January 2, 2007 -- 5th District Reverses Ohio DUI (urinalysis) Conviction - Failure to Refrigerate Sample - The defendant's urine sample was not refrigerated for 17 hours (time of collection to time of mailing).  The Court of Appeals cited State v. Mayl and concluded that a 17 hour deviation from ODH regulations is not substantial compliance. 

SPEEDING: What is the law?

• The speed law is set forth at Ohio Revised Code 4511.21.  It states:
  
  (A) No ...   more »

According to All About Beer Magazine, alcohol can be a boon to the health of the elderly (All About Beer Magazine, Volume 23 Number 3,July 2002). A study conducted in New Haven, CT, between 1982-1996 found that moderate alcohol consumption was associated with decreased risk of heart failure among the elderly.

Dr. Jerome L. Abramson of Emory University and his team of researchers studied 2,235 elderly men and women with an average age of 74. They found that compared to non-drinkers, those in the group who drank at least 1.5 drinks daily had a 20-50 percent less chance to develop heart failure.

Another study on the effects of drinking alcohol and aging conducted in Germany also found that alcohol was good for the heart. Dr. Wolfgang Koenig of the University of Ulm's German Center for Research on Aging published a report in the July 2001 issue of Epidemiology. Dr. Koenig and his researchers studied 800 men and women, one-third of whom had established heart and blood vessel problems. Blood samples were collected and the results showed that alcohol improves the balance of lipids (fats) in the blood, and reduces blood's tendency to clot.

It turned out that alcohol drinkers had higher levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, often called the "good" cholesterol, which is a protective form of blood fat. The alcohol drinkers also had lower levels of fibrinogen, a protein that promotes blood clots, as well as elevated levels of other molecules (platelets) that prevent the clotting and stickiness of blood cells.

 

Spirits sales at Ohio's 440 contract liquor agencies rose $25 million, or 3.7 percent, to a record high of $697.7 million in the fiscal year that ended June 30, state officials said.

And it wasn't just because the booze was more expensive: Total gallons of spirituous liquor sold in 2008 was 10.3 million gallons, an increase of more than 143,000 gallons, or 1.4 percent, over fiscal 2007.

The state defines liquor as intoxicating drinks with alcohol levels of over 21 percent, or 42 proof.

The state controls liquor prices and collects taxes and fees. The liquor control division generated $298 million in fiscal 2008, including $167 million for the state's General Revenue Fund, state officials said.

Source: http://www.daytondailynews.com/n/content/oh/story/news/local/2008/08/20/ddn082008liquorsalesweb.html

Today, Mike McConnell of 700 WLW had on the director of Mother's Against Drunk Driving.  Predictably she decried the possibility of treating 18 year-olds like adults and letting them drink beer by reducing the drinking age (as advocated by a group of college administrators).  She went as far as saying adult men and women's brains were not developed enough to handle the beer.  The host confronted her assertion that the restrictive drinking age of 21 had caused a drop in deaths (NO IT DIDN'T) and even challenged her grossly inflated "deaths caused by alcohol" statistics.  When confronted with statistics she played the greiving family card.  When confronted with common sense proposals she stuck her head in the sand by saying that drinking does not occur because of the law.  When Mike said that we have gone too far as a culture when the State is threatening to take his house if he lets his daughters friends drink a beer (THOSE WHO HOST LOSE THE MOST), she denied any knowledge of the law or its ubiquitous advertising.  What was striking was the response of the callers to this predictable drivel.

Hurray to the callers who said that it is time to stand up to the "mommy culture" that seeks to control legal behavior with ever-harsher laws.  If today is any indication, we are the silent and cowed majority who are aching for a way to stop the constant attack on our rights by a group of prohibitionists.  The interview ended with a chilling warning that MADD views these issues as health and safety issues not as personal freedom issues. It is chilling to think that our legislature listens to these people.  Push Back!!

Tell Mike you appreciate his point of view at www.700WLW.com.

In Ohio, driving under the influence includes driving while intoxicated with too much alcohol, or driving under the influence of a drug of abuse. The traditional offense is "driving under the influence of alcohol" (DUI). Ohiohas also enacted a second, so-called "per se" offense: driving with an excessive blood-alcohol concentration (.08%). In Ohio, BOTH offenses are usually charged.

A jury instruction which is given at every D.U.I. trial states,

• UNDER THE INFLUENCE. "Under the influence means that the defendant consumed some (alcohol)(drug of abuse)(alcohol and a drug of abuse), whether mild or potent, in such a quantity, whether small or great, that it adversely affected and appreciably impaired the defendant's actions, reactions, or mental processes under the circumstances then existing and deprived him of that clearness of intellect and control of himself which he would otherwise have possessed. The question is not how much (alcohol)(drug of abuse)(alcohol and a drug of abuse) would affect an ordinary person. The question is what effect did any (alcohol)(drug of abuse)(alcohol and a drug of abuse), consumed by the defendant, have on him at the time and place involved. If the consumption of (alcohol)(drug of abuse)(alcohol and a drug of abuse) so affected the nervous system, brain, or muscles of the defendant so as to impair, to an appreciable degree, his ability to operate the vehicle, then the defendant was under the influence.

The optokinetic effect could be used to attack the validity of an HGN test.  The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration ...   more »

Allstate Named America’s Worst Insurance Company

The American Association of Justice has just released its report entitled “The Ten Worst ...   more »

DID YOU KNOW: Drunk Driving in Perspective

"Government statistics indicate that each year more people die as a result of accidental drowning than die in low blood alcohol (BAC) related motor vehicle accidents (Legalscholar.com 2003).  

"Your chances of being killed as a direct result of medical malpractice is 28 times higher than your chances of being killed in a motor vehicle accident involving a BAC driver"

Sources: reported at www.associatedcontent.com (Facts and Opinions on Drunk Driving). See: http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/90216/facts_and_opinions_on_drunk_driving.html?page=3&cat=47

A DUI CONVICTION HAS LONG TERM EFFECTS

With legal penalties for DUI convictions increasing, and the continued agenda of organizations ...   more »

The Lead Counsel Program

LawInfo's Lead Counsel Program offers consumers and businesses a reliable and convenient way to find pre-qualified ...   more »

Cases Give New Life to Defense that DUI Test Unfair to Women

by Sylvia Hsieh, Lawyers Weekly, page 3, April ...   more »