Law Office of Glen W. Neeley

Top Utah DUI Attorney, Board Certified in DUI Defense by the National College of DUI Defense

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  • Utah ranks as one of the “best” in low percentage of drunk-related deaths!

    Here is an article about South Carolina, which ranks as one of the worst for percentages of drunk-related deaths.  However, Utah ranks as one of the best in the nation.

    The article states:

    –In the U.S., someone is killed in an alcohol-related accident about every 30 minutes.

    –Roughly one-third of all drivers arrested or convicted of driving while intoxicated or driving under the influence of alcohol are repeat offenders.

    –There were 13,470 drunk-driving traffic deaths last year in the U.S.

    Some of the other "worst" states in percentage of fatalities involving a drunk driver: Montana, Hawaii, Texas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Connecticut and South Dakota.

    These states are reported as the "best" in low percentage of drunk-related deaths: Utah, Kentucky, Nebraska, North Carolina, Alaska, Maine, New York, Georgia, Indiana and Iowa.

    The author jumps on the bandwagon with MADD to get even more tougher on DUIs.  The author believes that jail time is a threat.  Most of the people I deal with do not intend to drive drunk.  They seem to lose their rational thinking at some point during the evening.  Calling on the powers of deterrence just doesn’t seem to work.  In the previous post I did, I like the solutions suggested by the Janice.  It’s too easy to gripe and complain.  It’s too easy to jump on the band wagon of "let’s get tough of DUIs.  Imprisoning people has never worked.  Look for other solutions.  Make car manufacturer’s develop cars that won’t start if alcohol is on your breath.  Provide other ways for a person to get home.  Just some things to consider. (more…)

  • Utah DUI Solutions

    I like this article written by Janice Kopaunik.  She seems to be looking for a solution to the problem, not just complaining about it.  She makes some really good observations.

    • Does heavier punishments work? 
      • If you have been drinking, do you really rationalize the stiff punishments and fines?
    • "Punitive laws will do little to stop would-be-criminals when the punishment is already severe enough."
      • This is a great observation.  She recognizes that the consequences of a DUI are more severe than the ticket itself citing the loss of license, losing a job, etc.
    • Janice then talks about a solution and looks for an effective strategy.   She looks at preventative measures like providing low cost and free rides at the expense of convicted drunk drivers.  In other words, Janice is suggesting that fines and fees that are paid to the court should be used to fund ways of getting people home safe.

    I applaud Janice’s article in looking for a solution rather than creating a punishing society with no end in site for this problem.
    (more…)

  • Utah DUI Saturation Patrols.

    You don’t see to many sobriety check points in Utah anymore.  The constitutionality of the checkpoints have been brought into question and outlawed in many states.  The procedure involves directing traffic off the road and checking the drivers for alcohol.  Now what the officers do to get around constitutionality problems, is do saturation patrols.  A bunch of officers get together and saturate an area, which is usually around the bar areas, and look for any minor reason to pull citizens over to check them for alcohol.  Here is a news video that shows Office Davenport pull a man over for driving "under" the speed limit and investigating him for alcohol.  The man was just barely over the legal limit after the officer had him blow hard into his hand held portable breath tester.  He tells the man from what he sees that the man is too impaired to drive.  The problem with this is that the studies regarding field sobriety tests say that if you see the minimum clues of impairment, the person should be over a .10 in a breath alcohol result.  In this video, the officer gets a result of .09.  This brings in the officer’s credibility at issue as to whether he really saw clues or did he just smell alcohol and concluded impairment.  He finds something in the man’s pocket and assumes it is Heroin, when in reality it was a roach for marijuana.  Surly an experienced officer such as Davenport could tell the difference.

  • What happened to the Presumption of Innocense?

    Stephen Hamilton, an attorney that specializes in Defending people accused of DWIs in Lubbock Texas, wrote a blog on the Scarlet S.  He linked to an article in Arizona that talked about posting people who have been accused of DUIs on a billboard. Just like Stephen, I see serious problems branding people with the "Scarlet DUI". 

    • First, if in fact the posting goes up before there is a conviction, the jury pool is tainted and you are now presumed guilty.
    • Second, If you have prior DUI’s, and you have changed your life, you will be presumed guilty regardless if you are driving impaired or not.
    • Third, is this an effort to protect society, or is in effort to outcast people who have made mistakes?  Isn’t this just public humiliation and harassment rather than protection?

    Where does this stop?  Do we post all of our sins and misdeeds for everyone to see.  There are already websites up where a potential jury can search a persons name and get their whole criminal history.  Impartiality goes out the window and the person is convicted for past crimes for which the person has already been punished, and the person may very well be innocent for this crime.  Reminds me of an old movie called "The Star Chamber" where the judges hire hit men to kill people who were let go because of "technicalities."  The character Michael Douglas plays discovers that the people he was going to have killed were in fact innocent.  We have a system in place that begins with the presumption of innocence.  It means nothing to those who do not need it.  It is the difference between life and death, between incarceration and freedom, and between guilty and innocence.   Remember,  it is better that  10 guilty go free, than to let one innocent person be convicted. 
    (more…)

  • Salt Lake County Attorney refuses to plea Bargain DUIs, even if the Evidence is Lacking

    I was told that that Salt Lake County Attorney’s office had a policy of "No deals on DUIs."  I learned first hand that the policy is true, even if the evidence is lacking.  I defended a man accused of three DUIs.  In all cases, I  believed the man to be innocent.  The evidence supported my belief.  The man even passed a polygraph test that he had not consumed alcohol.  When I presented this evidence to the prosecutor, I was told "sorry, it is our policy to take all DUI charges to trial."  Twice the man was not convicted of DUI.  The third case was finally dismissed. 

    I then found this article about the policy which states in part:

    Miller said team leaders now decide plea deals, which streamlines the process.
    Several critics also claimed Miller’s refusal to plea-bargain any third-degree felony DUI cases has taken discretion from prosecutors. They said DUIs – which are enhanced to felonies by prior DUI convictions – are now being filed based on sometimes inaccurate rap sheets or driver license records, where the office used to require police to bring certified copies of prior convictions.
    Miller said the new approach gets defendants before a judge more quickly, and prosecutors can more easily obtain certified copies of convictions than police.
    "The intent is to speed up cases and get to court quicker, so they are easier to resolve," Miller said.
    One former prosecutor countered that with no offer on the table, defendants are more likely to drag out cases because they have nothing to lose.

    Read the whole story below.

    Innocent people are being dragged through the system because of a get tough policy on Felony DUIs.  The prosecution attitude is that people never change.  If a person has been convicted of DUI before, they must be guilty now. 

    People can change.  People do change.  Sometimes people make mistakes over and over again, but give them only what our constitution requires, "the presumption of innocence."
    (more…)

  • Arresting Utah DUIs is “Hunting” for UHP!

    A UHP Officer in Davis County, Utah, was given an award for arresting people for DUI last week.  She refers to it as hunting for DUIs.  During this hunt, you have to wonder how many times the officer gets buck fever and makes a DUI out of an innocent person.  How many people’s lives has this officer ruined.  I personally have seen many of this officer’s cases dismissed or substantially reduced.  I have seen her be rude and abusive to people that she pulls over.  She gets the award for making over 200 arrests in 2007, and the year has not ended.  She gets the award for making over 750 arrests for DUIs in the past 5 years.  Her boss says "she is a great asset to the citizens of Utah."  Really.  I guess that is one way to look at it, unless she picks you as the person to help her get her next award.

    Some of the highlights from the article are:

    • This year alone, Steed has stopped more than 2,000 cars, Nordfelt said. 
    • In her five-year career, she’s made more than 750 arrests for driving under the influence of a controlled substance, and more than 1,200 total arrests, according to UHP statistics.
    •  “The troopers I work with, they spend a lot of their own hunting time backing me and waiting for tow trucks while they could be looking for their own people to take to jail,” she said. “Without the people I work with and the sergeant’s and lieutenant’s support, I couldn’t have made it to these goals.” 

    According to this article, citizens being pulled over are just statistics that help an officer get an award for stopping and harassing citizens.  Is there an award for the officer who stops and helps a person change a tire, who takes the time to investigate and arrest drug dealers, or who puts child molesters behind bars?  Maybe there is, but what is the officer’s motivation when we give them awards for stopping 2000 people hunting for DUIs.  Seems to me that the motivation is no longer to protect and serve.  It seems now, the duty is to stop and harass to see if you too can be Trooper of the year.

    Read the whole article by clicking the link below.

    (more…)

  • UHP draw blood for Utah DUI Arrests!

    I have had several cases in Farmington, Utah, where the officer will draw blood from the arrested person rather than take him or her to get a breath test.  Is this really a good idea?  I mean, police drawing blood on the side of the road doesn’t seem sanitary.   The police are there collecting evidence.  The police are not there to ensure the health and safety of the person arrested.  I’m not sticking my arm out and allowing a trooper stick me with a needle.  The Arizona police have the same type of practice.  Here’s a story with some problems they are having with officers drawing the blood.

    Tucson Region
    Blood draws by officers in DUI stops questioned
    Man files claim vs. county saying deputy infected arm
    By Erica Meltzer
    ARIZONA DAILY STAR
    Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.14.2007
    "They have succeeded in getting blood evidence tossed out of court and charges against their clients dismissed based on the fact that it was a law enforcement officer, not medical personnel, who took the sample.
    Now the man who believes an officer-administered blood draw caused his persistent infection has filed a claim against Pima County and the Pima County Sheriff’s Department. A claim is the first step in a lawsuit.
    "I think most of the public does not realize that law enforcement personnel are doing the draws," said Michael Bloom, an attorney in the case.
    He said the practice raises several concerns, including that "the officer is not there in a medical capacity, he is there in a law enforcement capacity. He is not there to safeguard the health and safety of the suspect." " (more…)

  • MADD wants punishment for drinking drivers, not just Drunk Drivers!

    Here is an interesting article about the prohibition of drinking.  Some points that I find interesting are:

    1. The person who started MADD feels that the organization has gotten way out of hand and no longer supports the organization.
    2. MADD is pushing for complete prohibition of any alcohol.
    3. Lowering the legal limit has not lowered DUIs as predicted.
    4. Ignition interlock devices are not working.

    "Lightner has moved on from MADD, and since then has protested the shift from attacking drunk driving to attacking drinking in general. "I worry that the movement I helped create has lost direction," she told The Cleveland Plain Dealer in 1992. BAC legislation, she said, "ignores the real core of the problem….If we really want to save lives, let’s go after the most dangerous drivers on the road." Lightner said MADD has become an organization far more "neoprohibitionist" than she had envisioned. "I didn’t start MADD to deal with alcohol," she said. "I started MADD to deal with the issue of drunk driving." (more…)

  • Saturation Patrol, Utah DUI

    The Utah police agencies used to do "administrative checkpoints" to pull people over for no reason and then check them for alcohol.  The problem is that that charges can be challenged because there are so many rules the police must follow to make them constitutional.  So the police answer this by doing Saturation Patrols.  The highlights of this technique are as follows:

    • Citizens get pulled over for a claimed legal, but usually minor reason.  (i.e. burned out license plate light, failure to signal for 2-3 seconds before turning, not coming to a complete stop, or if nothing else works, tell the driver the officer’s computer shows the car is not insured when it actually does).
    • The police usually get several agencies involved like the Utah Highway Patrol, Salt Lake City Police Department, and the Salt Lake County Sheriff’s office.
    • The patrol occurs heavily around the time the bars are in full force and the patrol occurs around these bars.

    Here is a recent story where 35 officers got together, pulled over 774 citizens, and arrested one person for DUI.

    774 PEOPLE PULLED OVER!  If an officer wants to pull you over, I’m sure the officer can find a reason.  What a waste of taxpayer money in an effort to effect the witch hunt.

    (more…)

  • Is punishment worse for taking your Utah DUI to trial?

    Recently, someone asked me if they take their case to trial, will they be punished worse that if they just plead guilty.  The simply answer is generally no.  In Utah, most Courts recognize that a person should not be punished for exercising the right to trial.  However, out of the hundreds of DUIs that I have handled, there has been one time when a judge punished the man far worse than the minimum mandatory sentencing guidelines.  This is very uncommon in most Utah courts.  In fact, I find that many judges get to know my clients in trial and their punishment is less severe than a standard sentencing.  That is why my theory and strategy is to take the case to trial even if it looks like a person has no chance of winning the case.  Take the case to trial and you never know, something may happen that will allow the jury to find you not guilty.  You may not have much to lose and the judge may find favor in you if you do.