Harmon, Smith & Vourvoulias Law
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Most people only talk about blood alcohol concentration (BAC) when it comes to DWI charges. However, alcohol is not the only culprit of driving impairment.
The New York Times recently published an article on the lack of attention that has been devoted to marijuana as a drug that impairs driving. When it comes to DWI charges, marijuana has taken the back seat, but this does not mean that it does not have its own dangers and legal consequences. [Read more…]
What does Ke$ha brush her teeth with in the morning? What brand of liquor does LMFAO like? What alcohol brand name does Snoop Dogg drop in his song “I Drink I Smoke”?
If you know the answer to any of these questions, or if your child does, listen up. A recent study published last month, referenced in NPR and USA Today, found a correlation between exposure to music containing alcohol brand references and alcohol-related behaviors among adolescents. It stated that adolescents who like music that references alcohol are three times as likely to drink and twice as likely to binge than those who do not like these songs. [Read more…]
Last month, a 23-year-old woman was arrested in Baton Rouge for attempting to destroy her DWI charge.
According to an article in The Times-Picayune, Jana Pourciau crashed her car into an elementary school fence off of LA Hwy 977 late at night on April 12. Pourciau was arrested on a DWI charge and taken to the Baton Rouge General Medical Center Mid-City for her injuries, where doctors collected a toxicology report.
Ten days later, Pourciau emailed and called the State Police Crime Lab, pretending to be a court official. She told them to destroy her blood sample from the wreck “because the case had been dismissed and was not going to be prosecuted.” She was arrested for false impersonation and forgery at the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison. [Read more…]
Biking is becoming an increasingly common way of traveling the roadways in cities and towns across the United States, and, as with any other method of transportation, safety is a concern. Laws against drunk driving are relatively apparent but what about biking under the influence?
The dangers of drunk driving are apparent and so are the consequences of being charged with a DUI. But, for bicyclists pedaling home after a few drinks at the bar the rules and consequences aren’t so clear.
According to an article from the Huffington Post, this is an issue that is taken rather lightly by citizens and lawmakers. Events in cities and towns nationwide actually encourage people to head home on their bike after a boozy night out despite well-documented dangers of bicycling under the influence. [Read more…]
Did you know that 868 of every 100, 000 citizens in the state of Louisiana is in prison? Even more surprising than that: more than 44 percent of those inmates are serving sentences for nonviolent crimes, compared to only 41 percent serving sentences for violent crime.
Why is this so? Since the 1970s, Louisiana has had some of the harshest mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent offenses in the country. An example of this would be offenders possessing a small amount of marijuana being sentenced to four years in prison, minimum.
A significant number of crimes that carry mandatory minimum prison sente [Read more…]
A DWI charge in Louisiana can be confusing. Will I have to pay a fine? Lose my license? Go to jail? In an effort to answer these questions, the experienced DWI attorneys at Harmon, Smith & Vourvoulias, LLC address this question.
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Driving while intoxicated is considered a relatively serious offense in Louisiana. When a person below the legal drinking age gets behind the wheel with an elevated blood alcohol concentration level, the consequences could be even more severe.
This April, the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission focused their DWI Task Force patrols on motorists under the age of 21 who choose to drink and drive. The campaign was an effort to keep young drivers safe during the season of proms, graduations and end of school parties. [Read more…]
In recent years, we’ve seen more and more arrests related to DWI and professional football players. It seems that as more focus is placed on these stars, the more mishaps we are able to see. However, football players are not the only ones prone to these law-breaking mishaps.
Jim Isray, owner of the Indianapolis Colts, was taken into custody after being arrested on suspicion of DWI and having found a controlled substance in his possession.
According to Syracuse.com, USA Today, & NY Daily News, Isray was arrested Sunday, March 16 and booked into the Hamilton County Jail in Noblesville at 3:07 a.m.
Details are still being released about his arrest, but he was pulled over after driving his silver Toyota Highlander “at a slow rate of speed” when he “came to a complete stop in the lane of travel,” then failing to signal a turn, police spokesman Lt. Joe Bickel has reported to the news. [Read more…]
A new government study referenced in USA Today states that teens are more likely to drive while inebriated when exposed to similar behavior as a passenger.
The study shows that the more frequently a teen rides with an impaired driver, the more likely the passenger would drive while intoxicated themselves. In addition, there was a correlation found between drivers who got their driver’s license early being twice as likely as students who received their license in the 12th grade to report driving while impaired, according to a Pediatrics study.
2,500 10th graders were studied starting from 2009-2010 and continued until through the 12th grade. [Read more…]
A proposal by Representative Greg Hughes of Draper, Utah would help bars install breathalyzers to assist patrons in deciding whether they are fit to drive.
According to articles from Fox News and The Salt Lake Tribune, the proposal is still in its infancy, but the measure would not require bars to install these devices. Hughes reasoning behind the law is that “if you drive on a road and see a speed limit sign, you have something in your car [a speedometer] to know how fast you’re going.” He hopes to assist those who might drink in knowing if they have had too much to drink before attempting to drive home.
Bar owners are concerned that by installing these devices, they might encourage drivers who would otherwise feel unsafe to drive by giving them false confidence from a lower reading. [Read more…]
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