DUI Seattle, Seattle DUI Lawyer, Seattle DUI Attorney

By KRISTIN DIZON
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

For the past six years, Sen. Tracey Eide, D-Auburn, has been trying to pass a bill in Washington against hand-held cell phone driving, which would make ours the third state to do so.

Last session, Eide’s bill didn’t even get a hearing in the transportation committee she sits on, even though she got the support of two wireless companies: Cingular and Verizon Wireless.

But the tide may be turning.

New York first enacted such a ban in 2001. New Jersey’s and Washington, D.C.,’s laws both took effect in July. Approximately 25 American cities have also done so, along with the Army base at Fort Campbell, Ky. Maine and New Jersey prohibit drivers under 21 with a learner’s permit from driving while phoning.

Besides state laws, companies are beginning to ask their employees to stop phoning and driving, and plaintiffs are collecting multimillion dollar awards for wrongful death caused by cell phone-wielding drivers.

Eide used to call constituents from her car until she missed a stop sign while talking on the phone. “I taught myself. It scared me.” Now, she turns off her phone while driving.

Other lawmakers, however, fear restricting cell phones in cars may hamper the development of new technological devices for cars that may be beneficial. Called telematics, such devices include new generations of embedded, voice-activated phones, in-dash navigational systems and more.

And many legislators like to phone while driving, and know how popular it is.

A constituent who called after nearly getting sideswiped twice on one trip by drivers on cell phones got Eide’s legislative wheels turning.

“I don’t want to outlaw them. I just want to have it so they’re hands free — so you can turn, you can shift, you can signal,” said Eide, whose young adult and teen children are trained not to call and drive.

Her bill, most recently titled SB5487, makes exceptions for emergency calls, to summon medical help, or report accidents and illegal activity. It exempts anyone operating an authorized emergency vehicle.

She also tried to get state collision reports changed to track cell phone involvement in crashes, but that hasn’t happened yet either.

“If people would just stop and realize what they’re doing, they would be mortified,” she said, recalling the time she saw a state trooper who was on the phone driving erratically.

Another time, Eide was a guest on radio’s “Car Talk” with Click & Clack, aka Tom and Ray Magliozzi, staunch opponents of phoning and driving who’ve given out “Hang up and drive” bumper stickers. A legislator from another state, calling from the road on his wireless, was saying that cell phone driving is safe and shouldn’t be regulated. Suddenly a swear word, followed by a crash, filled the airwaves. The man had gotten into a collision on live radio.

“Doesn’t that just say it all?” Eide says.

Since introducing the bill in 1998, Eide has heard from people who support it, such as Cheryl Miller of Tacoma, who was almost broadsided by someone on a cell phone.

That didn’t make Miller, 56, drive defensively. “It increased my road rage exponentially,” she said. “It made me drive more aggressively. It was just sheer anger, and all kinds of expletives for these idiots out here on the roads.”

Miller owns a cell phone and appreciates calls from her husband and daughters on the road, saying they’ll be late or their plans have changed. So she feels some ambivalence, but wants more emphasis on responsible behavior.

The former chair of the Highways & Transportation committee, Sen. Jim Horn, R-Mercer Island, opposed Eide’s bill and declined to grant it a hearing last session.

Horn believes many people can phone and drive safely.

“I do it quite frequently. I have a cell phone that’s voice activated. I think the most inattention is when you’re trying to punch in a number,” said Horn, who mostly holds his phone when driving.

“Would anybody say that it’s impossible to drive responsibly while talking on a cell phone?” he asked, adding that people who do it often are usually better at it. “I think most people tend to act responsibly on this thing. I don’t think you have to regulate and define under what conditions you can and can’t do it.”

But Horn just lost his bid for re-election and the Senate balance tipped from Republican to Democratic control, so Eide may have better luck next session.

Some think the pendulum is swinging in favor of regulation, perhaps none more so than Felix Ortiz. In 2001, the New York state assemblyman got the first state hand-held ban passed in the country.

It took five years for Ortiz to make it happen, facing initial opposition from law enforcement and the wireless lobby.

“When they make that comment — about we need more data — I fought back and said, ‘Would you like to see your son or daughter in that data?’ ” he said.

The catalyst for the bill was an erratic driver on a cell phone in his district. “I witnessed a person who was driving and crossing both sides of the road. Then she hit a pole. And I stopped to help her,” he said.

Though New York is still crunching the numbers, Ortiz says his law has reduced crashes attributable to cell phones. “This legislation is all about saving lives,” he said.

From December 2001 through May 2004, New York issued more than 286,000 of the $100 citations for driving with a hand-held cell phone.

Ortiz said he’ll work to strengthen his bill, aiming for a complete ban except for voice-activated phones. He hopes the law can be amended in the future to add other distractions, including DVD players, Web surfing, text messaging and more.

He sees a day when the federal government intervenes, perhaps tying the release of highway funds to states’ banning the practice.

“I’m probably going to be 50 or 60 years old, but I’ll look back and say I had a vision,” said Ortiz, who is 44.

Ortiz is not the only one who thinks the handwriting is on the pavement. Leading telecom industry analyst The Yankee Group wrote, “It is inevitable that wireless usage in automobiles will be further regulated,” in a September 2003 research note. “Any opposition by wireless carriers or device manufacturers will work against them in the future.”

The paper concludes the best scenario for industry is hands-free laws, which increase the sale of hands-free equipment. The worst outcome is a total ban, “which would have a significant negative effect on revenue for wireless carriers and device manufacturers.”

KNDU-TV

KENNEWICK, Wash. — Washington State Patrol has devised a new way to catch drunk drivers.
But troopers across the State are taking care of people driving under the influence in different ways. Troopers in Spokane and Snohomish counties are using special emphasis patrols to catch drunk drivers.

These troopers do nothing but look for people driving under the influence. The four person Snohomish team has arrested nearly a thousand drunk drivers this year.

That has cut alcohol-related crashes in Snohomish County by nearly 50%. In the Tri-Cities, a similar program was planned but not adopted because of a lack of resources.

Trooper David Brandt says, “We use the resources we have and we run with them. The troopers in the Tri-City area are very focused on DUI enforcement and that’s what we do around here, get drunk drivers off the road.”

Brandt says Tri-Cities troopers emphasize peak drinking times to crack down on drunk drivers, like on Friday and Saturday nights. Statewide, the different methods troopers are using seem to be working. There have been 37% less alcohol-related crashes in the state.

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Associated Press

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — A scooter-riding Mickey Rourke was arrested Thursday on suspicion of driving under the influence.

Rourke, star of “Sin City,” “Diner” and “9 1/2 Weeks,” was arrested at 4:20 a.m. and booked at the Miami-Dade County Jail, said Janelle Hall, a jail spokeswoman. He was released on a $1,000 bond, she said.

A telephone message left at the office of Rourke’s agent wasn’t immediately returned.
A Miami Beach Police report said Rourke made a U-turn with a red light and then swerved several times while on a green scooter. He had a flushed face and bloodshot, watery eyes, his speech was slurred, and he had a strong odor of alcohol on his breath, the report said.

“I’m not drunk, I didn’t even drink that much,” the report quoted Rourke as saying.
Rourke, 51, allegedly failed field-sobriety tests before being taken to headquarters. He also failed an alcohol breath test, police said.

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LOS ANGELES, California (AP) — TV host and actor Gary Collins was arrested for investigation of driving under the influence after a crash that police blamed on another driver, an 89-year-old man.

Collins, 69, was booked after the crash Tuesday in the San Fernando Valley, Officer April Harding said. He was later released on $40,000 bond, authorities said.

It wasn’t immediately known whether Collins had retained an attorney. Attempts to locate Collins late Wednesday were unsuccessful.

“He was not at fault in the accident,” Harding said. “The other motorist failed to yield to oncoming traffic and collided with Collins’ vehicle.”

The actor’s sports utility vehicle subsequently crashed into two parked cars, Harding said.
“Officers smelled alcohol on his breath and initiated a field sobriety test, which he failed,” she said. Collins was uninjured.

The other driver was taken to a hospital for examination of unspecified injuries, and the investigation was ongoing, Harding said.

Collins hosted the talk show “Hour Magazine” in the 1980s. His long career includes guest roles on series such as “Yes, Dear,” “JAG” and “The Young and the Restless,” as well as appearances on “The New Hollywood Squares” and “Circus of the Stars.”

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Jurisdiction

Courts of limited jurisdiction include district and municipal courts. District courts are county courts and serve defined territories, both incorporated and unincorporated, within the counties. Municipal courts are those created by cities and towns.More than two million cases are filed annually in district and municipal courts. Excluding parking infractions, seven out of every eight cases filed in all state courts are filed at this level. This is due primarily to the broad jurisdiction these courts have over traffic violations and misdemeanors.

District Courts

District courts have jurisdiction over both criminal and civil cases. Criminal jurisdiction includes misdemeanors and gross misdemeanors cases that involve traffic or non-traffic offenses. Examples include: Driving while under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs (DUI), reckless driving, driving with a suspended driver’s license and assault in the fourth degree. Preliminary hearings for felony cases are also within the jurisdiction of the district courts. The maximum penalty for gross misdemeanors is one year in jail and a $5,000 fine. The maximum penalty for misdemeanors is 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. A defendant is entitled to a jury trial for these offenses. Juries in courts of limited jurisdiction are composed of six people as opposed to superior court juries, which have 12 people.
Jurisdiction in civil cases includes damages for injury to individuals or personal property and contract disputes in amounts of up to $50,000. District courts also have jurisdiction over traffic and non-traffic infractions, civil proceedings for which a monetary penalty–but no jail sentence-may be imposed. There is no right to a jury trial for an infraction. District courts have jurisdiction to issue domestic violence and antiharassment protection orders and no-contact orders. They also have jurisdiction to hear change-of-name petitions and certain lien foreclosures. More information on these procedures can be obtained by contacting your local district court.Small claims are limited to money claims of up to $4,000. These are filed and heard in the Small Claims Department of the district court. Generally, each party is self-represented–attorneys are not permitted except with the permission of the judge. Witnesses may not be subpoenaed, but may be allowed to voluntarily testify for a party. Examples of cases heard: Neighborhood disputes, consumer problems, landlord/tenant matters and small collections. The district court clerk can provide specific information about filing a claim.

Municipal Courts

Violations of municipal or city ordinances are heard in municipal courts. A municipal court’s authority over these ordinance violations is similar to the authority that district courts have over state law violations.The ordinance violation must have occurred within the boundaries of the municipality. Like district courts, municipal courts only have jurisdiction over gross misdemeanors, misdemeanors and infractions. Municipal courts do not accept civil or small claims cases. As with district courts, municipal courts can issue domestic violence protection orders and no-contact orders. A municipal court can issue antiharassment protection orders upon adoption of a local court rule establishing that process.

Traffic Violation Bureaus (TVB)

In addition to a municipal court, cities can establish traffic violation bureaus or TVBs. TVBs handle traffic violations of municipal ordinances that involve no possible incarceration. The primary purpose of a traffic violation bureau is to expedite the handling of traffic cases that do not require any judicial involvement. The TVB is under the supervision of the municipal court and the supervising court designates those traffic law violations that a TVB may process.

Domestic Violence and Antiharassment Orders

District and municipal courts are confronted daily with domestic violence issues. Besides adjudicating criminal domestic violence and antiharassment cases, courts of limited jurisdiction also enter protection orders. These are no-contact orders, orders of protection and antiharassment orders. No-contact orders and orders of protection can be obtained in either a municipal or district court. Antiharassment orders can be obtained in district courts, as well as in municipal courts that have adopted local court rules establishing the process. Court personnel are knowledgeable about domestic violence issues and can assist a victim in completing domestic violence or antiharassment forms. However, court personnel cannot give legal advice.

Appeals from Courts of Limited Jurisdiction

Cases are appealed from “the record” made in the lower court. In courts of limited jurisdiction, the record is made from an electronic recording of the original proceedings and court documents. The cases are appealed to superior court where only legal errors from the proceeding below are argued.
There is no additional evidence or testimony presented on appeal. The one exception is an appeal from a small claims case. Small claims cases are heard de novo (or anew) in superior court on the record from the court of limited jurisdiction.

Judges

District court judges are elected to four-year terms. Municipal court judges may be elected or appointed to a four-year term, depending on state law provisions. All judges are required to attend 45 hours of judicial training every three years.Judges of courts of limited jurisdiction belong to the District and Municipal Court Judges’ Association. The association was created by state statute to study and make recommendations concerning the operation of courts served by its members.

Court Support Personnel

Courts of limited jurisdiction are served by an administrative support staff. Under the direction of the presiding judge, the staff is responsible for maintaining the court’s fiscal, administrative and court records.

Probation

Courts of limited jurisdiction have authority to order probation for up to two years, except in DUI convictions where a court can order probation for up to five years. A probation counselor administers programs that provide pre-sentence investigations, supervision and probationary treatment for misdemeanant offenders in a district or municipal court.
Probation counselors can make sentencing recommendations to the court, including appropriate treatment (i.e. drug and alcohol counseling) that an offender should receive. The probation counselor periodically advises the district/municipal court judges of an offender’s progress while the offender in on supervision.

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By Associated Press

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) – Republican Attorney General Rob McKenna launched his 2008 re-election campaign on Wednesday, touting his first-term work fighting identity theft and methamphetamine abuse.McKenna, a former King County councilman, was first elected attorney general in 2004. He is one of three Republicans to hold statewide elected office, along with Secretary of State Sam Reed and Public Lands Commissioner Doug Sutherland.

In an interview, McKenna said his travels around the state working on consumer protection, crime and open government issues have helped him connect with Washingtonians.

“I just need to do my job every day, and that’s the most important thing I can do to persuade the voters to give me another four years,” he said.

McKenna filed paperwork to seek a second term shortly after winning the attorney general’s seat in 2004. Finance records show he’s raised more than $470,000 overall for the 2008 campaign.

No one is officially running against McKenna yet, but Democrats have touted Pierce County Executive John Ladenburg as a possible candidate.

Ladenburg, a former county prosecutor, must retire from the executive’s job because of term limits. He was on vacation Wednesday and declined comment through a spokeswoman on any possible campaign.

Wednesday’s formal campaign kickoff drew about 1,600 people to Bellevue, McKenna said.

Dino Rossi, the GOP challenger for governor in 2008, and retired Seattle Seahawks fullback Mack Strong were among the notable attendees.

Hours after the kickoff event, state Democratic Party officials complained that McKenna’s campaign ejected a Democratic operative attempting to film McKenna’s kickoff speech.

Democratic spokesman Kelly Steele said that action clashes with McKenna’s commitment to transparency and accountability, which is one of McKenna’s top issues.

A McKenna campaign spokesman, Adam Faber, acknowledged the Democratic Party worker was removed by an off-duty police officer working as a security guard.

The event was at Meydenbauer Center, a publicly owned convention center in Bellevue often used for political events.

Faber said the campaign had rented the room and opened the event only to McKenna supporters and the press.

He said the campaign may have been more welcoming if officials hadn’t felt the Democratic operative had sneaked in and tried to hide the fact he was filming the event.

“As I told him as the policeman was removing him, we’re going to put the speech up on our Web site anyway. So if he wants to catch it there, he’s more than welcome,” Faber said.

Faber said he couldn’t confirm Steele’s assertion that the guard flashed some type of badge before removing the party operative.

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By SCOTT GUTIERREZ
P-I REPORTER

A plan to boost the number of sergeants in the King County Sheriff’s Office could be delayed well into next year by a legal dispute over a flawed civil service test.

Concerned about fairness and the test’s validity, Sheriff Sue Rahr requested that June’s promotional sergeant’s exam be disqualified. The county’s director of Human Resources, which oversees civil service functions, rejected the results and is planning a second test next month.
But the King County Police Officers’ Guild has a filed a complaint over the decision, accusing the sheriff of improperly interfering with the test.

Some say the sheriff threw out the results because she didn’t like who scored highest, though an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office refuted that claim.

Glitches with the test have already postponed a plan to fill 12 vacant sergeant spots by six months. Eight of those positions were created this year after a panel recommended adding more supervisors to improve accountability within the office.

The panel was formed in response to the Seattle P-I’s “Conduct Unbecoming” series, which uncovered serious misconduct and lax oversight in the Sheriff’s Office. Several of the panel’s suggested reforms, such as creation of a civilian oversight office and new performance measures for officers, also are stalled as the county and guild negotiate the new policies through collective bargaining.

The complaint, filed with the state’s Public Employment Relations Commission, contends that the Sheriff’s Office is legally bound to the test once it’s complete and scored. Hearings are scheduled for January, and a decision could take several months, said Chris Vick, the Seattle attorney representing the guild. The guild argues that no more tests should be conducted until the issue is decided.

The county’s Human Resources division, however, isn’t waiting and has a second test slated to begin Dec 7. If an arbitrator rules against the county, the Sheriff’s Office could wind up with two lists of candidates, or be forced to undo promotions of deputies picked from the second test.
“We’ve looked at it and we think our position is pretty strong,” said Michael Frawley, deputy director of Human Resources.
Employees now work overtime to compensate for the vacant sergeant posts, said Sgt. John Urquhart, a sheriff’s spokesman. The Sheriff’s Office has about 90 sergeant positions.

“We need sergeants and we will go with what (Human Resources) says,” he said. “If this is the way they want to handle things, that’s fine. But if it doesn’t work out, they’re going to have to wear it.”

Civil service tests are meant to ensure employees are evaluated based on their merits. A civil service commission gives the hiring and promotional exams independently of the Sheriff’s Office. The top 30 candidates who pass a written test go to a second stage of oral questioning. A final list of scores is certified and given to the sheriff.

In King County, Human Resources handles civil service functions.

The sergeants’ test, held every two years, has highlighted the agency’s growing frustration with the county’s Human Resources division and civil service rules, which haven’t been revised since 1986.

“It’s ridiculous to work with rules that are 20 years old, especially when talking about labor issues that are highly technical and highly important,” Urquhart said.

Meanwhile, an investigation by the Prosecutor’s Office found the test had enough glitches to ask that the results be disqualified. The prosecutor’s report attributes several mistakes to the county’s Human Resources division. The division bought an “off-the-shelf” test from a national vendor of police exams. According to the report, the written test asked questions about laws that don’t apply in Washington and had inaccurate information on case law.

Candidates also were given conflicting information on how the test scores would be weighted. Several candidates appealed after the written test, according to the report. Of 66 employees who took the test, only five scored higher than the vendor’s suggested passing grade.
Despite the frustrations over the sergeants’ test, county human resources officials have administered tests for 25 of 40 vacancies in the Sheriff’s Office this year without hitches.

“I think a lot of things combined to make this an emotional issue, but we’re trying to be understanding,” Frawley said.

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

More than 200 lawyers, most of them in suits and ties, demonstrated outside the federal courthouse Wednesday in support of jailed lawyers and judges in Pakistan.

“I don’t often come out to protests, but this is one I wanted to attend,” Seattle attorney Douglas Jackson said. “What’s happening in Pakistan is just wrong. … The other lawyers of the world need to stand and unite with them.”

Pakistan’s military ruler, President Pervez Musharraf, suspended the constitution a week ago and has jailed thousands of judges, lawyers, political activists and human rights workers who have demonstrated against him.

Hozaifa Cassubhai, who practices in general litigation at Davis Wright Tremaine in Seattle, spent 12 years in Pakistan as a child.

“As unfortunate as the circumstances may be over there, it is exciting to see that there is this voice rising up,” he said. “As lawyers, it is incumbent upon us that we join that voice, and that we not just let it die, but that we go back to our offices and do something about it.”

The lunchtime demonstration was sober in tone as the lawyers circled the courthouse and then gathered on its steps.

Among the speakers was former U.S. Attorney John McKay, who was ousted by the Bush administration earlier this year in a controversy that helped prompt the resignation of Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

McKay referred to problems in the U.S. regarding the independence of prosecutors and the Justice Department and called what is happening in Pakistan “an assault on the rule of law.”
The rally was organized by the King County Bar Association.

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