Prescott Arizona police nab DUI driver with tire spikes after chase

Prescott, AZ - An Arizona man was arrested for several serious DUI related charges after he allegedly ran through nine red lights and almost hit two police units. The suspect led Yavapai County police on a chase early Wednesday morning.

The suspect, Michael Francis, was booked into the Yavapai County Jail in Camp Verde on two counts of aggravated vehicular assault, felony flight, extreme DUI and reckless driving.

The police were first alerted to Mr. Francis when a woman called the police to say that Francis had been following her.

To catch him, Prescott police had to ultimately disable his vehicle using tire spikes. According to police reports, Mr. Francis' blood alcohol content was .215, well over the "super extreme" DUI limit of .20 in Arizona. Depending on his criminal history, he may face 7 years or more in prison if convicted. He is currently being held on $15,000 bond while awaiting his hearing next week.

California DUI cases with female defendants on the rise

Sacramento, CA - After reporting on the latest outrageous Sacramento DUI case issued by the California Court of Appeals this week, a case that involved a very drunk woman, we found it telling that, according to the Sacrament Bee, female DUI arrests are on the rise.

Although men still account for more DUI arrests than women, the number of female arrestees has been climbing at an alarming rate in recent years. It is interesting to note that the age group with the highest representation amongst arrested female drivers in the Sacrament area (by far) is the 21-30 year old bracket. Statewide, that age bracket represented 43 percent of all DUI arrests in 2007.

Still, in 2008, women represented only 23.7 percent of the total DUI charges filed in Sacramento. But those numbers mean little when compared with the very real damage that female drunk drivers are doing. The Bee's story gives some recent examples of 4 people who have died at the hands of female drunk drivers.

Georgia Court of Appeals dismisses DUI charge based on double jeopardy

Georgia - On August 5, 2009, the Court of Appeals of Georgia issued a new DUI case opinion dismissing DUI charges against Michael Freeman based on double jeopardy. The three panel court agreed that the trial judge was out of line in declaring a mistrial. Judge Blackburn authored the opinion of the court. Mr. Freeman was represented by Wesley Matthew Woolverton, and the State was represented in the appeal by Brian Keith Fortner and Evelyn Proctor.

On April 19, 2005, Mr. Freeman was arrested for DUI in Georgia after being stopped at a police roadblock. After failing several field sobriety tests he refused to submit to a breath test. In August of 2007 he was tried on the charge, but the trial court declared a mistrial on the charge after the jury was unable to agree on a verdict.

Freeman was retried on September 22, 2008. During the early stages of the trial the Court informed the parties that it would not allow to arresting officer to testify about the alleged correlation between clues on the horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), which is the eye test given as part of the standardized field sobriety test battery. The prosecutor complained about the ruling and asked for time to research its position, which the court granted.

When the trial reconvened after a two day recess, the prosecutor moved to suspend the trial. After some legal wrangling, the court, frustrated and seemingly confused and tripping over itself declared a mistrial based on unfairly surprising the prosecutor. In order to declare a mistrial in that situation, the court needed to find "manifest necessity."

The next day, Freeman filed a motion to bar further prosecution based on former jeopardy. The court sat it the motion for a few months, and when it apparantly became obvious that the court just couldn't bury its head in the sand any longer, denied the motion.

Freeman then appealed.

The Georgia Constitution says that:

No person shall be put in jeopardy of life or liberty more than once for the same offense except when a new trial has been granted after conviction or in the case of a mistrial.

And the United States Constitution says:

Once a jury is impaneled and sworn, jeopardy attaches and an accused is entitled to have the trial proceed to an acquittal or conviction by that jury.

Georgia caselaw established that a court could declare a mistrial on its own if there is a demonstration of manifest necessity for the mistrial.

Here, the jury was empaneled and sworn, so jeopardy attached. There was no evidence that the Judge considered any less burdensome alternatives to declaring a mistrial. There were no urgent circumstances present.

This case boils down to a huge mistake on the parts of the prosecutor and judge, and the Court of Appeals of Georgia acknowledged that much and dismissed the case against Mr. Freeman.

FSU football player settles Tallahassee DUI case

Tallahassee, FL - In April of this year, the Tallahassee Police Department initiated a traffic stop at 4:30 a.m., on a 2008 white Nissan for driving without headlights. The driver, FSU wide receiver Rod Owens, allegedly exhibited signs of intoxication. The arresting officer brought Owens to the Leon County Jail for suspicion of driving under the influence. Owens blew a .155 breathalyzer test; almost double the Florida legal limit of .08. He faced criminal charges of DUI and the risk of losing his football scholarship to Florida State University. On Wednesday afternoon Owens settled the Court case against him.

Leon County court records reveal that Owens entered into an agreement with the State and plead no contest to the charge of DUI. He will be sentenced to 50 hours of community service, 6 months of court monitored probation and lose his driving privileges for a period of 6 months. This is the minimum sentence for a first time DUI offender pursuant to Florida statute. He also has the option to request early termination of his probation, if all other conditions of his sentence have been satisfied.

Florida State University had suspended the player after the charges became public last spring. No additional punishment has yet been issued by the university. Owens is using this experience to educate his peers on the importance of making good choices. He is scheduled to speak at area high schools, groups at FSU and FAU. Owens is being publicly applauded for accepting personal responsibility for his negative actions.

South Carolina man causes DUI related fatality in stolen BMW on 8-2-09

Laurens County, SC - One person has died and another has been arrested and taken into police custody following a deadly hit and run accident.

The South Carolina Highway Patrol arrested Brian Stephens, a 43 year old man after he fled the scene of the accident in an allegedly stolen vehicle. Stephens tried to flee after crashing the stolen BMW into an SUV driven by a family returning home from vacation.

Stephens faces numerous counts of serious felony charges that could keep him in prison for decades.