OUI CLE Litigation Course - November 5, 2009- 1 to 5 p.m. - Burlington, MA - Attorney Mark Stevens 603-893-0074

I am on the faculty panel for tomorrow's continuing legal education course Handling OUI Cases presented by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), in Burlington, Massachusetts. Tomorrow's topics will include boating while intoxicated, field sobriety testing, drunk driving case law updates, application of the United States Supreme Court's decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts to Massachusetts OUI cases, and other hot topics in drunk-driving litigation. Here is a link to the program brochure:

http://www.mcle.org/program-calendar/program-catalog.cfm?product_code=2100020P01

My topic will be boating while intoxicated cases. This CLE will be held at the Burlington Hilton Garden Inn tomorrow (11/5/09) from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Burlington, Massachusetts.

The address is:

Hilton Garden Inn
5 Wheeler Road
Burlington, MA

This should be a great CLE. Please stop by if you can and attend.

Mark Stevens

LAW OFFICES OF MARK STEVENS
5 Manor Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
603-893-0074

http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

http://www.ByeByeDUI.com

http://www.ByeByeOUI.com

http://www.twitter.com/byebyedwi

Would a Fake Cola Be OK? by Attorney Mark Stevens 603-893-0074

The internet is a funny place. We search for information, products, places and people every day. Some people search for a New Hampshire DWI lawyer when they have been arrested for driving or boating under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Some people search for a specific New Hampshire DWI lawyer. Some of those searches are for me, Mark Stevens, and I appreciate your search for my profile, case examples, website and blog from the bottom of my heart. Every case result on my website is 100% verifiable by going to the court in which the victory happened.

Because of the number and type of case victories I have been blessed with over the past few years, others try to profit from searches for me specifically. They pay to advertise when some one searches for my name on the major search engines. You can tell that some one is paying to appear under a search term, like "Attorney Mark Stevens in Salem NH", for example, when their link is one of the three shaded ones at the top of the page or one of the shaded boxes on the right hand side of the page. So they pay to be there when you are looking for me. I guess their theory is that you might search for me, click on them by accident, and that you are not smart enough to not know the difference. I know you are smarter than that.

If you are looking for my website the links are below. Thank you for visiting and reading. If you have been charged with Aggravated DWI, DWI or boating while intoxicated in New Hamphire, please feel free to call to arrange a free initial consultation at 603-893-0074. It's what we do.

Have a safe night.

Mark Stevens

LAW OFFICES OF MARK STEVENS
5 Manor Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
603-893-0074

http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

http://www.ByeByeDUI.com

http://www.ByeByeOUI.com

http://www.twitter.com/byebyedwi

OUI Litigation: Continuing Legal Education Course Today in Taunton, MA-Mark Stevens 603-893-0074

I am on the faculty panel for today's continuing legal education course Handling OUI Cases presented by Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education (MCLE), in Taunton, Massachusetts. Todays's topics will include boating while intoxicated, field sobriety testing, drunk driving case law updates, application of the Supreme Court's decision in Melendez-Diaz v. Massachusetts to Massachusetts OUI cases, and other hot topics in OUI litigation. Here is a link to the program brochure:

http://www.mcle.org/program-calendar/program-catalog.cfm?product_code=2100020P01

My topic today is boating while intoxicated litigation. This CLE will be held at the Holiday Inn today from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. in Taunton.
The address is:

Holiday Inn
700 Miles Standish Boulevard
Taunton, MA

This should be a great CLE. Please stop by if you can and attend.

Mark Stevens

LAW OFFICES OF MARK STEVENS
5 Manor Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
603-893-0074

http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

http://www.ByeByeDUI.com

http://www.ByeByeOUI.com

http://www.twitter.com/byebyedwi

News From the Nanny State: High Schoolers May Be Subjected to "Preliminary Breath Test" Gadgets During the School Day

Here's the latest in the continuing erosion of civil rights: high school students in Foxboro, Massachusetts may be subjected to hand-held, battery-operated "preliminary breath test" gadgets during the school day! When would they be forced to blow into these things? The link below to myfoxBoston.com reveals part of the formula. If the student shows signs of intoxication, like stumbling, slurring their speech, and smelling like alcohol, then they'll be forced to blow into the gadget.

http://www.myfoxboston.com/dpp/news/local/breathalyzer_tests_for_foxboro_students_100809

Hopefully the student will not be diabetic, because she could display those same symptoms AND read positive for alcohol on one of these gizmos. Hopefully the student has not just rinsed her mouth out with mouthwash, chewed gum, taken cough medicine, or eaten breath mints, sore throat lozenges, or white bread, because all of those things can cause a false positive on some of these gadgets, too. And as an added bonus, most of these things don't even print out a "result", so the "result" is in the eye and memory of the beholder. There's some science!

If you read this blog you may remember an article I posted a couple of weeks ago about a woman in Florida who was nearly jailed for showing a false positive for alcohol because of exposure to hairspray. See Is She Drunk or Just Having a Good Hair Day, posting September 22, 2009. http://www.ByeByeDWI.blogspot.com

Are the gadgets going to be stored at a controlled temperature? How often will the batteries be replaced? Has the remote control on your TV ever not quite worked just right? These things use the same batteries. How often will the fuel cell be replaced? Are the gadgets going to be calibrated every 30 days, as most of their manufacturers' recommend? Where will the student spend the 15 to 20 minute deprivation period prior to blowing into the gadget? Why are these things called "preliminary" breath testers, anyway? Hey it's only a 20 minute intrusion into some one's freedom, so what's the problem?

It's 20 minutes you don't get back. And do you need a battery powered "preliminary" gadget to tell whether a kid who is slurring, stumbling and reeks of alcohol might just be drunk?

Mark Stevens

LAW OFFICES OF MARK STEVENS
5 Manor Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
603-893-0074

http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

http://www.ByeByeDUI.com

http://www.ByeByeOUI.com

Padilla v. Kentucky: Just How Bad Does Legal Advice Need to Be to Constitute Ineffective Assistance of Counsel?

On October 13, 2009, the United States Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of Padilla v. Kentucky, Case Number 08-651. While somewhat less-known and less-publicized than other cases on this term's docket, the case poses important criminal procedure issues regarding the interrelationship between immigration consequences flowing from criminal convictions, and the duty of criminal defense lawyers to advise clients of those potential consequences. Specifically, the issues presented in Padilla are:

Does the Sixth Amendment’s guarantee of effective assistance of counsel require a criminal defense attorney to advise a non-citizen client that pleading guilty to an aggravated felony will trigger mandatory, automatic deportation, and if that misadvice about deportation induces a guilty plea, can that misadvice amount to ineffective assistance of counsel and warrant setting aside the guilty plea?

The Padilla case is significant for two groups of people, both fairly significant in number if not popularity: non-citizen criminal defendants, and the criminal defense lawyers who represent them. The basic facts of the Padilla case are that the defendant is a legal permanent resident of the United States from Honduras who has lived in America for about 40 years, even serving in the United States military during the Vietnam War. In 2001 though he found himself indicted on four charges. His lawyer negotiated a plea deal that he entered which triggered automatic deportation. Prior to the plea Padilla asked his lawyer about the potential immigration consequences of the convictions he would face under the terms of the plea deal.

His lawyer told Padilla that he did not have to worry about any immigration consequences as a result of his plea and convictions. He then entered an agreement that his sentence would be the maximum term of 10 years, with 5 years to be served in prison with 5 years on probation to follow. Had the case gone to trial, Padilla would not have faced any more time than he got, and he actually could have presented mitigating factors to the jury for jury-sentencing under Kentucky law that might have led to parole eligibility after just 2 years. He also faced immediate deportation under federal immigration law as soon as he pleaded guilty and got convicted, contrary to his defense lawyer's advice.

In 2002 Padilla moved for a new trial based on the grossly erroneous advice of his lawyer that prompted him to accept a plea deal. The trial court denied his motion and the Kentucky Supreme Court affirmed the conviction by a 5 to 2 vote. Now the case will be argued in the United States Supreme Court, whose ruling on these issues could have far-reaching implications on criminal practice and procedure immediately upon issuance of the opinion in this case.

The New Hampshire Supreme Court dealt with a similar issue in a DWI case in State v. Sharkey in 2007. In that case, a lawyer had advised the defendant that he would lose his driver's license for 90 days if he pleaded guilty. Shortly after the plea, though, the defendant's license was revoked by the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles for the rest of his life, based on old prior convictions that his lawyer was aware of. On appeal the New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed that conviction, basing its' decision on the gross misadvice of the lawyer who crafted the plea deal. This is a similar type of gross misadvice that Padilla received and relied on.

This is a case to watch.

Have a safe night.

Mark Stevens

LAW OFFICES OF MARK STEVENS
5 Manor Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
603-893-0074

http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

http://www.ByeByeDUI.com

http://www.ByeByeOUI.com

Is She Drunk or Just Having a Good Hair Day? Breath Testing Gadget Can't Tell the Difference

Here's an alarming story about a breath testing gadget installed in a woman's car that indicated she was under the influence of alcohol. As you can see, her hairspray caused the gadget to read positive. Because the woman was on pretrial probation, her hairspray almost landed her in jail.

This is a disturbing story for a couple of reasons. First, a citizen was nearly jailed for something she didn't do because a "breath test" gizmo said she had consumed alcohol when she wasn't supposed to. Second, these are the types of gadgets that victims-rights groups are pushing to get installed in every vehicle manufactured in America within a few years. While this may have some political appeal, should people really be punished for trying to have a good hair day? Please read this story below:

http://www.nwfdailynews.com/news/release-20500-defuniak-springs.html

Have a safe night.

Mark Stevens

LAW OFFICES OF MARK STEVENS
5 Manor Parkway
Salem, NH 03079
603-893-0074

http://www.ByeByeDWI.com

http://www.ByeByeDUI.com

http://www.ByeByeOUI.com