Law Office of John S. Fotopoulos, P.C.

Every state has its individual set of drunk-driving laws. In some states drunk driving is a crime. There are certain concepts and features common to most states' drunk-driving jurisprudence. Operating a motor vehicle upon the consumption of alcohol or use of drugs may certainly impair a person's judgment and ability to drive safely and that is declared a serious offense. Both criminal and civil penalties for drunk driving can be harsh and often include:

• Loss or suspension of license
• Large fines
• Substance-abuse treatment
• Jail or prison time
• Community service

• Restitution
• Criminal record
• Restrictive probationary license programs, including ignition interlock devices and Cinderella licenses

Your best interest and peace of mind is always our first priority. At Fotopoulos Law, our attorneys are ready to defend you when license suspension, jail time, or hours of community service threaten your freedom. We ensure that your voice is heard and concerns are addressed in a court of law.

The offense of drunk driving goes by a variety of names among the states, including:

• Driving under the influence (DUI)
• Driving while intoxicated (DWI)
• Operating under the influence (OUI)

• Operating while intoxicated (OWI)
• Driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII)
• Driving while under the influence (DWUI)

In the language of the various state statutes, a drunk-driving conviction requires driving or operating a vehicle or motor vehicle.

The requirement of driving or operating implies that the driver must have some sort of control or command of the vehicle. Guilt or innocence may depend on whether the defendant was in fact "driving" in a specific circumstance. What if he or she was just sitting behind the wheel of a car but it was off? What if the defendant was sleeping there? What if the keys were in the defendant's pocket and not in the ignition? What if that car was out of gas and could not be started? What if it was idling? What if it was being towed? Courts across the nation have considered various scenarios and circumstances to determine whether the necessary control over the vehicle was present and the

outcomes vary by state and by the individual circumstances.

Cars, trucks and vans are obviously considered to be vehicles for drunk-driving law purposes. However, people have been convicted of drunk driving while operating motorboats, mopeds, dirt bikes, snowmobiles, electric wheelchairs, golf carts, bicycles and ATVs, although the types of vehicles contemplated differ by state.

Prosecutors prove driver intoxication through a procedure of scientific testing that the individual had indeed consumed an amount of alcohol, such testing may include the use of analysis of the alcohol content in the drivers’ breath or blood. These tests are usually administered by machines. In every state, a person with a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) over .08 is considered legally intoxicated.
Implied-consent laws create the legal presumption that if a person takes advantage of the privilege of driving; he or she automatically consents to state-administered chemical testing to determine his or her BAC. If a driver refuses to take a chemical-alcohol test, his or her driver's license may be revoked or suspended.
BAC test results over the legal limit are usually presumed to be proof of intoxication. However, defendants may challenge the conclusiveness of the results by showing irregularities in the test administration procedure or problems with the test equipment. For example, your lawyer may advise retesting of your breath sample tubes. He or she may be able to obtain exclusion of the original breath test results from the case or even dismissal of the case entirely.

Other types of evidence used by prosecuting attorneys to show intoxication include drivers' statements, witness and police observations of behavior and driving patterns and circumstantial evidence. An example of possibly relevant circumstantial evidence is that a defendant, before driving, spent the afternoon at a party where drinking games were played.
Police also gather important evidence of intoxication by administering standard field sobriety tests (FSTs) at the scenes of traffic stops. Common field sobriety tests include:

• Finger-to-nose test
• One-legged stand
• Walk-and-turn test
• Horizontal-gaze-nystagmus test

• Picking up coins
• Counting backwards
• Reciting the alphabet
• Throwing and/or catching a ball

In the language of the various state statutes, a drunk-driving conviction requires driving or operating a vehicle or motor vehicle.

Driving is a luxury and necessity for many Americans. We rely on such an activity to get to work, to socialize, run errands, etc. A drunk-driving conviction is a serious conviction and can undoubtedly cause your life to change route in an instance. If you face a potential problem with drunk driving, a lawyer can fight for you and help protect your interests and those of your family and loved ones.

· If someone is arrested for drunk driving, most states make the assumption that the person has a drinking problem and they mandate alcohol evaluation, education and treatment before restoring driving privileges.

· If you are convicted of drunk driving, in most states your automobile insurance rates are likely going to go up for at least three years and you will probably be learning at lot about something called SR-22.

· A comprehensive study on the minimum drinking age found that laws prohibiting the consumption of alcohol by people under the age of 21 have significantly reduced alcohol-related fatal vehicle crashes.

· How long can a person legally be held if pulled over on a Friday night, with Monday being a holiday? Normally they must call an attorney within forty-eight hours of arrest. On a situation like a holiday, they must call the attorney by Tuesday. It is legal to hold a person for seventy-two hours, if it is the weekend or a holiday.

· When a female is driving alone at night, if she is pulled over, can she legally not pull over for fear of danger, can she wait until another officer shows up, or call a dispatcher to find out if it is a real officer behind her? Yes. You do not need to pull over until you reach a populated area. Turn on the flashers to indicate that you will pull over once you reach a well lit area.

· What is case of first impression? Criminally; no matter how bad the action was, if there is no law, the case is dismissed. Civilly; if there is no defined law, the courts can go back in history and research older cases to make up a new law and apply it to that case. A single even can be trialed civilly and criminally. Try defendant in a criminal court case first, then try in civil court, with a guilty verdict, use paperwork to prove, and then argue how much money you should get

· State drunk driving laws that allow the immediate suspension of a driver's license for failing a breath test save 800 lives a year and serves as a deterrent to driving while intoxicated, according to a comprehensive, 26-year study.

· If the police have been called to a specific residence numerous times over the years; and domestic violence was suspected yet there were never any arrests, can that be evidence in court? Yes, it would launch a DSS investigation.