James E. Novak
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Misconduct with Weapons and DUI enforcement top police priority list.

The Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety (AGOHS) is working closely with law enforcement agencies to conduct DUI task forces in Phoenix, Tempe, Mesa, Chandler and Gilbert AZ, this July 4, 2013 weekend.

According to the recent statistics reported by the National Centers for Disease Control (NCDC) nearly one third of all fatal auto accident were the result of impaired driving; and according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), one in every three people will be involved in an impaired driving motor vehicle accident. According to MADD, the average drunk driver gets behind the wheel to drive at least 80 times before they are arrested for their first DUI.

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AZ High Court uses “constructive possession” standard in reverse-sting operation case.

In State of Arizona v. Keven Ottar and Ruan Junior Hamiliton, recently, the Arizona Supreme Court affirmed the Appeals Court decision to continue prosecution of Marijuana Possession charges, even though the defendants did not leave with the drugs.

The case involved a “reverse-sting” operation where law enforcement officials went undercover and acted as dealers to sell illegal drugs, rather than buying them.  The defendants met with undercover detectives who agreed to sell a large quantity of Marijuana to the defendants. The defendants and undercover detectives completed most of all transactions of the sale. However, the defendants were arrested before they could leave with the drugs. Given this was a reverse-sting operation detectives did not allow the defendants to actually take and leave with the Marijuana. Multiple charges were handed down in the arrests, including Marijuana Possession charges.

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Measure would also liberalize Arizona’s strict Marijuana DUI laws. 

An initiative filed by “Safer Arizona”, seeks to legalize all forms of Marijuana for adults in Arizona. The words “We’re gonna legalize it” which appears on their website indicates their mission to end all Marijuana prohibition in Arizona.

The petition requires 259,213 signatures which need to be submitted before July 3, 2014, in order to be put on the November 2014 ballot in Arizona.

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“State of Arizona v. Hon. Jane A. Butler and Tyler B” Decision: The Impact of the AZ Supreme Court’s Ruling on Arizona Drivers.

In an unprecedented ruling, the Arizona Supreme Court rejected the Prosecution’s holding that all motorists who drive in Arizona, give their absolute voluntary consent to DUI breath or chemical testing, solely due to the existence of the “Implied Consent” traffic law A.R.S. 28-1321; and that the voluntary consent by a juvenile is not absolute.

This case involved a 16-year-old student who was accused of driving to school under the influence of Marijuana. The student was detained when after school security reported a strong odor of Marijuana in the vehicle, and drug paraphernalia in plain view inside the vehicle. The Court records revealed that the student agreed to have A DUI blood test, only after being handcuffed by police, informed of the existence of the Implied Consent Law, and then instructed that he was required to submit to the DUI chemical test.

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“All gave some; some gave all”.

1. Observance of Memorial Day began after the Civil War, in remembrance of those 620,000 who lost their lives in the deadliest war ever to occur on U.S. soil.

2. Out of the total number of deaths in the Civil War, a majority of the deaths, 400,000, resulted from disease. Combat resulted in 220,000 deaths.

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It is estimated that nearly 10,000 people die, 200,000 people are injured, due to DUI involved collisions every year. To combat the problem, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recently announced 19 recommendations to reduce DUI fatalities across the country.

A recommendation that has gained much attention is lowering the legal limit of 0.08% Blood Alcohol Limit (BAC) in all states to 0.05 percent. Currently all states have a 0.08% legal limit. At least 100 countries in the world have a 0.05% limit. A spokesperson for the NTSB reported studies that clearly show motorists with a 0.05% BAC or will experience driving impairments that include a decline in cognitive and vision functions.  This increases their risk of causing or being involved in motor vehicle collisions resulting in fatality or serious injuries.

Some studies show on average a person weighing 120 pounds or under, may reach .05% BAC after just one drink of intoxicating liquor, and a person weighing 160 pounds or under may reach the 0.05% limit after only two drinks. However, this can vary by gender; metabolism rate; alcohol tolerance; food or absent food; medications; and other factors that exist.

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On April 17, 2013, The U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Missouri v. McNeely, siding with the lower courts’ decisions in a 5-4 ruling to suppress DUI evidence from being used against the defendant.

The case involved a DUI stop, following a moving traffic violation. After questioning, the driver was arrested for suspicion of DUI, after he refused to submit to a DUI breath and blood test.

Following the arrest he was transported to a nearby hospital where a DUI blood test was taken by a lab technician, at the direction of the police officer. The blood test was conducted without the driver’s consent, and in absence of a warrant. The police officer made no attempt to obtain a warrant to collect the blood for the DUI investigation.

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Police may soon be able to conduct roadside testing for impaired driving due to Marijuana and numerous other drugs.

Currently, drug and Marijuana DUI can only be detected in a driver’s blood stream through chemical testing such as DUI blood or urine tests. These methods are intrusive, and sometimes take weeks for the results to be processed.

The new hand-held drug DUI detection device was designed by scientists in Sweden and known as “SensAbues”. It works much like an alcohol breath test which requires the subject to breath into a mouthpiece to enable the filtration and entrapment of certain particles to be examined by police.

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In 2012, Tempe Police made 2,479 arrests or issued citations for illegal consumption by minors. The legal drinking age in Arizona is 21.

Students make a large portion of the Tempe population. Spring semester brings with it graduations, celebrations, prom, sporting events and other festivities. The ASU and Tempe Police brace themselves and prepare diligently to arrest offenders for violations of curfew, fake IDs, minor consumption, disorderly conduct, and other crimes that often surround festivities.

But other charges such as DUI, Underage 21 DUI, assault, and aggravated assault charges also surround parties, and other spring-time festivities. These are more serious crimes, and severe penalties, including jail or even prison terms, large fines, fees, probation, loss of driver’s license, and more, especially when they are classified as felonies.

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Some studies show that an estimated 15 to 33 percent of fatal crashes may involve drowsy driving.

In a recent survey reported by the National Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Institute of Medicine on average, an alarming 5% of respondents reported falling asleep at the wheel, 30 days prior to the survey.

Drowsy Driving is often mistaken for alcohol or drug related DUI resulting in arrest. This is due to the fact that signs of alcohol or drug impaired driving, and drowsy driving share similar characteristics. These signs include but are not limited to slower reaction time; reduced attentiveness behind the wheel; and impaired decision making skills. All of these can lead to serious and fatal accidents or mistaken alcohol or drug impairments.

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Contact Information
Law Office of James Novak, PLLC
4500 S Lakeshore Dr #352
Tempe, AZ 85282
Phone: (480) 413-1499Text: (602) 908-8123

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