This month’s case comes out of the Georgia Court of Appeals, and involves the issue of whether criminal cases can be dismissed because of State misconduct. (more…)

So you been out to dinner at your favorite Italian restaurant, had your normal 2 or 3 glasses of wine, when suddenly you come upon a roadcheck. What are 5 things you never do? (more…)

On the road to Florida yesterday, several small town South Ga towns through 75; obviously making mucho revenue on “speeders” heading south. And of course I saw the obligatory cars stopped, trunk open, and lo and behold, the drivers and passengers are either black or hispanic. Believe it or not, racial profiling is alive and well on I-75 in south GA.

Even the New York Times is talking about the latest threat to our driving safety: Driving While Texting. The news is scary. More and more auto fatalities are being caused by folks driving while either using their cell phone or while texting. (more…)

– A badger in Germany got so drunk on over-ripe cherries it staggered into the middle of a road and refused to budge, police said on Wednesday.

A motorist called police near the central town of Goslar to report a dead badger on a road — only for officers to turn up and discover the animal alive and well, but drunk.

Police discovered the nocturnal beast had eaten cherries from a nearby tree which had turned to alcohol and given the badger diarrhoea.

Having failed to scare the animal away, officers eventually chased it from the road with a broom.

New York has overtaken Miami to be voted the U.S. city with the angriest and most aggressive drivers, according to a survey on road rage released on Tuesday.

Miami topped the annual poll for the last four years but voters in 25 major metropolitan areas gave New Yorkers the prize for angriest, most aggressive drivers who tailgate, speed, honk their horns, overreact and lose their tempers.

The response of New Yorkers to bad drivers also helped push the city into the top slot for road rage.

“New Yorkers were most likely to wave their fists or arms. They were most likely to lay on the horn and they were most likely to make some sort of obscene gesture,” said Michael Bush, of the marketing and consulting company Affinion Group, which commissioned the survey.

Dallas/Fort Worth came in second as the worst road rage city followed by Detroit, Atlanta and Minneapolis/St. Paul. Miami ranked a distant seventh.

Baltimore, Sacramento and Pittsburgh rounded out the top five cities with the most pleasant drivers.

Portland and Cleveland were voted to have the most courteous, considerate drivers.

“The real surprise to me is that there is no geographic way to break down road rage,” Bush told Reuters. “It is very much on a city-by-city basis, as opposed to geographic area.”

Talking on a cell phone was the behavior that irked motorists the most, with 84 percent of people citing it as the behavior most likely to incite road rage.

Driving too fast, tailgating, and eating and texting behind the wheel also caused stress and incited road rage.

Nearly 50 percent of the 2,518 people who took part in the AutoVantage Road Rage Survey also said other drivers frequently cut across the road without notice.

More than 25 percent of people in the telephone poll reported seeing drivers putting on make-up, shaving and reading while behind the wheel. A quarter said slamming on the brakes and running red lights sent their tempers flaring.

Detroit and San Francisco had the most text-happy drivers, while Miami won the distinction as the city where people were most likely to shave, read or put on make-up while driving.

Most people, 43 percent, reacted to bad driving by honking the horn. But 36 percent resorted to cursing, 13 percent waved their fists or arms and 10 percent made an obscene gesture.

Seven percent were so angry they called the police and one percent admitted they had slammed into the car in front of them.

“In Washington, D.C., four percent of drivers admitted to slamming into another driver,” said Bush. “They stand out in that one particular category.”

We have covered the consequences of a DUI conviction involving jail, fines, and community service. Now let’s take a look at other potential consequences. (more…)

It still amazes me when I see DUI defendants in court representing themselves. Many folks still apparently believe that DUI is either a) not very serious or b) not like, say, a felony, where one really needs a lawyer. Imagine their shock when they are sentenced! Let’s take a look at some of the consequences of a DUI conviction: (more…)

CLEARWATER — What began as an Anclote River boat trip to watch the sunset nearly four years ago ended today with a 15-year prison sentence for the boat’s driver, a Tarpon Springs father who killed his friend after crashing into a dock while drunk.

Matthew Aime, 26, was piloting a 14-foot aluminum johnboat before midnight on Nov. 17, 2005, when he veered onto mud flats and smashed into a dock. The collision paralyzed Robin Raihan, 50, who fell into the water with a broken back and drowned.

A jury found him guilty of boating under the influence manslaughter and reckless operation of a vessel April 30.

At his sentencing today, 13 people who identified themselves as cousins, construction supervisors, neighbors and best friends of Aime pleaded for leniency from Judge Cynthia Newton, calling the father of three a hard worker who never denied a request for help.

“He was the last person who wanted to see Mr. Raihan die,” said Aime’s attorney, Clementine “CC” Conde. “He was like a brother to him. He was a best friend.”

But state prosecutors, and the judge during her sentencing, would not gloss over the fact that Aime was on probation for trafficking in illegal drugs the night Raihan died.

“The defendant has a long criminal history,” one prosecutor told Newton. “This is not his second chance. He has already used up all his second chances.”