In my years of defending DUI cases in Pennsylvania, one of the most common misconceptions I come across is people questioning why I support DUI. The fact of the matter is, I don’t support drunk driving. It is dangerous and many lives are needlessly lost because of DUI each year. Asking a DUI defense attorney “why they support DUI” is akin to asking The Innocence Project “why they support murders.” Criminal defense attorneys do not support or encourage crime, they support and encourage justice.
PA DUI Attorney fights against injustice.
As a DUI defense attorney, I call for reform in the justice system because too many people are being falsely arrested and falsely convicted of DUI. They are too many problems that are going unchecked that undermine the justice system and put all of us at risk of a false conviction. Some of these problems include:
- Police officers who have very little training in DUI detection
- Faulty and inaccurate breath testing equipment
- Lack of oversight to ensure DUI testing equipment is working properly
- Field sobriety tests that are not scientifically validated
- Field sobriety tests do not tell whether the suspect is intoxicated- there are many people who may stumble when asked to stand on one leg for 30 seconds for reasons other than being drunk
- Blood testing is inaccurate
- Crime lab technicians are overworked, under-trained and many lack education in science to begin with
- Rampant lack of oversight in crime labs
- Corrupt police officers try to inflate DUI arrests for their own personal gain
- Prosecutors have been known to conceal evidence
On top of all of these uncertainties, the penalties for DUI are extremely harsh and will affect those convicted for the rest of their lives even if it is the only blemish on their criminal record. They may end losing job opportunities and will be humiliated when anyone searches their criminal record for the rest of their lives.
As a professional Pennsylvania DUI attorney I fight for justice so that innocent people are not convicted of a DUI under such unreliable circumstances.
Save yourself from a False Pennsylvania DUI
Over the holidays, many Pennsylvania drivers will be stopped by police for DUI. Law enforcement is a human endeavor and police officers are prone to mistakes which can lead to false arrest. As citizens fit is up to you to arm yourself with knowledge of the law so you can protect yourself against a false DUI.
This is why The McShane Firm has put together a guide to help educate you on your rights and how you should use them. Please read: What to Do if You’re pulled over for DUI in PA.
If you need professional advice on a DUI or criminal matter, please contact the Pennsylvania DUI attorneys at The McShane Firm at 1-866-MCSHANE.
We all want to trust the police and see them as upright protectors of justice. While many police officers are very professional and take their responsibility very seriously, there are others who are corrupt and use unscrupulous tactics that harm the common citizen.
Bad cops exist everywhere and there is no shortage of them in Pennsylvania. Some of them will even go as far as to lie under oath:
Pennsylvania Police Officer Admits to Lying Under Oath in DUI Case
Ex-cop admits lying in DUI case
HERMITAGE — As a citizen, Raymond Bogaty wants to believe the police.
“We all want to believe the police,” he said.
But, as Mercer County Public Defender, Bogaty has occasionally suspected that a story told by a policeman has not been the whole truth.
“I’ve been doing this for 37 years,” he said. “You always have concerns about truthfulness. You, at times, suspect the truth is not being told.”
Still, it’s rare to catch a policeman in a lie, or to get an admission that someone has lied, he said.
That unusual event occurred Tuesday when Mercer County District Attorney Robert G. Kochems and Hermitage Police Chief Patrick B. McElhinny released statements saying that Hermitage patrolman Dennis Best had admitted lying under oath in a 2008 case.
Criminal justice is intrinsically a human endeavor and due to the lack of transparency and oversight when it comes to the police, the situation is ripe for honest mistakes, purposeful and conscious misleading actions (lies) and even corruption. This can lead to false conviction if we do not successfully expose the lies and mistakes in the police officer’s account. This is why it is important to have an attorney who had trial experience in DUI cases and who has the guts to cross-examine the police.
If you feel the police have violated your rights call The McShane Firm to protect your freedom and liberty. Call 1-866-MCSHANE.
If you were one of the many who hit the Pennsylvania roadways this weekend, you probably noticed the increased police presence as part of Pennsylvania’s DUI enforcement efforts. However, one of the side effects of these DUI operations is that police officers are in the mindset to make arrests and thus make a high number of false DUI arrests.
False DUI arrest PA
The Pennsylvania DUI lawyers at The McShane Firm have fought many DUI cases and shown that faulty equipment, improper laboratory work and under-trained police officers are all common causes for false DUI arrests. We always offer a rigorous and thorough defense to protect the rights of our clients and get them the best possible result.
If you were the many people who were charged with a Pennsylvania DUI this holiday weekend act now by calling 1-866-MCSHANE. You are entitled to a free detailed consultation with one of our highly trained PA DUI Attorneys in which we will explain the charges against you, review the evidence and help you chart out a course of action.
The McShane Firm has the knowledge, experience and dedication to fight your case to the finish.
More disturbing reports out of NYC where narcotics police are being investigated for making false arrests to meet quotas:
NY Police officers planted drugs on innocent people to meet arrest quotas
We fabricated drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas, former detective testifies
A former NYPD narcotics detective snared in a corruption scandal testified it was common practice to fabricate drug charges against innocent people to meet arrest quotas.
The bombshell testimony from Stephen Anderson is the first public account of the twisted culture behind the false arrests in the Brooklyn South and Queens narc squads, which led to the arrests of eight cops and a massive shakeup.
Anderson, testifying under a cooperation agreement with prosecutors, was busted for planting cocaine, a practice known as “flaking,” on four men in a Queens bar in 2008 to help out fellow cop Henry Tavarez, whose buy-and-bust activity had been low.
“Tavarez was … was worried about getting sent back [to patrol] and, you know, the supervisors getting on his case,” he recounted at the corruption trial of Brooklyn South narcotics Detective Jason Arbeeny.
“I had decided to give him [Tavarez] the drugs to help him out so that he could say he had a buy,” Anderson testified last week in Brooklyn Supreme Court.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/10/13/2011-10-13_excop_we_fabricated_drug_raps_for_quotas.html#ixzz1agAYdKdH
The detective goes on to say that such practices were commonplace and that the police had “no emotion with it”. A federal judge presiding over the case said that the NYPD’s plagued by “widespread falsification” by arresting officers.
These police officers, the ones entrusted to protect us and our families have committed crimes that are so corrupt they shake the foundations of our justice system. Imagine being totally innocent and just enjoying a good time with friends when you are suddenly arrested for buying cocaine?! What kind of emotional distress did these innocent people suffer?
It’s time to really clean up our law enforcement. There needs to be transparent and independent oversight and strict penalties for those officers violating the rights of citizens.
With cops like these, who needs criminals?
Pennsylvania DUI Arrest Statistics
I recently came across some statistics about DUI arrests in York County:
York County ranks seventh in Pa. DUI arrests
York County had one of the highest rates of DUI arrests in the state from 2008-10.
But authorities aren’t sure whether that means the number of people who decided to drive under the influence is up or if police are getting better and more vigilant at tracking down offenders.
See the troubling thing with arrest numbers is they don’t tell the whole story. For example if police officer A makes 100 DUI arrests of which 60 resulted in convictions while officer B made 50 DUI arrests in which 48 resulted in convictions, who is the better officer? If you go by just arrest numbers, then officer A. This why arrest statistics can be very misleading.
Another aspect to take into consideration is today there are more DUI focused patrols and DUI checkpoints in PA than ever before. One of the problems with this approach is officers are “geared up” to make DUI arrests and this can lead to biased judgment calls and higher frequency of false arrests. Drowsy and clumsy drivers end up getting charged with DUIs because that is what the officers on those patrols are psychologically set to look for.
DUI is a problem that effects many lives and has many victims. There are those who are injured or killed in DUI related accidents and their loved ones and also those who are falsely arrested for DUI. In both cases you have innocent people who lives have been shattered needlessly and senselessly. My only wish is that we could use law enforcement practices that protect innocent citizens from both outcomes: being a victim of a DUI accident and being a victim of a false DUI arrest.
If you are a victim of a false DUI arrest, please call the PA DUI attorneys at The McShane Firm for a free case consultation at 1-866-MCSHANE.
DUI are cases are very complex. Most of the time, the only evidence is the opinion of a bias police officer and a reading from a blood or breath test. Unfortunately, this opinion evidence coupled with bad technology leads to far too many false DUI arrests. Here as an excellent editorial on the causes for false DUI arrests:
- Portable breath tests are one of the major reasons for false DUI arrests in Pennsylvania
Innocent often fall victim to DUI laws
I have noted some of the highlights of the article below:
- The American Medical Association, at the request of the Department of Transportation, originally deemed impaired driving to occur at a 0.15 blood alcohol level. Today, half that level — 0.08 — is considered impaired and illegal. The human body hasn’t changed during that time, but Mothers Against Drunk Driving has become a political force that no politician dares question. Driving While Intoxicated has become Driving Under the Influence. The range of acceptable drinking and driving is much more narrow.
- A Colorado study showed that 20 percent of those arrested for DUIs had legal blood alcohol levels. The problem is that residual alcohol in your mouth can distort the results of the unreliable portable breathalyzers police often use to make an arrest.
- Applying the Colorado study to Mississippi, 6,500 innocent Mississippians are arrested for DUI each year. Many lack the knowledge or money to fight the charge and just plead guilty. For the innocent, the personal cost of an undeserved DUI is immense: Lost reputations, job opportunities and the 90-day license suspensions. Car insurance rates skyrocket. A DUI often ends up costing $15,000. If police followed the rules, they would never give a breath test without waiting for at least 20 minutes. But Mississippi police are not that patient, especially when quotas need to be met and $30 million in fines is on the line.
With Labor Day weekend coming up, Pennsylvania drivers will be facing an increased number of DUI checkpoints and DUI focused patrols. Inevitably, many, many innocent people will be falsely arrested for DUI in PA as a result of the Stay Sober or Get Pulled Over” crackdown.
If you or a loved one is arrested for DUI in Pennsylvania, call 1-866-MCSHANE for a free consultation with the most experienced DUI attorneys in Pennsylvania. Our lines are open 24 hours a day to help and support you.
Pennsylvania State Police has reported its DUI arrest numbers for 2010:
PA DUI Attorney Discusses Arrest Statistics
HARRISBURG, Pa., April 21, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Pennsylvania State Police made a record number of arrests for driving under the influence in 2010, while the number of alcohol-related crashes investigated by troopers dropped slightly, Commissioner Frank Noonan announced today.
“Protecting the public is the highest priority for the Pennsylvania State Police,” Noonan said. “Taking impaired drivers off the road is one of the best ways to keep our citizens safe.”
Troopers made 17,695 DUI arrests in 2010, an increase of nearly 5 percent over the 16,900 DUI arrests reported the previous year. It was the ninth consecutive year in which the number of DUI arrests by state police increased.
The problems with these statistics are they are numbers that don’t tell the whole story. For example a grade school hires a new principal to improve discipline at the school. So the new principal roams the halls with a pocket full of detention slips and hands them out for laughing loudly (causing a disruption) and being fractions of seconds late to class. Detention halls are packed and suspension and expulsion numbers increase. The new principal cites these statistics in front of the school board as proof of achievement of better discipline. Has the increased penalties really improved discipline in the school?
This is exactly what is happening on roadways across PA. Police officers with the singular focus of “hunting for drunks” roam our roadways searching for the faintest signs that someone is DUI when in fact the behavior of the driver in question can be attributed to tiredness or other distractions. If you throw on top of that quasi-scientific tests that are not accurate, precise and true, it becomes really dangerous out there for the legal social drinker. The cops make a high number of arrests to prove they did a good job when in fact maybe of those arrested were not DUI and were falsely accused.
Would any reasonable person, when informed about the truth of the whole affair, say, “Well statistics don’t lie?”
Henry Clay once said, “Statistics are no substitute for judgment.” I fully agree with this, especially after dealing with the high number of false DUI arrests produced by the police in PA. Statistics don’t tell the whole story and in this case, increased arrest numbers do not prove any improvement in law enforcement.
Can You be Charged with a DUI for Drinking Non-Alcoholic Drinks like Kombucha Tea?
Non-alcoholic drinks can cause false DUI arrests.
Non-alcoholic drinks are classified as those drinks that have an alcohol content of .5%. There have been some reports that show that the alcohol level in Kombucha tea can be sometimes higher. Drinks like Kombucha tea and non-alcoholic malts can potentially cause someone to be charged with a DUI for a number of reasons:
- Many drivers like CDL drivers, bus drivers and people under the age of 21 are at risk of being falsely charged because PA DUI Laws set the BAC limit for these drivers at .02. In some cases, non-alcoholic drinks can cause a reading above this threshold without the driver even knowing it or even feeling it.
- There is a common myth called “the smell of alcohol.” Police officer often state that they “smelled alcohol” on the breath of an individual and cite that as evidence for a DUI. In reality, this smell of alcohol is not unique to alcohol and certainly even if present doesn’t mean someone is drunk. The reported smell is the odor of other substances in alcoholic beverages. Many of these substances are also present in non-alcoholic malts and brews meaning that a non-alcoholic beer will smell the same as an alcoholic one. This fact is lost on many police officers and they commonly use this as basis to make a DUI arrest.
As I have mentioned on this blog before, there are many factors that cause false DUI charges and even non-alcoholic drinks can sometimes create a situation where, when coupled with other factors such as the lack of police training, the inaccuracy of breath testing equipment, and contextual bias can lead to a false DUI arrest.
If you have been wrongly arrested for a DUI in PA. Please call the experienced Pennsylvania DUI lawyers at The McShane Firm at 1-866-MCSHANE.
[Blogger's note and update 3/23/2011: We have been up-to-date on this developing story. The issue as far as we see it is going to effect literally thousands of convictions. The "issue" goes back to the switch over to the Intoxilyzer 8000 which occurred in September 2009.]
When I tell people that I am a PA DUI Lawyer, I am often times met with disdain because people think that everyone charged with a DUI is really guilty. This is really not the case as I have pointed out many times on this blog. There are many innocent people who are charged with PA DUI violations due many factors. One of these factors is bad breath testing equipment.
Pennsylvania Police are Wrongly Charging People with PA DUI violations
Philly Flunks Own Breathalyzer Test
Dozens of DUI cases in Philadelphia are set to be re-tried because of a bad breathalyzer, officials said on Wednesday.
Apparently, one breathalyzer used by police was showing incorrect blood-alcohol levels, MyFoxPhilly reports.
The district attorney’s office says in cases where people were found guilty solely because of the test, they will get a new trial.
In cases where other evidence was obtained, such as witness testimony or blood test, those defendants would not be reevaluated.
The problem could affect about 200 convictions.
Keeping a breath machine properly calibrated is really not that difficult. There are routine checks that need to be made and if there are problems, the manufacturers offer support. That is why this gross negligence is so appalling. This recklessness shows that these officers do not care about performing good police work. We are trusting cops who can’t keep their breath machines in order to keep our families and communities safe.
As an experienced Pennsylvania DUI attorney, I have witnessed the attitude of our police force on many occasions. I have also blogged extensively on the problems with police in PA in a DUI context. The core issue is that there are a lot of police officers who are under-trained, a few are lazy, and others are careless. They are wrongly charging innocent people with DUI. It is then up to us PA DUI attorneys to protect the rights of the citizen accused.
If you are wrongly charged with a DUI in PA please call 1-866-MCSHANE for a free detailed consultation.
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