texas and Louisiana, for example), if the officer has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to make the stop, the driver can be ordered out of the vehicle at anytime, not just during a DUI investigation.

• Field sobriety tests

The officer will administer one or more field sobriety tests (FSTs). The most commonly administered FSTs include:

• horizontal gaze ntstagmu test (following an object with the eyes to determine characteristic eye movement reaction)
• walk-and-turn (heel-to-toe in a straight line).
• one-leg-stand.
• modified-position-of-attention (feet together, head back, eyes closed for thirty seconds; also known as the Romberg Test
• finger-to-nose (tip head back, eyes closed, touch the tip of nose with tip of index finger).
• recite all or part of the alphabet (a common myth is that the alphabet must be recited backwards, however, this is never done during an FST, as many sober people are unable to do this.).
• touch each finger of hand to thumb counting with each touch (1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 3, 2, 1).
• count backwards from a number such as 30 or 100.
• breathe into a "portable or preliminary breath tester" or PBT.

Although most law enforcement agencies continue to use a variety of these FSTs, increasingly a 3-test battery of standardized field sobriety tests (SFSTs) is being adopted. These tests are recommended by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) after studies indicated other FSTs were relatively unreliable. The NHTSA-approved battery of tests consists of the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, the walk-and-turn test, and the one-leg-stand. In some states, such as Ohio, only the standardized tests will be admitted into evidence, provided they were administered and objectively scored "in substantial compliance" with NHTSA standards (ORC 4511.19(D)(4)(b)).
FSTs are more effective at determining the level of impairment than they are at estimating the driver's blood alcohol concentration (BAC). However, studies question whether the tests increase the officer's ability to judge either. In 1991, Dr. Spurgeon Cole of Clemson University conducted a study on the accuracy of FSTs. His staff videotaped individuals performing six common field sobriety tests, then showed the tapes to 14 police officers and asked them to decide whether the suspects had "had too much to drink and drive". The blood-alcohol concentration of each of the 21 DUI subjects was .00, unknown to the officers. The result: the officers gave their opinion that 46% of these innocent people were too drunk to be able drive. This study showed the possible inaccuracy of FSTs. Cole and Nowaczyk, "Field Sobriety Tests: Are they Designed for Failure?", 79 Perceptual and Motor Skills Journal 99 (1994).
An increasingly used field sobriety test involves having the suspect breathe into a small, handheld breath testing device. Called variously a PAS ("preliminary alcohol screening") or PBT ("preliminary breath test"), the units are small, inexpensive versions of their larger, more sophisticated instruments at the police stations, the EBTs ("evidentiary breath test"). Whereas the EBTs usually employ infrared spectroscopy, the PAS units use a relatively simple electrochemical (fuel cell) technology. Their purpose, along with other FSTs, is to assist the officer in determining probably cause for arrest. Although because of their relative inaccuracy they were never intended to be used in court for proving actual blood-alcohol concentration, some courts have begun to admit them as evidence of BAC.

• Probable cause to arrest

If the officer has sufficient probable cause that the suspect has been driving under the influence of alcohol, he will make the arrest, handcuff the suspect and transport him to the police station. En route, the officer may advise him of his Miranda’s Rights and his legal implied consent obligation to submit to an evidentiary chemical test of blood, breath or possibly urine.

• Chemical test

At the police station, the arrestee will be offered a chemical test of breath, blood or, much less frequently, urine. Breath test results are usually available immediately; urine and blood samples are sent to a lab for later analysis to determine the BAC or possible presence of drugs.
If the arrestee refuses to submit to chemical testing, he will usually be booked for driving under the influence there will be no evidence for filing the second charge of driving with .08% blood alcohol concentration. In some cases the arrestee may be charged with DUI even after passing a breathalyzer test if he or she refuses also to take subsequent urine or blood tests. However, the refusal will carry increased penalties on the driving under the influence charge (typically a longer license suspension and/or an increased jail sentence), and the act of refusing may be admissible in court as evidence of "consciousness of guilt". In an increasing number of jurisdictions, if the suspect refuses to take a chemical test the police in some states may restrain the individual and forcefully withdraw blood; this is particularly common in situations involving an accident with injury or death. In some jurisdictions this may require obtaining a warrant from a judge.
While chemical tests are used to determine the driver's BAC, they do not determine the driver's level of impairment. However, state laws usually provide for a rebuttable legal presumption of intoxication at blood alcohol levels of .08 or higher

The accuracy of breath, blood and urine testing is a subject of some dispute, with various scientific studies indicating unreliable results In any case, breath and urine tests can only estimate the BAC at the time the test is taken, which can be different than when the vehicle was actually operated. Evidence of the BAC at time of driving is often presented in the form of retrograde extrapolation, a questionable process whereby earlier blood alcohol levels are estimated by applying a formula developed in 1932 known as the Widmark factor.

• Booking and charging

If it is determined after arrest that the person's blood alcohol concentration is not at or above the legal limit of .08, they will probably be released without any charges. One may, however, still be charged with driving under the influence of alcohol on the basis of driving symptoms, observed impairment, admissions and/or performance on the field sobriety tests. And if there is suspicion of drug usage, a blood or urine test is likely, or at least the testimony of a specially-trained officer called a Drug Recognition Expert (DRE). Assuming sufficient evidence of impaired driving from drugs, the arrestee may face charges of driving under the influence of drugs or the combined influence of alcohol and drugs.
Most of the time, the driver will either be kept in a holding cell (sometimes referred to as the "drunk tanker” until he is deemed sober enough to be released on bail or on his "own recognizance" ("O.R."). A date to appear in court for an arraignment will be given to him. If he cannot make bail or is not granted O.R., he will be kept in jail to wait for the arraignment on remand.

åLegal guidelines for checkpoint procedures:

In approving "properly conducted" checkpoints, Chief Justice Rehnquist implicitly acknowledged that there must be guidelines in order to avoid becoming overly intrusive. In other words, checkpoints cannot simply be set up when, where and how police officers choose. As often happens in Supreme Court decisions, however, the Chief Justice left it to the states to determine what those minimal safeguards must be, presumably to be reviewed by the courts on a case-by-case basis.
In an effort to provide standards for use by the states, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration subsequently issued a report that reviewed recommended checkpoint procedures in keeping with federal and state legal decisions. ("The Use of Sobriety Checkpoints for Impaired Driving Enforcement", DOT HS-807-656, Nov. 1990) An additional source of guidelines can be found in an earlier decision by the California Supreme Court (Ingersoll v. Palmer (43 Cal.3d 1321 (1987)) wherein the Court set forth what it felt to be necessary standards in planning and administering a sobriety checkpoint:

• Decision making must be at a supervisory level, rather than by officers in the field.
• A neutral formula must be used to select vehicles to be stopped, such as every vehicle or every third vehicle, rather than leaving it up the officer in the field.
• Primary consideration must be given to public and officer safety.
• The site should be selected by policy-making officials, based upon areas having a high incidence of drunk driving.
• Limitations on when the checkpoint is to be conducted and for how long, bearing in mind both effectiveness and intrusiveness.
• Warning lights and signs should be clearly visible.
• Length of detention of motorists should be minimized.
• Advance publicity is necessary to reduce the intrusiveness of the checkpoint and increase its deterrent effect.

 

 

+  Expungement
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
In the common law, legal system an expungement proceeding is a type of lawsuit in which the subject of a prior criminal investigation or proceeding seeks that the records of that earlier process be sealed or destroyed, thereby restoring the subject's name. If successful, the records are said to be "expunged". Black’s Law Directory defines "expungement of record" as the "Process by which record of criminal conviction is destroyed or sealed after the expiration of time." While expungement deals with an underlying criminal record, it is a civil action in which the subject is the petitioner or plaintiff asking a court to declare that the records be expunged.
Each jurisdiction whose law allows expungement has its own definitions of expungement proceedings. Generally, expungement is the process to "remove from general review" the records pertaining to a case. In many jurisdictions, however, the records may not completely "disappear" and may still be available to law enforcement.

• Who can get a court record expunged?

Eligibility for an expungement of an arrest, investigation, detention, or conviction record will be based on the law of the jurisdiction in which the record was made. Ordinarily, only the subject of the record may ask that the record be expunged. Often, the subject must meet a number of conditions before the request will be considered.
Requirements often include:

• Fulfilling a waiting period between the incident and expungement;
• Having no intervening incidents;
• The number of prior incidents;
• The seriousness or type of offense involved in the incident;
• Fulling the terms of any sentence;
• Not having any pending criminal investigation or proceedings;
• That the incident was disposed without a conviction; and
• That the petitioner completes probation without any incidents.

In some jurisdictions, all records on file within any court, detention or correctional facility, law enforcement or criminal justice agency concerning a person's detection, apprehension, arrest, detention, trial or disposition of an offense within the criminal justice system can be expunged. Each state sets its own guidelines for what records can be expunged.  Most jurisdictions have laws which allow - or possibly even require - the expungement of juvenile records once the juvenile reaches a certain age. In some cases, the records are destroyed; sometimes they simply are "sealed." The purpose of these laws is to allow a minor who was accused of criminal acts, or in the language of many juvenile courts, "delinquent acts," to erase his record permanently, usually at the age of 17 or 18. The idea is to allow the juvenile offender to enter adulthood with a "clean slate," shielding him or her from the negative effects of having a criminal record.

”   Comparisons with other Countries

The USA has one of the worst DUI driving accident rates in the developed world while having lower to mid-range rates of alcohol consumption.

The UK has a DUI accident rate less than half the USA, higher alcohol consumption per capita and more or less unlimited 24 hour access to alcohol for teenagers. The crime of DUI manslaughter does not exist in legislations outside the USA and the sentence of causing death by dangerous driving is correspondingly lower, usually 3-4 years for a first offence