In Texas they now are able to - and without a judge’s consent.

According to an article in the Houston Chronicle, Sept. 1 marks the first day that Texas police officers will be able to use their own discretion in certain circumstances and order blood tests from people accused of driving under the influence - without judicial review.

The law is written only to include certain circumstances - such as repeat offenders or an accident resulting in death - but the Chronicle says defense attorneys are riled up about the legislation.

Some authorities think the new law will cause blood-work labs to become overloaded with work - but the state has bulked up on staff, so hopefully that won’t happen.

One Texas prosecutor believes the law will be a ‘huge deterrant’ against drinking and driving because people will believe they are more likely to get busted. Drivers can still refuse a breathalyzer test, but if the police can get a search warrant and order a blood test on the spot, there’s a much higher chance of convicting offenders.

Texas defense attorneys think the legislation is a violation of American constitutional rights, according to the Chronicle article - but the start date is set and it’s going to happen, so the state and defense attorneys alike will just have to see how it goes.

Apparently, Charles Barkley wasn’t kidding when he told us, 15 years ago, that he wasn’t a “role model”. Of course, at that point Barkley had already been arrested on a physical violence charge, so we might have known–but the retired Hall-of-Famer has been pretty quiet in recent years.

The retired basketball star reportedly ran a stop sign in Scottsdale, Arizona early this morning and was escorted by police to a DUI checkpoint. The Associated Press is reporting that Barkley declined a breath test and was subjected to a blood test, then placed under arrest.

Compulsory blood tests following breathalyzer test refusal have become a hot issue recently–although some states have been obtaining blood test warrants on breath test refusals for several years, the specifics remain controversial.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting that women are catching up with men in an area in which they’d always been left behind before–causing injuries and fatalities through drunk driving accidents.

Between 1998 and 2007, the number of California women aged 21-24 who were involved in drunk driving accidents that caused injury or death more than doubled, from 419 to 907.  Men in that age group are still far in the lead, with 3,269 drunk driving accidents resulting in injury or death in 2006, but young women are closing the gap.  Over the time period measured, the young men’s incidence of such accidents increased by 39%, while women’s increased by 116%.

Despite the continuing controversy and litigation surrounding the Intoxilyzer 8000, Ohio officials are considering purchasing 700 units in an effort to standardize breath test equipment and procedures across the state.  The Ohio Departments of Public Safety and Health say the Intoxilyzer 8000 has been tested under a variety of temperature and climate conditions and passed those tests, but the state controlling board is hesitant in the wake of litigation around the country.

CMI, Inc., the company that manufactures the Intoxilyzer 8000 (and the Intoxilyzer 5000 before it) and has resisted all requests for the machine’s source code, says DUI defense attorneys are mounting an orchestrated national effort to shut down DUI cases which rely on the Intoxilyzer.  But the company seems to be in a bit of a bind:  If defense attorneys are raising legitimate concerns about the breath test, that’s good reason for Ohio officials to hold off on that mass purchase…but if defense attorneys across the country are in fact “orchestrating a national effort”, isn’t that a good reason to steer clear as well?

We always knew that a DUI was expensive.  On average, a DUI can cost the defendant between $5,000 and $20,000, but a West Palm Beach woman recently discovered that drunk driving can be much more expensive than that.  Patricia Craissati was divorced in 2001, and the agreed that Mr. Craissati would pay her more than $2,000/month in alimony for the rest of her life…unless she remarried or “cohabitated” with another person for more than three months.

In 2005, Patricia was involved in a drunk driving accident which severely injured two men, and was sentenced to nine years in prison.  Now, her ex-husband has prevailed with the creative argument that Patricia has been “cohabitating” with her cellmate for more than three months and is thus no longer entitled to alimony.

While the argument sounds a bit absurd–after all, Patricia’s cohabitation isn’t voluntary, and surely not what the parties contemplated when settling their divorce case–but this week two members of a three-judge appellate panel agreed with Mr. Craissati and ruled that Patricia was, indeed, cohabitating and that her ex-husband was therefore no longer liable for alimony.

The battle over the source code for the Intoxilyzer 5000 raged on for months in Florida, and quickly spread to other states using the breathalyzer device.  Hundreds of cases were stalled or dismissed while courts in different jurisdictions reached conflicting conclusions about the defendant’s right to obtain the breathalyzer machine’s source code, and the corporation that developed the Intoxilyzer made it clear that the source code would not be divulged regardless of the outcome.  In Florida, the state legislature stepped in to alter the state’s DUI statute to specifically state that the defendant had no right to review the source code.

Now, more than two years later, a Tucson judge has thrownTucson judge has thrown out breath test results in another 69 cases–bringing the recent total in Arizona to more than 300.  This time, the machine in question is the Intoxilyzer 8000, the new and improved product that manufacturers and prosecutors alike hoped would put an end to the struggle by eliminating alleged flaws in the system.  But the new breathalyzer seems to come with its own set of inconsistencies and possibilities for error.

While the company’s reluctance to divulge its trade secrets in public courtrooms across the country is understandable and prosecutors claim that their hands are tied by that refusal, the bottom line remains what it was three years ago when defense attorneys first began to gain momentum with these requests and always will be:  a defendant is entitled to examine the evidence against him, and if the evidence isn’t available for examination, it shouldn’t be introduced.  Fortunately, many judges have that bottom line clearly in view.

With the economy in such turmoil, times are tough for everybody—even lawyers. Layoffs at law offices are rare but becoming somewhat of a trend as income dwindles.

A Chicago law firm laid off 24 defense lawyers out of its 680 staff and another firm let go of 21 defense attorneys out of their stock of 650, according to a Chicago Tribune story.

But don’t worry—if you’re looking for a lawyer, we have an extensive network and nobody’s going anywhere!

Total Lawyers can help you if you’re looking for a:

• Bankruptcy Lawyer
• Criminal Defense Lawyer
• Personal Injury Lawyer
• DUI Lawyer
• Divorce Lawyer
• Family Law Lawyer
• Estate Layer
• Lemon Law Lawyer

After one of her assistants quit in the early morning hours today, it has been reported that Lindsay Lohan got behind the wheel of her GMC Denali and began to chase down the girl and her mother.

A call was made to police from the Cadillac Escalade that was being chased and the result was another arrest featuring Lindsay Lohan as the DUI suspect.

Lohan reportedly failed a field sobriety test and was arrested for suspicion of DUI.  Later, on breath tests she registered .12 and .13, well above the .08 legal limit.

This arrest comes 5 days after she was booked for DUI after a Memorial Day weekend crash.  Her driver’s license was suspended in connection with that charge.

In connection with last night’s arrest, Lohan faces 5 new charges which are:  Two counts of driving under the influence, possession of cocaine, bringing a controlled substance into a jail facility and driving on a suspended license.

Lohan has posted $25,000 bail and was released.  Sources say that she is being treated at an undisclosed inpatient rehab facility.

A 72 year-old Nevada mayor is back behind the wheel again after having his driver’s license suspended for DUI.  He had been riding a bicycle for months instead of driving.

Carson City, Nevada Mayor Marv Teixeira, has obtained a provisional license this week so that he can drive to and from work and conduct city business.  He lost his license in April after being charged with misdemeanor DUI.

The mayor still must finish his community service time and complete DUI school as ordered by the court.  Since he was a first time offender, he may apply for a full driver’s license 90 days after sentencing.

On Tuesday night, around 10:30 pm in Orange Beach, Alabama, a policeman on patrol noticed a car speeding.  He turned on his lights to pull the driver over and the car sped up.  A nearly 8 mile high-speed chase followed.

After crashing and rolling over the car finally came to rest on it’s top.  Police approached the car with caution,  weapons drawn.  They found an 11 year old girl inside, and they believe she had been drinking.

The girl suffered slight injuries during the crash and now faces charges of DUI, speeding, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene.  The leaving the scene charge was added because she sideswiped another car during the chase.

Investigators declined to state what the girl’s blood alcohol level actually was, but they did confirm that it was above .02 which is the state’s legal limit for minors.