22 March

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Rowland Attends 19th Annual Mastering Science In A DUI/DWI Seminar

Today I am attending the 19th Annual Mastering Science in a DUI/DWI case in New Orleans, Louisiana. The seminar is a gathering of eminent DUI attorneys from around the country and focuses on the latest techniques in using science to defend clients accused of impaired driving. The seminar was founded by William C. ―Bubba‖ Head, one of the deans of DWI defense law, in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1994. The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association and the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) have continued the tradition of excellence for which this seminar has become known. It has been, and remains, the premier DWI/DUI...

27 February

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Ohio DUI Law: The Hematocrit Defense

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

How bloody is your blood? The hematocrit is the number expressing the cell volume of blood (the size and number of red blood cells in proportion to the rest of the blood). As humans, we all have a natural variation in our hematocrit. Healthy men have a natural variance from 40.7% to 50% and healthy women have a natural variance from 36.1% to 44.3%. The hematocrit level is a moving target. Illness, hydration and stress can cause variations in the hematocrit level.The hematocrit level affects all breath tests by governing how much alcohol may be contained in the blood and,...

17 February

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The Prescription Drug Defense

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Drugs & Alcohol

While many people think of impaired driving as involving alcohol, we are increasingly seeing people accused of being impaired by prescription drugs. Clients are surprised to learn that the same harsh penalties that apply to alcohol impairment also apply to prescription drug impairment. You need an attorney who knows how to fight a drugged driving case.Drugged driving cases involving prescription drugs present a problem for law enforcement as indicators of prescription drug use are less apparent. The standardized field sobriety tests are crude tools for detecting alcohol and may be useless in determining prescription drug impairment. Challenging the officer's observations...

27 January

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Intoxilyzer 8000 Is Unreliable!

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

Today, in State v. Heather Reid, Case No. TRC 1100716 in the Circleville Municipal Court, Judge Gary Dumm has ruled that "The State of Ohio cannot expect this Court to find the Intoxilyzer 8000 reliable when the State refuses to address known problems and explain why those problems can be ignored."The Court calls for independent laboratory testing to address the issues raised by the adoption of the Intoxilyzer 8000: RFI, sample size of the chamber, volume of the sample tested, possible operator manipulation of the results, possible CMI modifications of the software without the knowledge of ODH and slope detector...

27 December

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Ohio State Highway Patrol Reports A Safe Holiday Weekend

Posted by Dayton DUI

in Announcements

During this past holiday reporting period of Midnight, December 23 through 11:59 a.m. on December 26, eight people were killed, with one death attributed to impaired driving. This represents a nearly 43 percent decline in fatalities from last year when 14 people were killed and the lowest amount of Christmas Holiday fatalities in the past four years. In addition, Patrol OVI arrests increased more than 28 percent. For a complete statistical recap of the Patrol’s Holiday enforcement visit http://statepatrol.ohio.gov/doc/christmas_2011.pdfOhio is on pace to see a decline in the number of people killed on Ohio’s roadways in 2011, after experiencing a...

15 December

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Scientific Defenses to an OVI: The GERD Defense

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

The National Center for Health Statistics estimates that acid reflux (called gastroesophageal reflux) and the more serious Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (hereinafter GERD) affect more than 90 million people at least one time per month and about 25 million people experience serious GERD problems daily. " GERD is usually caused by changes in the barrier between the stomach and the esophagus, including abnormal relaxation of the lower esophageal sphincter, which normally holds the top of the stomach closed; impaired expulsion of gastric reflux from the esophagus, or a hiatal hernia. These changes may be permanent or temporary ("transient"). [cite]Although about 10...

08 December

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DUI Science and More Faulty Breath Machine Assumptions

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Process

Evidential Breath Testing Measures The Amount of Alcohol In Your Breath Not in Your Brain!One of the faulty assumptions underlying evidential breath testing is the assumption that the tests are measuring the ability of alcohol to impair your brain. They do not. The breath test does not care how, or even if, the alcohol is impairing your brain only that it is in your breath via your lungs via your blood. The machines do not test venous blood but arterial blood utilizing the scientific principle of Henry's Law. As alcohol can be at different rates throughout your body, the machine...

25 October

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Case Law Update: State v. Kitzler

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

State v. Kitzler, 2011-Ohio-5444 (3rd District Court of Appeals, Wyandot County). This odd decision involves the Intoxilyzer 8000 breath test machine and a test result which did not satisfy the .020 agreement.FACTS: Defendant was stopped for not dimming his headlights and for marked lane violations. He was asked to perform the standardized field sobriety tests and subsequently arrested for OVI. At the police station he provided two breath samples (as is required on the Intoxilyzer 8000) and the machine reported the result as "Invalid." The tests did not meet the .020 agreement. Defendant was allowed to use the restroom and...

06 October

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DUI Science: Fat vs. Thin/Man vs. Woman/Young vs. Old

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

After consuming alcohol, will a fat person or a thin person have a lower BAC? Alcohol loves water and will move into spaces where water is the most prevalent. Fatty portions of the body have a low water content and absorb little of the alcohol, while muscular portions of the body have a high water content and absorb much alcohol. As it is carried to all parts of the body by the blood, the alcohol distributes itself in proportion to the water content of the various parts of the body. It is the presumed relationship between the amount of alcohol in...

01 October

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Evidential Breath Testing: Ohio Administrative Code 3701-53-01

Posted by Dayton DUI

in DUI Law, DUI Process

Image via WikipediaIn Ohio, the Director of Health adopts Administrative rules which govern analytical testing for evidential use. It is important that your Ohio DUI attorney understand these codes and how they affect your breath test results. O.A.C. 3701-53-01 sets forth the methods or techniques which are approved to test blood, breath, urine or other bodily substances. One of the things your OVI attorney should not overlook is the requirement in section (B) which requires the testing facility to have a copy of the written procedure manual on file in the area where the analytical tests are performed. 3701-53-01 Techniques or methods.(A)...

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