Attorney Find Blog

The opening line of an article I read last week was virtually identical to a dozen I’d read before.   It began, “Dozens of people who have had their licenses suspenced for drunk driving may have those decisions reversed,” and then even the challenge itself was the same–a claim that breathalyzer test results were invalid.

The only difference was that instead of the now-infamous Intoxilyzer, the machine in question was the Yanshuf.  The challenge, in the form of two civil suits alleging damages arising from the use of the Yanshuf, is pending in a Tel Aviv magistrate’s court.

The law authorizing police to use the Yanshuf requires approval by the transportation minister in consultation with the minister of health, and apparently that approval never came for the new breathalyzer currently in use.  The statute also requires the machine to be zeroed “on site” before use.  Zeroing is akin to the process generally referred to as “calibration” in the United States.  Although the machines are currently tested once every 24 hours, at least one Tel Aviv attorney is insisting that the “onsite” requirement demands more–testing before each use.

Litigation regarding defense requests for the source code for the Intoxilyzer 5000 stalled hundreds of Florida DUI cases last year, but the complications stemming from that case aren’t over–at least for one lawyer in the state’s attorney’s office. Don Hartery was misdemeanor chief for Manatee last year when he reportedly sent a letter to Judge Mark Singer attempting to influence the judge to hold a hearing that might benefit the state’s position.

Attorneys and parties involved in pending cases are not allowed to communicate with the judge about the case except under specific circumstances: in court, in written documents also provided to opposing counsel, or in conferences where both sides are present.

The Florida Bar has referred an ethics complaint to the state Supreme Court.

A Wisconsin attorney who once prosecuted drunken drivers for the Madison attorney’s office has been charged with DUI after arriving at a police station to pick up a client charged with DUI. Attorney Rick Petri says he got a phone call around 2 a.m. from police saying his client, Patrick DePula, had been charged with drunk driving. Petri admitted that he had been drinking alcohol in front of his television earlier in the evening but thought that it would be out of his system when he had to pick up DePula. Petri blew a 0.09 on a breath test at the police station. Petri and DePula were charged with first offenses punishable by fine, license suspension or revocation of up to 6-9 months, and an alcohol assessment. Petri apologized and expressed his embarrassment about the incident. He also added that he hopes people learn a valuable lesson from his actions.