Total DUI

Widely criticized Chicago Bears running back Cedric Benson was arrested over the weekend for DUI, despite the fact that he wasn't driving.  Of course, you don't have to be driving a car to be arrested for DUI—usually operating any kind of motorized vehicle under the influence will do the trick.

While out boating with friends in his home state of Texas, Benson's watercraft was stopped for a safety check by the Lower Colorado River Authority.  Benson's DUI arrest had an unusual level of drama for a DUI stop, due to the fact that he was reportedly attacked with pepper spray and roughed up a bit after allegedly resisting arrest.  Benson claims that others on his boat were drinking, but that he was not, and was not drunk at the time of his arrest.

Benson was charged with resisting arrest and drunken boating.  He'll get his chance to defend his DUI charge in court; there is no word on how the arrest will affect Benson's status with his employers, the Chicago Bears.

With the dangers of drunken driving so obvious, it's no surprise to often come across stories in the media about the latest efforts to curb DUI and bolster arrests and convictions. The latest story involves a device that records the eye movements of DUI suspects during the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test -- more commonly thought of as when an officer tracks the eye movements of a DUI suspect.

Learn more about this device--dubbed the HawkEye--in the following story. While the story does a nice job of describing what this device does, it does miss on an important point: that such technology is far from a slam-dunk in terms of proving DUI, despite what some may claim.

When it comes to field sobriety tests like HGN, the One-Leg Stand Test and the Walk and Turn (WAT) test and how they may apply in your case, getting in touch with a local DUI attorney is a smart way to gauge truth from fiction. To speak with a DUI attorney in your area, feel free to fill out our DUI case evaluation form.

In many DUI cases, the results of the breath test administered at the time of arrest are considered strong evidence. But how accurate are breathalyzers, really? Maybe not as accurate as you (or your arresting officer) once thought. Check out the details here.

Smoking bans in bars and restaurants have seemed to be a vogue way to make such establishments more appealing and healthy places to people who may be turned off by such "vices." With that said, a recent study indicates that smoking bans are producing a surprising and unintended effect: a rise in fatal DUI crashes.

Don't see the connection? Check out the article below to get a better understanding of this relationship:

• Smoking Bans Contribute to Rise in Fatal DUI Crashes, Study Finds.  

While DUI penalties vary from state to state, it is important to know that they most often increase after a first conviction. Some states have DUI laws in which multiple convictions can lead to longer driver's license suspensions, prison sentences or time spent with ignition interlock devices installed in vehicles, as just a couple of examples.

This point about increased DUI penalties for multiple convictions is especially clear in the recent case of a 53-year-old Texas man, who may now spend the rest of his living years in prison following his tenth DWI conviction:

• Texas Man Convicted of 10th DWI May Die Behind Bars.

If you're facing a DUI charge and are worried about possible penalties and prison time, don't wait any longer to get in touch with a local DUI lawyer.

A Tucson woman, Melissa Arrington, was charged with negligent homicide and two counts of aggravated DUI after she swerved off the road in her car to hit a cyclist, Paul L'Ecuyer, in December 2006.

Arrington could have been stuck with a minimum sentence of four years, but the judge didn't hesitate to give her a much higher sentence of 10.5 years, one year less than the maximum, for a phone call that was played at trial that he called "breathtaking in its inhumanity."

According to court records and news reports, in the phone call a friend said that a mutual lfriend said Arrington should be applauded for the incident, saying she should get a parade and a medal for "taking out" a "tree hugger, a bicyclist, a Frenchman and a gay guy all in one shot."  Arrington responded with a laugh, and when her friend admitted that it was a terrible thing to say, Arrington replied, "No, it's not."

How you behave in the court room and your contrition for your actions can go a long way in convincing the judge that you regret your DUI and the illegal or damaging actions that resulted.  The judge in this case obviously thought that Arrington's laugh indicated she wasn't remorseful for her actions.

Here's another guide to what NOT to do in a court of law, courtesy of one New York man who told the judge at trial that he was "bored"!!!

Kiefer Sutherland, who was jailed nearly two months ago for violating a DUI probation by, you guessed it, driving under the influence again, was released yesterday from the Los Angeles County jail.  Sutherland had pleaded no contest to having a blood alcohol content (BAC) above the legal limit of 0.08, which netted him 30 days in the clink, plus another 18 for the violation of probation.

However, the production of the hit TV show "24," which features Sutherland as inimitable and intimidating special agent Jack Bauer, has been halted due to the Writer's Guild of America's writer's strike.

Read the story of Kiefer Sutherland's DUI arrest at Total DUI!   Also, read an open letter to celebrities who have been arrested for DUI!

An article published last October in USA Today recounts the increasingly common sight of breathalyzers administered at high schools social functions such as sports events and dances.

High school administrators have found the small breath test devices to be a cheap and publicly-visible way to deter students from trying to attend social events drunk or with alcohol.  Peer pressure, the shame of testing positive in front of friends, is touted as a motivating factor behind the effectiveness of the portable breathalyzer.

While civil rights groups warn that if students are tested without "reasonable suspicion" and prior approval, it may be a violation of civil rights, schools often draft consent forms that students sign if they are to have the privilege of attending social functions.

Read more about two new high schools that are embracing this popular new tactic to stop DUI and underage drinking, at Total DUI!

It's hardly news that underage teenagers have drinking parties, unfortunately.  But this one has a bit of a twist.

Sheriff's deputies in Florence, Wisconsin were alerted to an underage drinking party.  When they arrived, a vehicle was leaving the alleged party.  When a deputy followed the vehicle, he found it in a ditch less than a mile down the road, with the occupants out of sight in the nearby woods.

Several more vehicles coming from the direction of the party, and officers duly stopped each vehicle.  One of the vehicles, however, sped off after being ordered to stop, leading the deputies on a high-speed chase for a few minutes before slamming into a snow bank in a hay field.

Five of the teens either surrendered or were captured shortly after, though deputies continued searching for a while to round up all eight teens that had spilled from the car.  Eventually, the deputies left.  Without shoes on, three of the teens stayed all night in the unheated vehicle after hiding out somewhere in the hay field.

The three suffered frostbite and were taken to a local hospital, where officers did finally catch up to them.  A total of seven minors in possession of alcohol citations were issued to the partygoers.

For more crazy DUI stories like this one, check out Total DUI's crazy DUI page.

News from Portsmouth, New Hampshire calls attention to a potential thorn in the side of the extremely popular DUI sobriety checkpoint that law enforcement officials have used with some frequency across the nation over the past few years.

Sobriety checkpoints are placed along stretches of the road that have a high incidence of drunk driving, especially during heavy drinking periods, such as weekends and holidays.

Typically, a sobriety checkpoint works in one of two ways: either police officers employ a quick breath test and the drivers for each car that passes are tested, or officers will stop only certain drivers for sobriety tests.

The problem of Portsmouth stems from a series of such roadblocks set up in July 2005.  The local Seacoastonline reports that the DUI arrests made during the five-agency team effort are languishing in courts.

Instead of DUI charges, the plea agreements so far have involved reckless driving pleas with a small fine and short suspension of license (generally, just a couple of months).  If the remaining please hold form, the end result of the roadblock effort will be NOT ONE DUI conviction.

Of course, roadblocks have faced scrutiny for allegations of unconstitutionality, since officers are stopping and investigating cars and drivers without cause.  The United States Supreme Court found that that sobriety checkpoints are constitutional, but eleven states have individually outlawed them.

Read more at Total DUI about the challenges to DUI checkpoints.

Of course, the Portsmouth case could warrant a different kind of scrutiny.  If they're questionable under civil rights laws, and ALSO unable to convict DUI suspects, then how effective are they anymore?