As a Lynnwood DUI Attorney, I get a lot of calls from folks who make simple mistakes – they have one or two too many, and get behind the wheel. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the folks who created those Field Sobriety Tests) it’s about 8%.

This from the Seattle Car Accident Lawyer Blog:

The U.S. Department of Transportation has released a new survey which found that nearly 8% of all drivers – 1 in 12 – admit to driving under the influence in the previous year.

The report entitled National Survey of Drinking and Driving Attitudes and Behaviors, which was conducted in 2008, also reports that 20% of motorists also admit that they have driven a motor vehicle within two hours of consuming an alcohol beverage.

The survey was done to determine society’s attitudes to alcohol and driving in hopes of being able to determine ways to change behavior.

The survey also found that 8% of people over the age 16 said that they have ridden with a driver who may have been under the influence. Young males are particularly at risk; approximately 24% reported they had ridden with an impaired driver.

If you or a loved one have been INJURED in a car accident – call the Farber Law Group at 1-800-244-9087.

If you or a loved one have made the simple mistake of driving while intoxicated, you need a skilled local DUI Attorney NOW. Call Lynnwood DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter at 425-424-9401 for your FREE CONSULTATION!

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As a Lynnwood DUI Attorney, I’ve seen a lot of interesting cases in my day. But this one is really fascinating. Not because of the facts, but rather, because of what the articles DON’T tell you.

Let’s look at the article from the Times:

The bride wore … jail scrubs?

A 31-year-old Bellevue woman was arrested early Saturday on supicion of DUI just hours before she was to walk down the aisle, according to the State Patrol.

The woman was pulled over just after 6 a.m. after a trooper spotted her weaving in and out of her lane and driving at more than 90 mph on northbound Interstate 405 near Northeast Eighth Street. The woman told the trooper she was heading home from her bachelorette party in Issaquah and was getting married that afternoon in Burien.

The woman admitted she had been arrested once before for DUI and said she was familiar with the routine, the State Patrol says. Her blood-alcohol level was measured at .146, nearly twice the legal limit in Washington.

The woman will face charges in King County District Court, the State Patrol says.

Now here’s what’s missing from this article.

1) The prior DUI may or may not be relevant here, but the Time sure as heck got it in there!

2) BACs right now are NOT admissible in King County District Court – yet the Times prints her BAC at .146 – and how the heck did they GET this information? If it’s not admissible, shouldn’t it be held onto until, I don’t know, a JUDGE decides?

3) King County District Court is currently no less than SIX MONTHS behind on their filings. That means this poor woman, who has to first face off against the DOL will wait until NEXT YEAR most likely before she ever has a chance to tell her side of the story or defend herself. But the Times is having a heyday with her in the meantime.

If you find yourself in a position where you wish you could defend yourself, but need help with your DUI – call Lynnwood DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter now at 425-424-9401 for your FREE CONSULTATION!

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As a Lynnwood DUI Lawyer, I’ve seen clients make mistakes. In fact, many of my clients become my clients because they’ve made a serious mistake and need help getting through it.

That being said – sometimes people make REALLY bad mistakes.

This from the Seattle PI:

VANCOUVER — Clark County authorities say a Battle Ground driver was arrested twice this week following collisions in which she was under the influence of prescription drugs.

Sheriff’s Sgt. Scott Schanaker said Friday that 40-year-old Deette Rude’s ability to drive was impaired by medications and she had several prescriptions in her possession after crashes Monday and Wednesday that resulted in minor injuries.

He says Rude has posted bail and been released from custody.

The latest DUI arrest is Rude’s third since May and fifth in the past two years.

The sergeant says driving under the influence is a misdemeanor in Washington until someone has four previous DUI convictions. A fifth DUI can be charged as a felony.

Two DUIs in three days is a serious problem – especially when we consider that this is approaching felony DUI territory.

If you have problems like this – you owe it to yourself to find a DUI Attorney who not only knows the system, but also can get you the help you may need.

Call Jonathan Dichter, Lynnwood DUI Attorney, for your FREE CONSULTATION at 425-424-9401.

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It’s that time again!

As a Lynnwood DUI Lawyer, I know that summertime is when MOST DUIs happen, statistically.

The WSP knows this too.

From the Auburn Reporter:

Between Aug. 12 and Sept. 6, extra DUI patrols will travel King County roadways in search of impaired drivers.

The Drive Hammered, Get Nailed event will be the largest summer DUI enforcement campaign ever with 178 agencies participating throughout the state.

Participating locally in the Drive Hammered, Get Nailed campaign are the Algona, Auburn, Bellevue, Black Diamond, Burien, Clyde Hill, Covington, Des Moines, Duvall-Carnation, Enumclaw, Federal Way, Issaquah, Kent, Kirkland, Maple Valley, Mercer Island, Newcastle, Normandy Park, North Bend, Pacific, Port of Seattle, Redmond, Renton, Sammamish, SeaTac, Seattle, Snoqualmie, Tukwila and Woodinville Police Departments, and the Washington State Patrol. The Bothell Police Department will also conduct patrols as part of the Snohomish County DUI and Target Zero Task Force.

It is important because during the summer months – July through September – Washington experiences the greatest number of alcohol or drug impaired driver-involved traffic deaths (31 percent of the total impaired driving deaths occurred during the summer months between 2000 and 2009). And Labor Day weekend is one of Washington’s deadliest holidays, averaging more than seven deaths each year.

Impaired driving is the leading factor in traffic deaths in Washington. Last year, impaired drivers contributed to the deaths of more than half of the 491 people who died on Washington’s roadways. The 264 impaired driver-involved deaths in 2009 represent a decrease of nine fatalities compared to the previous five-year average of 273.

You know you shouldn’t be drinking and driving – but if you happen to be one of the unfortunate folks who makes a perfectly understandable mistake, you need quality DUI Defense. Call Lynnwood DUI Lawyer Jonathan Dichter at 425-424-9401 for your FREE CONSULTATION now!

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As a Lynnwood DUI Lawyer, I try to stay abreast of everything in the local DUI scene.

I read articles.

I go to conferences.

I talk to prosecutors.

And I scour the web for the best information I can bring you.

And here’s a doozy. The WSP has put the Target Zero emphasis maps online for ANYONE to see!

Click here to be taken to the PDF of the WSP Target Zero Emphasis maps.

Now – I’m not one to tell the WSP how to do their jobs – but it seems to me that publishing WHERE the emphasis areas are for everyone to see will simply encourage folks to AVOID those areas of Snohomish County. It’s kind of like school zone cameras. We all know where they are – and we all try to find ALTERNATE routes. We don’t just SLOW DOWN.

So – take a gander at the map – what do you think? Did they hit all the right areas? Are they patrolling where they should be? And do you think this will actually increase Snohomish County DUI arrests?

If you’ve been picked up in a Target Zero stop – or ANY DUI stop – call Lynnwood DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter for your FREE CONSULTATION at 425-424-9401 today!

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It was just a matter of time, but the “folk hero” is returning to Seattle.

From The Seattle Times:

Without saying a word, the teenager accused in a two-year string of sometimes shoeless burglaries and other crimes that helped him gain international notoriety as the “Barefoot Bandit” agreed Friday to return to Washington state to face federal charges.

Hector Dopico, an assistant federal public defender temporarily representing 19-year-old Colton Harris-Moore, told a federal judge that Harris-Moore waived his right to a hearing on whether he should be transferred to Seattle. U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert Dube said Harris-Moore would be handed over to the U.S. Marshals Service, which will handle his travel in the coming days.

Dopico also said he had been in contact with an attorney who will represent Harris-Moore in Seattle, but he did not name that lawyer. Harris-Moore’s mother has asked Seattle defense attorney John Henry Browne to represent her son.

As a Lynnwood DUI Attorney, I’ll be following this story closely. I’ve seen Mr. Browne in action before, and am impressed with his ability to nab high profile cases. But let’s not forget that Colton Harris-Moore is not a hero. He’s a kid. With problems. And a HUGE criminal fight on his hands. Let’s hope Mr. Browne is up to the task.

More as the story develops.

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As a Lynnwood DUI Attorney and resident, I’ve seen the increased presence of WSP troopers out on the roads, both enforcing general traffic infractions, and of course, doing DUI arrests.

Never has this been more evident than with the new creation of the “Target Zero” task force I posted about earlier this month.

From The News Tribune:

Three DUI emphasis teams operating in King, Pierce and Snohomish Counties arrested at least 57 impaired drivers over the holiday weekend.

A multi-agency effort, Target Zero teams contacted 272 drivers during weekend patrols for all traffic violations. Fifty-three of the arrests were made by Washington State Patrol troopers, and four were made by Bellevue police. In the three counties, another 52 impaired drivers were arrested by state troopers who were not part of the Target Zero emphasis patrols.

Only one fatal collision was reported over the weekend, according to a press release. It has not been determined if that collision was alcohol-related. During the shorter 2009 Independence Day weekend, there were no fatalities.

272 drivers were stopped and contacted. A minimum of 57 were actually ARRESTED. The DUI detection process is refining, and you need the best DUI lawyer you can get.

If you were stopped by the Target Zero folks, you need to call Snohomish County DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter at 425-424-9401 for your FREE CONSULTATION now!

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Because King, Snohomish and Pierce County don’t feel as if they’ve arrested enough folks for DUI lately, they’re rolling out a new federally funded program, called “Target Zero” just in time for July 4th Weekend.

As a Lynnwood DUI Lawyer, I am interested to see if they are simply ramping up enforcement, or are going to be using any real “new” techniques to try to clear the road. They’ll be using the 21 troopers with the best records for arresting DUI drivers.

From The Seattle Times:

Just in time for the Fourth of July weekend, the State Patrol launched a new task force Thursday in three counties dedicated solely to hunting down intoxicated drivers and eliminating drunken-driving fatalities by 2030.

The “Target Zero” teams, made up of 21 troopers with the best records for arresting drunken drivers, will focus all their efforts on catching impaired drivers in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties.

Police officers and sheriff’s deputies from more than 30 agencies in the counties will help when they can, the State Patrol said.

Soon after the announcement, a state trooper assigned to a King County team pulled over a 23-year-old man for allegedly driving 24 miles over the speed limit on Interstate 5 in Tukwila.

After taking sobriety tests, the man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs. Police said a loaded .45-caliber pistol was discovered in the vehicle. The man was booked into the King County Jail on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI) and unlawful possession of a firearm.

Troopers dedicated the program’s first shift Thursday to Nicholas Hodgins, Derek King and Anthony Beaver, victims in a June 10 drunken-driving collision on Interstate 5 in South King County. Hodgins and King, 18-year-old seniors at Decatur High School in Federal Way, were killed; Beaver, 19, was injured.

“We’ll be out there seven days a week” with more manpower on weekends, said State Patrol Chief John Batiste at a new briefing at Boeing Field in Seattle.

In Washington, there has been a yearly average of about 220 deaths for the past eight years resulting from intoxicated-driving collisions, said Batiste.

The consistent number of fatalities is one of the main reasons the Target Zero program is being launched, he said, “because what we were doing before wasn’t working.”

Target Zero is different from similar prevention programs, Batiste said.

“The important thing will be the addition of lots of data,” he said, noting that troopers will have an informed idea of when and where DUIs are likely to occur.

The task force received a two-year grant totaling about $4.5 million from the federal government to hire and train officers to replace the troopers shifted to the program.

Teams will target specific “zones” in each county that are hot spots for DUI activity. The zones, which will be constantly updated, vary by county and are determined from aggregate highway-safety data on where people are arrested, injured and killed in DUI collisions.

“The vast majority of people driving impaired are using a combination of alcohol, illicit and prescription drugs,” said Lowell Porter, director of the Washington Traffic Safety Commission.

In addition to looking at DUIs, Batiste said, the team will examine the correlation between traffic flow and other crimes in the zones. Evidence suggests that an individual who commits a crime like burglary may also drive intoxicated in the same area, he said.

“This is so aggressive, it’s bloody fantastic,” said Laurel Middelaer, whose daughter was killed two years ago near Vancouver, B.C., by a drunken driver. Middelaer has since become an activist for tougher laws and enforcement in British Columbia, where she would like to see Target Zero’s approach.

“If they do this right, it could be a model for change everywhere,” said Middelaer.

It could be a model for change – or a vast increase of the police’s authority to find their ways into the lives of average ordinary citizens who have done nothing more horrible than have one drink too many, and haven’t hurt anyone.

If you find yourself on the wrong end of a “target zero” arrest – you owe it to yourself to call Lynnwood DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter for a FREE consultation at 425-424-9401, TODAY.

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Yes – in King and Snohomish County DUI is all the rage right now. We have vehicular homicides, repeat offenders, and news articles galore.

From King5.com

SEATTLE– Just weeks before Christmas, Jerome Dumlao lost his life in a crosswalk in Seattle’s Belltown neighborhood. Today, Eric Murillo, the drunk driver convicted of killing him, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison.

“You really took something special from me. I don’t think you will understand the pain my whole family is going through,” said a tearful Alida Linavat, sister-in-law to Dumlao.

Dumlao’s relatives think Murillo received too light a sentence for his crime of vehicular homicide.
“Murillo’s sentence will never come close to the life sentence of the pain of losing someone we love so dearly,” Jennifer Dumlao told Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ramsdell.

Despite a plea for leniency, Judge Ramsdell gave Murillo the maximum sentence, saying “I hold the defendant fully accountable.”

Murillo’s case is just one of several high-profile DUI cases in King County Superior Court.

Fifty-year-old Alexander Peder is charged with two counts of vehicular homicide for the June 9 deaths of Decatur High School students Derek King and Nick Hodgins. The teenagers were killed just three days before graduation when Peder plowed his SUV into the back of their stalled car along I-5 in Tukwila.
Troopers say Peder has a blood alcohol level of .16, twice the state legal limit of .08. Investigators say they found an open half bottle of vodka inside the car. This was the third DUI arrest for Peder. He pleaded to lesser charges in the first two cases and not guilty in the latest case.

“We have to get them before they get into the car,” said Conrad Thompson.

The former probation officer is now the chairman of the Snohomish County Target Zero Task Force. Thompson would like the state to turn a voluntary drunk driver alcohol assessment into a mandatory program. He would also like to see the state make a standardized assessment process.
Thompson believes this would cut down on repeat offenders like Peder by forcing them into rehab instead of an 8-hour alcohol information class.

“If a person has a substance abuse problem and they are misdiagnosed, I can almost guarantee they will be back behind the wheel under the influence posing a threat to citizens on the highway,” he said.
New state law allowed a King County judge to convict William Gorsica of felony drunk driving instead of the lesser misdemeanor charge. This is the Federal Way man’s 10th DUI conviction. He faces a maximum five-year sentence.

“That shows this is not working,” says Thompson.

He believes Gorsica should get treatment in addition to the jail time. Already two state senators have expressed interest in Thompson’s plan. Thompson says Washington should follow in the footsteps of Illinois, Tennessee and Oregon, which have tougher assessment and sentencing laws.

As a Lynnwood DUI Attorney, I’ve seen many folks with repeat offenses. But here’s the rub. Why demonize these folks? Anyone can make a mistake. Anyone with a substance abuse problem can make multiple mistakes. Regardless – the public right now is SO galvanized against DUI drivers that if you find yourself in this situation – you NEED quality legal defense. Don’t look for value. Look for THE BEST.

Call Lynnwood DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter at 425-424-9401 for your FREE CONSULTATION – he will be compassionate to you and your situation, and yet fight relentlessly against the prosecutor on your behalf.

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The Examiner sums it up right here. “What was he thinking?”

As a Lynnwood DUI Attorney, I’ve seen a lot of boneheaded things, but when you’re ALREADY in trouble for a few things – and a lawyer (who’s supposed to be intelligent) – brandishing a knife while DUI is a BAD idea.

This from the Examiner:

In the category of “what was he thinking”, Clallam County prosecutor wanna-be David Russell Fox was arrested today at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SeaTac) after brandishing a knife at a ticket agent. Fox was booked into King County Jail. Bail was set at $3,000.

Fox is an attorney and recently admitted to engaging in sexual activity with a client, claiming that it was consensual. Ethics rules for lawyers prohibit them from starting sexual relationships with their clients, and the sheriff’s office said it would file a complaint with the bar association. To date, the attorney general’s office declined to file charges. Fox claims to be the victim of a “gay witch hunt” and that his clients often fall in love with him.

Fox returned to his vehicle which he had parked on Airport Way and was approached by Port of Seattle officers who had been called by the ticket agent. The agent described Fox as wearing a floppy hat, khaki shorts and a Hawaiian shirt. According to the agent, Fox repeatedly pulled out a knife and asked “weird questions.”

According to the police report: “[Fox] was unsteady on his feet and kept repeating the same questions, telling [the officer] over and over that [the officer] need[ed] to call the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office so they could tell [the officer] who [Fox] was and that he was running for office. [Fox] told [the officer] over and over that he is an attorney, and that I have no right to stop him.”

The report further notes that another officer spotted a marijuana pipe on the passenger’s seat, and a search turned up a bag of marijuana and prescription pills for which Fox had no prescription.

Yes friends. These are the people running for office in your area.

A wise man once said that in order to be an effective prosecutor, you needed to know one question only: “What happened next?”

Apparently there’s a few more things you need to know.

If you find yourself on the other end of a boneheaded mistake – you owe it to yourself to call Lynnwood DUI Attorney Jonathan Dichter for your FREE CONSULTATION at 425-424-9401.

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