Head of the Crime Lab Steps Down

February 18th, 2008   Filed Under Legal News, Seattle Criminal Defense  

The head of the state labs that test crime evidence is stepping down, a move that prosecutors and defense lawyers say could help bring back lost confidence in the way drunken-driving cases are handled around the state.

Barry Logan’s resignation, effective March 14, comes after a series of problems at the Washington State Patrol toxicology lab have cast doubts on breath tests for suspected drunken drivers…

“Too many things went wrong on his watch,” said defense attorney Francisco Duarte, who specializes in DUI cases. “I believe he wanted to run a laboratory that was based on integrity — and ultimately, he failed to do so.”

DUI attorney Ted Vosk, who has worked to uncover problems at the lab and has persuaded judges to throw out many breath-test results, said he believed Logan’s departure was appropriate.

“His stepping down now seems to represent, at least in my mind, that we were right,” Vosk said.

You can read the full article here.

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Furthering The Scarlet Letter of DUI

February 12th, 2008   Filed Under DUI, Legal News, Seattle Criminal Defense  

Under the current statutes it is already impossible to remove a DUI from your record by seeking a Vacation of Conviction. Now Washington State seeks to further punish those convicted of DUI.

Drunk drivers in Washington state could soon have their own Scarlet Letter in the form of a fluorescent yellow license plate.

In Olympia today, the Senate Transportation Committee is meeting to discuss a bill that would require some drivers convicted of DUI to drive only a vehicle that has front and rear yellow license plates for a year once their driving privileges are restored.

“Obviously I am opposed to drunken drivers. I think everyone is,” Washington Sen. Weinstein said. “But I don’t think this is going to solve anything, and it will have the unintended consequence of embarrassing a lot of innocent people.” It is worth noting that even the regional administrator for MADD in the Pacific Northwest does not support the newest craze in “shunning” those convicted of DUI.

Read Yu Nakayama’s full article here.

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This Week in NW Legal News

February 3rd, 2008   Filed Under Legal News, Seattle Criminal Defense  

It has been a very busy week in Washington. On Tuesday, the Mayor’s panel provided 29 recommendations on how to make Seattle police more accountable in cases of alleged misconduct. The Seattle Police embraced the new policy proposals with open arms… just kidding. The Police union let it be known that it opposes any changes without first negotiating with the union, “Our system of discipline accountability works and there’s no crisis that needs immediate attention.” Really? Do we need to wait for a crisis to implement change?

Suprisingly, Mayor Nickels fired back, “I want to make it very clear that I intend to assert management rights very strongly,” he said. You can read more on Robert Mak’s report of this story here and Laura Onstot’s article here. Damon Agnos looks at some of the deeper, political implications of this development. You can read his article here.

On Wedneday it was reported that Washington State Sen. Claudia Kauffman, has proposed a bill to ramp up reporting requirements for on-campus use of handcuffs, pepper spray, Tasers and other security devices and curtail their use. The bill was drafted after a school in Sen. Kauffman’s district was sued for the overzealous use of handcuffs. The suit was later dropped.

“I don’t know of any other school district that does this,” she said, referring to the use of handcuffs, pepper spray and physical force against students. “A lot of people thought it ended with the lawsuit, but the practice continues.”

Before I get a flurry of email telling me how rough schools are nowadays, the proposed bill only impacts school security guards who are not off-duty police officers or sheriff’s deputies; it would not apply to active duty law enforcement officers. In addition, it allows for the use of restraints under appropriate circumstances:

“the student’s behavior poses a threat of imminent, serious physical harm to self or others”

On Thursday, the new policy for crossing over the Canadian-United States boarder will require two pieces of Identification. This policy had been in the works for a while and was finally implemented today. The New York Times said,

[H]omeland security officials say they are making a greater effort to publicize the changes. And in a country obsessed with recording artists and shows like “American Idol,” they believe they have found the perfect spokeswoman: a country singer. In a new public service announcement, Shirley Myers, Canadian by birth but based in Nashville, sings about the documents Americans will need to cross the borders:
“Know before you come or go, / it just makes common sense –?The key to crossing smoothly / is in your documents.”

The tyranny of comedic choices was overwhelming and so I am leaving this alone. You can read more in the New York Times here.

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