Quote Originally Posted by babynoahsmom View Post
My husband is a DA. He and his firm are not underpaid or new. They take cycling accidents, thefts, etc. very seriously. I think if you have a DA that is a cyclist it makes the most difference. It is up to the attorney to educate the jury in re to the tests, etc. It is wonderful that you are being proactive in re to DWI. Keep up that attitude. You probably have already saved a life.
That's a great thing to have a DA (and a DH) that will crack down on that. It isn't like that everywhere. I was just on the stand in a DWI...I pulled her over for going 56 in a 45 mph zone that was very busy (it was about 7pm). She was a mess. I got six clues on HGN, and she looks terrible on walk and turn and OLS...it is all on video. So is the jail tape, where I read her statutory warning and ask her to submit a sample of her breath. She can refuse or submit it. She asks me for my advice, which I tell her I can't give. She wavers back and forth, then finally says, "Go ahead, take my blood! I am not drunk!" I say, "Ma'am, I am not asking for your blood, I am asking for your breath." (we don't do blood draws unless we suspect drugs, it is policy). The prosecuter did not explain the statutory warning or ask me to, or explain to the jury the policy (which he did ask me about off the stand) and why. So they let her go, with the reasoning that I should have taken her blood. The prosecuter told me that he messed it up...forgetting something so obvious. The DA is ok, and the prosecutors are all OK, but they are underpaid, overworked, and overwhelmed...here anyway. Lots of guys won't do DWIs because they are left dangling on the stand like that.