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.
One of the main causes of false convictions is bad lawyering. Often time overworked and under-experienced lawyers take on cases they can’t handle leading to an unprepared, weak defense. They are pushed into trial unprepared. This problem is especially pronounced in DUI cases where there is a huge reliance on scientific evidence. Many lawyers advertise them selves as DUI Attorneys but really do not have the proper training to properly defend these cases.
The Innocence Project, list bad lawyering as one of the leading causes of false convictions. Since they have only investigated a small number of death penalty and felony cases, they have only uncovered the tip of the iceberg.
(Video credit to The Innocence Project)
The fact of the matter is, you will have almost no chance of showing the truth in your DUI case if you choose the wrong attorney. At The McShane Firm, our expert Pennsylvania DUI Attorneys prepared every case with the best possible defense and are willing to rigorously fight your case with every inch the law allows.
Please call 1-866-MCSHANE for a free detailed consultation and see the difference.
Unfortunately, some prosecutors hold a “convict at any cost” mentality which causes them to aggressively push for a conviction even when the evidence doesn’t support their case. This causes innocent people to be charged and convicted of crimes they did not commit. This problem is magnified by the fact that there is lack of oversight and transparency and prosecutors use this to their advantage and hide evidence that could support an acquittal.
Prosecutorial Misconduct is a Leading Cause of False Convictions
Take for instance the case of Michael Morton who was convicted for the brutal murder of his wife and spent 25 years in prison before he was exonerated by DNA testing. In this case, prosecutors and investigators hid at least six pieces of evidence that could have lead to Morton’s acquittal in the first trial:
Morrison also said there were six instances where prosecutors and investigators hid non-DNA evidence that could have exonerated Morton from his defense attorney during the original trial.
Morton said the intruder stole his wife’s purse, and Barry Sheck, co-founder of the Innocence Project, said the evidence not turned over to Morton’s original lawyer included information that one of his wife’s credit cards was used two days after her slaying and one of her checks was cashed nine days later.
“I want to know how a dead woman uses a credit card and cashes a check,” he said.
The prosecutors in this case held back crucial evidence and because of they face no consequences. Prosecutors enjoy “sovereign immunity” which is a legal doctrine that means that the State is protected from criminal and civil liabilities, even in the event of gross misconduct. Without any liability, prosecutors have a free hand to engage in corrupt activities and hide evidence. The result is innocent people are behind bars because of this corruption.
This is more reason why you need a strong and experienced trial lawyer to defend your case. If you feel you are being wrongly charged with a crime, please call 1-866-MCSHANE for a free case consultation.
For more on this issue, watch this video from The Innocence Project:
Once of the main causes of false convictions is unreliable or faulty forensic science. Unfortunately, many times the so-called experts who testify on behalf of the prosecution are viewed as real scientists by judges and jurors who themselves often have no formal education in the hard sciences. Thus they are unable to detect the pseudo-science being spewed in the courtroom and end up believing the fairy-tales of the prosecution.
Take a look at the following video and you will see the dangers of bad forensics:
(Video credit to The Innocence Project)
Forensic science reform is an issue that effects us all because the next victim of a false conviction can be anyone, including you or I.
From Pennlive.com:
PA DUI Attorney asks, "How many more innocent people have to go to jail before we wake up to this problem?"
Pennsylvania man awaiting new trial in 1977 double killing can be released on bail, judge rules
PITTSBURGH — A federal magistrate says a western Pennsylvania man can be released on bail while he awaits a new trial in a 1977 double killing for which he was previously sentenced to life in prison.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisa Lenihan on Friday granted 59-year-old David Munchinski approval to live with his daughter near Tampa, Fla. Munchinski’s attorney says he will be taken to a state prison in Pittsburgh and processed for release.
Last month, Lenihan ruled that Munchinski deserves a new trial because she found prosecutors — both now Fayette County judges — withheld evidence that resulted in Munchinski’s 1986 conviction, which the judge called “unworthy of confidence.”
A deputy state attorney general says he has no immediate plans to appeal Munchinski’s release to the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Once again you have a person losing decades of their life because of what a federal judge found to be corrupt prosecutors. As a Pennsylvania criminal defense and DUI attorney, I have dealt with a number of prosecutors and for many of them their mindset is to get a quick conviction- regardless of whether it’s the right conviction. There are some very good and noble ones that are sprinkled among them. Not all prosecutors are bad. But there are enough. One of the greatest injustices that can be done to a human- falsely imprisoning them.
There has to be real penalties for prosecutors who withhold evidence. As of today, there is seldom any penalty except for a short-lived headline such as this. If the federal judge’s findings are true, certainly there should be consequences to these prosecutors. My prediction… nothing will happen. So where is the disincentive against future transgression?
Who is the next victim? How many more are rotting away in prisons for crimes they didn’t commit? Will this ever end?
At The McShane Firm, we are fighting hard to make sure these injustices don’t happen again. The justice system is flawed. Our expert PA DUI attorneys serve as an important check and balance system to ensure our clients’ rights are protected.
If you or a loved one is falsely accused of a Pennsylvania DUI or criminal offense, please call 1-866-MCSHANE.
The U.S. justice system was shaken to its core as Georgia executed a person who may well be innocent. Killing a man under this enormous cloud of doubt is horrific and amounts to a catastrophic failure of the justice system. While many courts examined this case, the march to the death chamber only slowed, but never stopped. Justice may be blind; but in this case, the justice system was blind to the facts.
-Amnesty International
Protesters against the execution of Troy Davis
We recently watched as the State of Georgia executed Troy Davis even while serious doubts remained about his guilt. It was a sad day for our justice system and our country.
Davis was implicated in the 1989 murder of Office Mark MacPhail. The killing of Officer MacPhail is a human tragedy. It is a horrible and cowardly act by someone. Davis, by all accounts, was convicted largely based on witness identification as no gun was recovered in his possession, there was no physical evidence such as fingerprints or DNA to link him to the crime. There is even reports that a viable alternative suspect confessed to the killing. Eyewitness evidence scientifically has been proven to be a leading cause of false convictions. In this case, 7 out of the 9 folks who testified at the trial that convicted Davis who served as eyewitnesses in one form or fashion later at one point or another recanted their stories with some of them even saying that this viable alternative suspect who purported confessed to the killing had threatened them at the time of their original trial and investigation not to implicate him.
According to The Innocence Project:
Misidentification was a factor in 75% of the 273 DNA exonerations. In 38% of these mistaken identification cases, multiple eyewitnesses misidentified the same person.
Here are some of the facts that cast doubt upon Davis’ guilt:
- Seven of the nine original witnesses have since recanted their testimony and some cited police coercion as the reason for their misidentification or the alternative suspect threatening them. Out of the two remaining witnesses, one is widely believed to be the actual killer.
- No DNA evidence has been found linking Davis to the crime.
- No physical evidence has been found linking Davis to the crime.
- The police used unethical tactics to taint witnesses and get them to identify Davis.
- Another man Sylvester Coles admitted to another person that he committed the murder but that witness was ignored.
In light of all of this, I ask was Davis’ guilt proven beyond a reasonable doubt? If we were not sure (and I mean objectively and empirically certain), then why did we execute him?
However, this tragedy has lit a light in the hearts of many people. Now the average person is aware of what we who toil in the soil of the criminal justice system see everyday: the justice system is broken. There are corrupt prosecutors and reckless agenda-driven police officers who can torture the facts and slant the evidence on occasion to convict innocent people everyday, all across America. Whether it’s a speeding ticket, a DUI or a homicide, the police and prosecutors often times have only one goal- to get a conviction, regardless of whether it’s the objectively correct result.
And this is why we lawyers play such an important role in society, by fighting to keep the justice system from committing injustices. I ask all of you to unite against these injustices.
NO MORE! NOT IN MY NAME!
Recently, a woman in Canada was freed from prison after serving 13 years after being wrongfully convicted of killing her two year old son. From the Innocence Blog:
PA DUI Attorney Discusses Wrongful Convictions
Canadian Woman Finally Cleared After 13 Years in Prison
Posted: June 7, 2011 5:49 pm
Tammy Marquardt walked out of an Ontario courtroom fully free for the first time since 1995. Before she was cleared, however, a Superior Court judge offered her an apology.
“I appreciate that my words today may seem inadequate,” Justice Michael Brown told Marquardt after the Crown withdrew the murder charge that had accused her of killing her two-year-old son.
“But I offer to you, Ms. Marquardt, my deepest expression of regret for all you gave endured as a result of the miscarriage of justice in this case. Nothing I can say to you today will repair the damage that has been caused to you.”
Marquardt, 38, told reporters outside the courtroom that her “nightmare is finally over.” She served 13 years in prison before being released on parole two years ago. She was cleared with the help of the Association in Defense of the Wrongly Convicted, a Toronto based organization and a member of the Innocence Network.
AIDWYC has represented several people who were wrongfully convicted based on false testimony from a former medical examiner, Charles Smith, whose work has been discredited in recent years. Smith testified that Marquardt’s son had been strangled or suffocated when evidence instead showed that he died of an epileptic seizure.
It is always a bittersweet moment when I hear about stories like these. While I am happy that this ordeal is over for Ms. Marquardt, I can’t help but feel angry thinking about her losing 13 years of her life because someone who was supposed to help uphold justice lied. She has lost 13 years from her family and friends, 13 years from her career, 13 years of technological and social advancements. No amount of money can possibly compensate her pain and suffering.
What is worse is that she is not the only one. She is just one of the latest of a long list of people who were wrongly convicted. The sheer fact that she received such a long sentencing in the first place, as odd as it sounds, was likely her saving grace. You see the Innocence Project and other like organizations will not consider the case of someone who has received a relatively short sentence such as that of a typical DUI offender. However, the problem is that there are a lot more folks who are accused of a DUI or similar crime everyday in the United States than any other crime. What do you think the chances are of wrongful convictions there? Quite high, I would suggest. So as we sit and ponder this latest victory of the Innocence Project, let’s also pause to think about those who are in fact innocent but because of the length of their sentence or the fact that “it’s only a misdemeanor” will not get attention.
How Can These Wrongful Convictions be Avoided?
First, we need to look at the cause of this conviction. In this particular case medical examiner named Charles Smith (who was featured over on our sister blog “The Truth About Forensic Science” testified that Marquardt’s son had been strangled or suffocated when evidence instead showed that he died of an epileptic seizure. As I have pointed out in the past there are numerous problems with forensics labs including bad practices and lying. Mishandled evidence, incorrect procedures and inaccurate testimony are common problems in criminal cases whether they be homicide cases or DUI. In DUI cases, the problem is more rampant because in most cases the main piece of evidence is the toxicology report. You can protect yourself by choosing a lawyer who is an expert in forensic science and can challenge junk science in court.
This is why it is so important for you to choose the right lawyer to fight your case. If you are facing a DUI in Pennsylvania, you can rest assured that the PA DUI Attorneys of The McShane Firm will challenge the scientific evidence in your case and protect your rights.
Many states around the country are pushing for tougher DUI laws in the upcoming legislative session. There have been debates about this in the Pennsylvania legislator as well. Many times passing tougher penalties for criminal offenses is easy for lawmakers because many voters support stricter consequences for criminal offenses. This stems from the incorrect belief that tougher penalties in and of itself will reduce crime. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. PA DUI laws have grown harsher over time and this has done little to curb the number of people who are making the wrong decisions.
Nevertheless, people wholeheartedly support stricter penalties for DUI, unless of course it is them or their loved ones who stand accused.
Increasing Penalties for PA DUI Can Lead to False Imprisonment
This mentality is very similar to what I witnessed in my 4 years as an elected School Board director for the Central Dauphin School District. One of the most amazing things I dealt with was the issue of School Discipline. Time and again, I would hear from parents about how we should have a zero tolerance policy for any kid who violates even the most trivial of offenses and ruin that kid’s life and expel them. They didn’t see it that way of course. They saw it as “tough love” or “getting rid of the trouble makers” or some similar buzz word or cookie cutter phrase. They would line up every year at the podium when we would adopt the student code of conduct and to much parent fanfare would address us about the need to make more and more categories of offenses in the district’s zero tolerance category.
We got to the point where other Board members, bowing to voter pressure, voted to adopt a policy where even a simple fist fight (one-on-one) and even when there was only one punch was automatic cause for an expulsion. As the rest of the school year progressed, we as the school board would inevitably see, time and again, a few of those same parents who championed the adoption of the zero tolerance policies themselves arguing how the zero tolerance policy should NOT apply to their kid who was caught up in a circumstance or made an error of judgment.
You see everyone is in favor of zero tolerance until it happens to them or a loved one.
The simple fact is that our criminal justice system is broken and as a result many innocent people are arrested and charged with crimes they did not commit. If we, as a society, blindly increase criminal penalties we would actually be doing an injustice. Just take a look at the stories of the 265 plus people exonerated by the Innocence Project which includes 17 people who were on Death Row . For many people, a DUI conviction can be like a death penalty. I have seen Harrisburg residents who were faced with the prospect of their careers being devastated by PA DUI convictions. Fortunately for some of them, we were able to get them acquitted.
It’s very easy to push for tougher DUI laws in PA but keep in mind, the next falsely accused person could be you.
Pennsylvania DUI “Innocence Project”
We Fight Every PA DUI Case With the Goal of Proving Your Innocence
This week a Texan man was exonerated after serving serving 30 years for a rape and robbery he did not commit, by the use of DNA evidence through the help of The Innocence Project. The Innocence Project is a extraordinary and important movement that has to date helped exonerate 265 people who had served an average of 13 years in prison. I am proud to be part of this movement by serving as a litigating attorney for the Pennsylvania Innocence Project. The mission of The Innocence Project:
Our PA DUI Defense is One Way We Support The Innocence Project
The Innocence Project’s mission is nothing less than to free the staggering numbers of innocent people who remain incarcerated and to bring substantive reform to the system responsible for their unjust imprisonment.
At The McShane Firm, we fight everyday to prove the innocence of our clients. We like to think of this firm as our own Pennsylvania DUI Innocence Project.
Unfortunately, the system is broken. There are some crooked police officers in Pennsylvania and many more who are careless or sloppy or remain unchallenged. The breath test machines are quirky and full of errors and are findamnetally based upon a false scientific assumption. The forensic labs conducting the DUI blood tests are not following proper procedures and are producing inaccurate results that are frequently not forensically reliable or scientifically valid. All of these factors and many more contribute to the growing number of innocent people in Pennsylvania who are falsely charged with a DUI.
We understand the legal impact and the financial loss that a PA DUI conviction can incur. That is why our highly trained team of PA DUI Attorneys is ready to take a critical look at the evidence to protect your rights. The first step to saving your future is to call 1-866-MCSHANE and meeting with one of our lawyers for a free consultation about your Pennsylvania DUI case.
Another example of how a corrupt and over-zealous prosecutor can ruin lives:
Jabbar Collins, wrongfully convicted of murdering rabbi 15 years ago, won’t be retried: DA’s office
The Brooklyn district attorney’s office won’t retry a man wrongfully convicted of murdering a rabbi 15 years ago – canceling a hearing into misconduct allegations against a top prosecutor.
Whenever I see a story like this I always have mixed emotions. First, I am happy for Mr. Collins that his ordeal is over and that he is now a free man. However, that joy shortly gives way to anger, frustration and sickness when I think of how long he has suffered. 15 YEARS!
- He has no job and has been out of the workforce for so long it will be extremely difficult for him to find meaningful work. He has lost on on significant wages and possible promotions. He may have been at a really good job by now but he was robbed of all of that.
- He has missed a significant part of the lives of his family. He’s missed out on all of their joys and sorrows, picnics, graduations and everything.
- He never had the chance to witness all the progress that has been made in the past 15 years. The Internet, high tech computing, iPhones, and much more will be foreign to him. He will be utterly lost in a world that has changed drastically over the past 15 years and will struggle to become a part of the community around him.
All of this suffering and the DA’s office has shown no remorse for what has happened, despite the fact that the prosecutor concealed evidence and strong-armed witnesses:
Collins was convicted in 1995 of gunning down Rabbi Abraham Pollack as he collected rent money in a Williamsburg building.
The case was gutted by accusations that prosecutors coerced witnesses to testify at the trial and failed to turn over evidence to the defense. The lead prosecutor was Michael Vecchione, now chief of the DA’s rackets bureau.
A key witness insisted last month that Vecchione threatened to bash him over the head with a table and jail him if he didn’t testify against Collins.
Federal Judge Dora Irizarry agreed to toss the conviction, noting with regret that she did not have the authority to complete the hearing into prosecutorial misconduct.
"I didn’t hear at all any kind of acknowledgment that things were done that shouldn’t have been done," Irizarry said. "I think that’s shameful."
District Attorney Charles Hynes vigorously defended Vecchione and defiantly proclaimed his office would not conduct an internal investigation of the allegations.
Way to go Attorney Hynes. Stick up for your buddy who bullied witnesses and ruined a man’s life. Is this justice? Letting the former DA get away with misconduct? Isn’t there a moral obligation to right the wrongs of the past? Shouldn’t there be an inquiry into this to, at the very least, make sure this doesn’t happen again? How much confidence are we left with for these corrupt DA’s?
I’m not trying to paint every prosecutor as a villain. I have met a number of real genuine and super ethical people on the other side who really want to do the right thing. However, there are some bad apples who abuse their extensive powers and enjoy a lack of oversight that lets them get away with it. They ruin people’s lives by robbing them of their freedom.
It’s a pity and a shame.
-Justin J. McShane, Esquire, Pennsylvania DUI Attorney
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