work experiense give support to please ?
if my sister wante to be a lawyer or a solicitor were would she turn on work experence ? and what qualifications would be needed ?

call for aid beside a a ruling qustion asap?
when you break up with your ex bf and he comes over to get his stuff and you vote no and he comes through the window and you want him to leave and you trow a phone at him and rip his shirt inside your house is that assaote

Help making a declaration almost a employment? ?
I’m 18 and I want to apply for a job. my two choices are: * work at IHOP as a server- they make well brought-up tips or * work at chipotle- $8 per hour. (full time) which job should I take?

Is it court to do any moving work for clear contained by Pennsylvania…?
without being registered next to the public utility commission? Background info: Moving is regulated in 40 states in the U.S. and Pennsylvania is one of them.

Is it legalized to work at a friends restaurant at age 13?
I am 13 and a friend owns a restaurant. I would like to work there to earn money for a saloon. Does anyone know if it is possible to work there yet or not?

—- IS THIS EVEN LEGaL ?——–
so i went on a job interview on friday- and received a assignment offer right there on the spot. i optimistically accepted. Now i get a disturbing email from the human being that offered me the job. and he is sorry but he has to verbs back the job extend? is that even legal to do that? and what are the next steps i should appropriate in order to brand sure this dosent happen to anyone else, that this company may br “hiring”?

Last week my husband be 5 minutes deferred to work, because his power steering died?
The grocery chain where he works docked him FOUR hours! He ONLY works 4 hours, so he worked those hours for nought! Is this FAIR? Do grocery stores have different rules? He is usually 15 minutes EARLY!

lost my chore up to that time joining – ?
I saw vaccancy in NHS in their website and applied.They call me for interview and later send me a undertaking offer letter and fixed the joining date. So ihave submitted my resignation to the present employer and he recruit somebody to replace me. But just 7 days before the joining date next to NHS they informed me they have witdrawn the post and if you want you can complaint to HR department.I have a mortgage to wage and wife and child too. I have no job. What can I do.please minister to me. I don’t want claim any benefits .I need a job

Must we income bonuses for incompetence?
How much of this $ 700 billion bailout will be paid as bonuses to the CEO’s who got us contained by this mess in the first place?

My current employer access my Livejournal..
Not sure how they did, I figure keylogging, but the main issue I’m have with this is the posts were adjectives friend-locked, not viewable to the public, and they’re trying to use some of my posts against me, by “reading between the lines” on said posts. They’re pretty much threatening my job due to getting this info, although nothing unpromising or slanderous was being said just about them. Just my thoughts. Do I have any legal option?

My first crim misde onARD program, Just graduate next to a Criminal Justice Major, can i still draw from a clad charge?
Well Im on the ARD program, im one week away from finishing up my DUI classes and im immediately going to send the credentials to the D.A.s office. When and How long will it take to properly get my record Expunged. I get arrested on may 30th my arraignment was Aug 8th. i didnt have a trial b/c i waive my rights at the preliminary hearing from advice of my public protector. What do i tell prospective employers in the region of the situation? Do i even tell my prospective employers my situation because i did not be in motion to trial and get a criminal conviction, however it still shows up on a background check. I only just recently applied to a security company as a guard, but on the interview the employer asked if i own a “conviction” in ANY …..

Serving In Manitoba Helppp Badly !?
I Know Anybody Under 18 Cannot Run Or Serve Alcohol In Manitoba, But Can They Sell It & Punch It In? If Somebody Else Runs & Makes & Serves It For Them (They’re 17 Years Of Age)? I Need To Know Badly !

Will I still find salaried?
I’m meant to be at work in a shop today but I can’t attain into the safe as I don’t have my own switch. Despite having worked there for a year, not a soul has ever told me this or given me a key until it be mentioned today. I have had to shut the shop and dally for the supervisor to arrive but she is two hours away. Will I still get paid as the shop is shut through no shortcoming of my own or will they stiff me? I don’t care too much as this is my last shift and it’s solely 4 hours long!

“can an employer sue an member of staff for an unintentional error?”?
I was terminated… can he go after my house?.. Car?.

“GOOD REASON” I am aggression for something I compensated into, I am protesting immediately. Do I enjoy a fortune against MI?
I had to quit my job and move beside my family out of MI, husband got a chore offer. Like so many others we be apart of the statistics of forclosure felt like no other choice. UIA say it isn’t a good enough purpose to get paid laying-off, I am fighting it I paid into it and quality it is mine to collect even if I am not in that state anymore. Is there a arbitrary of winning against a state that is falling apart and whose laying-off level is high. I necessitate that to get a car so I can bring a job, not the whole 26 weeks but satisfactory to help us get hindmost on our feet. What do you think more or less this, is it unusal?

“TERMINATED WITHOUT CAUSE”?
on my leaving paper it states that I be “terminated without cause” what does this mean and how can you justifiably terminate someone without of late cause?

( EEOC) A Right to Sue post say you get 90 days?
to file a Lawsuit .once you do that does it still take years or months back it is finally settled ? or does it have to take place inwardly the 90 days of filling the lawsuit

(13 year ancient, have an hypothesis for a job) Is it legalized…?
Hey all. I live in the United States (Rhode Island) and a few months ago a housing apartment go up less then a mile away from my house for adults over the age of 55 (my grandmother lives there). If I get permission from whomevers incharge, would it be legal to hold out services such as carrying in groceries, getting the mail, and other weird jobs people that age would apprieciate a mitt with? If it’s legal, what would a charge?

(13 year matured, have an hypothesis for a job) Is it permitted…?
Hey all. I live in the United States (Rhode Island) and a few months ago a housing apartment go up less then a mile away from my house for adults over the age of 55 (my grandmother lives there). If I get permission from whomevers incharge, would it be legal to proposition services such as carrying in groceries, getting the mail, and other abnormal jobs people that age would apprieciate a appendage with? If it’s legal, what would a charge?

(UK) Employment imperative and holidays?
My manager has e-mailed me to the effect that due to the current laws about extra holidays within one year, we are no longer allowed to carry holidays over – they all hold to be used within the same year. I’m also advise that I couldn’t be paid for any days outstanding but that I would lose them – is this the case? Can someone point me to the relevant website that say holidays can’t carried over from one financial year to another please?

*Career/Degree interview!*?
What can I do with a bachelors in Law/Public Affair? Ive be looking around and cant seem to find any good answers. Thank you!

*Junior Legal Job? Need choice Advice?
Okay, In about October i will be doing a Bachelor of arts Course by correspondencce, and that gives me time to Work. Im struggling to find work anywhere, i get some hospotality experience but they dont want to hire me becuase they would rather hire 14 yr olds. So im thinking becuase theres so many permitted jobs, i should get a card in Legal services and start working part time as a junior organization assitant in a law firm. Should i be doing something thats Related to what im studying, or is the conception of working in a law firm doomed to failure…..

10 Points! Am I allowed to quit my opportunity Under Texas Labor Laws?
I just received a job working at a report office as a Sales Intern, I needed a job so I took it. They sent out an e-mail stating they be very eager to own me on board as the very first sale intern ever… They explained that I am pursuing a major in IT and deeply bragged about me. Well I received a call after working her for a wee and it be an IT company, that wants to interview me for an IT job. They are a bit further(10 extra miles) from home and conservatory, will pay the same, and they will grant me hands on work with IT. i own scheduled the interview but I Want to know this…

10 points?
i am english and i am interested in becoming a lawyer and doing an LLB canon degree, but in the adjectives i would like to work in spain. are at hand any special courses i have to do to work in spain and speak fluently ? as i enjoy no experience with the language or the regulation thanks in advanced

10 years ago,charge near domestic antagonism..what can I do presently.HELP!?!?
Okay, I really need help…and hope. Over ten years ago I be in my 1st apt. with my later boyfriend and WE were fighting okay, he did a threat to call police and they came he have a scratch by his ear they arrested me. They charged me(1st degree misdemeanor DV) and permit me go on my own recoginanze and 153.00. I have very soon grown up have five kids same father…guess what…same man . we are thickly contained by church , fighting is not in our (repretiore?). the request for information is I tried to get expungement but they wont do it. i am so brokenhearted by this. WHat field can I gain into is hope all gone for becoming a nurse or anything else. …

14.00 an hour well brought-up?
I live in wisconsin i have be hired as a administrive assistant 14.00 an hour i have one son i hope to advance within the company as a insurance agent when i pass the exam which is totaly seperate from the job divison sick be in.

15 year behind the times obtain a profession. Legal law within the state of California.?
I am fifteen and am interested in getting a summer job. I am aware i want a work permit, i already have the application. I also own a good resume. Is it legal for a fifteen year aged to work in the field of food service ( working at a softserve or other rime cream shop). This is my favored field of employment but i am also open to other philosophy. So basically is it legal, and any other option?

15 year mature employment?
were could i find a job for my daughter whos 15?

15 year old-fashioned working two job during college?
I live in Canada, Ontario. I’m 15 years old and I’m trying to accumulate up as much money as I can so I can get myself into a good college or university. So deeply, I was wondering if I could work two jobs during academy. I am currently working one job during the summer and going to continue to work at hand during school, but I can only work for 24 hours a week when college comes around. I know some of you might say that it will be really stressful and get contained by the way of my school work but I do really fitting in school and I am a really thorny worker and if it does get too stressful for me I will quit my second job and a short time ago work one job. I am just trying to hide away up enough money to get myself into a worthy school without making my parents paying for me…..

More Law Legal Job questions please visit : JobQnA.com

jobfaq
http://www.articlesbase.com/career-management-articles/law-legal-job-qa-1268298.html

Simply typing in the phrase “find an attorney in my county” in your favorite search engine won’t give you your desired results for the most part. “Find an attorney in my county” is a very broad term because there are millions of counties world wide. The search engine won’t know where it is exactly that you need a lawyer. You would be better off typing in a phrase such as “orange county attorney”, or “sacramento county attorney”, or whatever county you need a lawyer in. And always include the quotation marks in your search phrase. That will give you results for the exact phrase that you are searching and nothing else. If you don’t include the quotation marks, the search engine will give you results for each word in the phrase, which is usually in the thousands or even millions of results and may not be what you really need.

Let’s get back to “how to find an attorney in my county” subject. You will get much better results when you search for the exact attorney of your need. For an example, if you need a divorce attorney and you live in macomb county, you simply search for “macomb county divorce attorney”. Also, don’t forget to check for the other expression “macomb county divorce lawyer”. Attorney and lawyer is a same thing, but when the search engines are concerned, attorney and lawyer are two different words. You don’t know if the webmaster of the lawyer’s website has optimized the site for both words. For that reason you need to search for both. This search will produce only a few results that contain this specific phrase. This way you may get a website of an actual divorce attorney in macomb county or you may get garbage results, or even no results at all. It depends on what the search engines have in their database for that search phrase. Whether they have websites from actual attorneys, or from advertisers targeting that search phrase, or from some scammers who are also targeting that search phrase by tricking the search engines.

To narrow down your search even further, if you type in “orange county attorney”, you may get results from orange county in Florida and orange county in California, or elsewhere in the world. So, it would be better to try “orange county ca attorney” or “orange county fl attorney”. Or better yet “orange county ca divorce attorney”. These are very narrow search methods that will produce very few results and straight to the point. But, since you cannot depend on the optimization of the websites, whether they have been done correctly or mischievously (that’s how search engines know which website is for what), you would get a lot more relevant results by splitting your search phrase. By all means, try your search first with the above search phrases because you would have only a few results to evaluate. The next search method will give you hundreds or even thousands of results that would still be relevant, but you need to spend some time weeding out the bad ones or the ones that you don’t need.

What splitting the search phrase means is to include the lesser populated search in quotation marks and the more populated phrase without quotation marks. For an example, if you live in ramsey county and you need a DUI attorney, you can search for: “dui attorney” ramsey county. Also don’t forget: “dui lawyer” ramsey county. So, you only put the type of attorney that you need in quotation marks and the county without quotations. The reason you get thousands of results with this type of search is that every dui attorney website will contain the term dui lawyer or whatever lawyer you are searching for. But it may not contain the county term because either the webmaster forgot about it or didn’t know that he or she needs to include it. So, when you do this type of split phrase search, you will first get all of the results that contain the term dui lawyer (of whatever type of lawyer you’re seeking) from the websites that also contain the term that describes your county, and then the rest of the other websites within that county. You get more choices to choose from.

If the above methods don’t produce the attorney of your need (based on the optimization of the websites and the available sites in the search engine database), instead of wasting hours of endless search with no results, there are still easy ways to “find an attorney in my county” online.

Besides the above methods of typing in the county and the type of attorney in quotations, you can also use some free services to actually find the attorney for you. By the way, have you forgotten your yellow pages or whatever phone book you have in your county? That’s your best bet. But that’s the offline world. However, these types of services are also available online.

Any type of website that deals with locating businesses, such as anywho.com, truelocal.com, yellowpages.com, can find you an attorney in not only your county, but in your city. Just key in the type of attorney that you need under business category (i.e. immigration attorney) and choose your city and state. Also, you can try the lawyer directories such as martindale.com, findlaw.com, lawyers.com, that contain attorneys and law firms from the whole world. Lawyer referral services such as legalmatch.com, globallawyerreferral.com, your local and state bar association, can also find you a lawyer in your county.

Regardless of how you find your lawyer, remember that same principals apply while choosing your attorney. You need to make a list of qualifications you want in your lawyer and interview your prospect lawyers before you decide on who will represent you.

Disclaimer: The author and publisher of this article have done their best to give you useful, informative and accurate information. This article does not represent nor replace the legal advice you need to get from a lawyer, or other professional if the content of the article involves an issue you are facing. Laws vary from state-to-state and change from time-to-time. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any decisions about the issues described in this article. Thank you.

Steve Dimeck
http://www.articlesbase.com/law-articles/how-to-find-an-attorney-in-my-county-via-the-internet-66756.html

Chapter 3 DWI Lawyer Bob Keefer: DUI Guilt Myth

                                               CHAPTER 3

“HOW DO I AVOID BEING STOPPED BY THE POLICE?”

 There are preventative steps you can take to avoid being pulled over in the first place. Many of these steps will help you avoid making the driving mistakes that might lead a police officer to suspect that you are impaired and decide to pull you over.

 Know The VehicleLet us assume you are about to drive a car. If you are at all uncomfortable or unfamiliar with the car you are driving, you are much more likely to make mistakes or drive erratically. And if you are not driving well, you are more likely to get stopped by a police officer.

 If you are driving a car you are not used to—a friend’s car, a car you just bought, or a car you have not driven in awhile—it is important that you take a moment to remind yourself where everything is before you start to drive: emergency brake, transmission, turning signals, windshield wipers, headlights, high beams, hazard lights and so on. To get an overall feel for the car, just grip the steering wheel and put your foot on the brake. Also make sure that the seat and steering wheel are adjusted properly for you.

 Taking a few seconds to do this is especially important if you are used to driving a car with a different kind of transmission. If, say, you are driving an automatic when you are accustomed to a manual, spending a minute or two to familiarize yourself with the car can make the difference between getting where you are going safely and slamming on the brake in a frantic search for a non-existent clutch.

 Also make sure everything on the outside of your vehicle is in working order and that your vehicle registration tags are current. Police officers often use a minor vehicle infraction like broken taillights or expired registration tags as a reason to stop a vehicle. Things like broken taillights are especially likely to get you pulled over at night when they can be easily seen.

 Know Where You are GoingBefore you start driving, know where you are going, how to get there, and how to get back home. Getting lost and trying to find the right road will inevitably lead to errors in your driving.

 Know Where Not To Go—Avoid Sobriety Checkpoints2Keep alert to sobriety checkpoints, especially during holiday periods. While the police are legally required to notify the public of where and when the checkpoints will be, you may not have gotten the information in time. Before you go out, check the newspapers or websites of your local area.

 Know your RightsIf the unfortunate occurs, and you are stopped, know your rights and what to expect when you are pulled over.

 www.BobKeeferLaw.com

Bob Keefer
http://www.articlesbase.com/criminal-articles/dui-guilt-myth-chapter-3-679757.html

Chapter 6 DWI Lawyer Bob Keefer: DUI Guilt Myth

 CHAPTER 6

While most DUI stops are made by individual officers on the road, there may be times when you encounter a sobriety checkpoint. There are a number of rules that govern how sobriety checkpoints are set up and conducted, rules that you should be familiar with. One of the most important is that the location of the checkpoints must be announced to the public before they are set up, commonly in newspapers and on the internet. There is nothing wrong with learning where the checkpoints will be in order to avoid them. That is your legal right.

Another important thing to know is that not all cars are stopped. Vehicles are selected by a mathematical formula, not by how people look or drive. Finally, checkpoints must minimize the average time each motorist is detained. This means that the officer cannot ask you to step out of your car or ask to you to take any tests unless there are noticeable signs of impairment—erratic driving, the smell of alcohol on the breath, slurred speech, glassy eyes, etc. If you do not show any of these signs, you must be allowed to drive on. If the officer does decide that you display signs of impairment, you will be directed to a separate area for field sobriety tests. From this point forward, it is no different from being pulled over by a police officer.

Bob Keefer
http://www.articlesbase.com/criminal-articles/dui-guilt-myth-chapter-6-679774.html

Chapter 12 DWI Lawyer Bob Keefer: DUI Guilt Myth

CHAPTER 12

“WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE LAW IN MY STATE?”

—DUI LAW IN VIRGINIA

Differences in DUI Law in Virginia from Other States

The Virginia legal system for DUI’s has several notable differences from other state these major differences will be outlined below.

DWI and DUI in Virginia are the Exact Same Offense

In most states there is a difference between DW I, “driving while intoxicated” and DUI, “driving under the influence.” For an example, in most states driving while intoxicated is a more serious offense than driving under the influence. Other states have even a third finding available such as operating while impaired or OWI.

In Virginia, there is no difference between DUI and DWI. Virginia Code Section 18.2-266 makes it illegal to drive while intoxicated or under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.

The Virginia Code defines intoxicated as follows: “‘Intoxicated’ means a condition in which a person has drunk enough alcoholic beverages to observably affect his manner, disposition, speech, muscular movement, general appearance or behavior.”

Blood Alcohol Content (“BAC”) relates to BAC While Driving

Another difference from many states is that Virginia looks at the blood alcohol content (“BAC”) while driving. Other states will base their legal limit on the BAC at the time of the taking of the breath or blood sample. The distinction is that Virginia motorists are able to present evidence that their BAC while driving was lower than the subsequent blood or breath test.

Under Virginia DUI law, anyone driving on the highways of Virginia has, according to Virginia’s implied consent law, given their “consent” to a breath or blood tests if they are arrested for DUI. If this test results is a .08 or above, there are are significant effects in the prosecution of one’s case. One way of proving DUI, known as the “per se” law, looks at nothing but the breath result. If it is .08 or above, the person is guilty of DUI; if it is below .08, the person is not guilty of DUI. However, since Virginia looks at the BAC at the time of driving, the defendant still has the ability to present expert testimony that his BAC while driving was in fact less than a .08.

Similarly, another way of proving DUI, looks at the .08 or higher breath result as one of the pieces of evidence in the overall trial. Although the statute says that if the BAC is .08 or above, there is a “presumption” of intoxication, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled in 2007 that such presumptions are an unconstitutional infringement upon the Constitutional guarantee of the presumption of innocence in any criminal trial unless the language is interpreted to mean that there is not a mandatory presumption of intoxication. The Virginia Court of Appeals ruled that the courts must interpret the words “shall be presumed” to mean “may be inferred.” Thus, in a DUI prosecution under this section, the judge may infer (but is no longer required to presume) that someone is intoxicated if the prosecutor proves that they were a .08 or above while driving. Again, the defendant may present evidence that in fact his actual BAC while driving was below a .08 or that the results should not be given much weight because of issues with the machine or manner of testing. If the defendant is able to do this, then the judge may not make any inference based on the breath result.

Right to New Trial on Appeal to Circuit Court- Trial de Novo

General District Court, most commonly referred to as “traffic court” for DUI defendants, is the lower of the two trial courts in Virginia. There are no jury trials at the General District Court level. Doesn’t the Constitution of the United States guarantee a criminal defendant the right to a trial by jury? Yes.

Virginia grants anyone convicted in General District Court what is called a “trial de novo” on appeal to the higher trial level court in Virginia, known as the Circuit Court. Thus, any DUI defendant in Virginia who is unhappy with the judge’s ruling or sentence in the General District Court, has the ability to appeal to the Circuit Court and as soon as the appeal is noted, the conviction of the lower court is completely wiped off his record. I like to tell my clients that it is just like taking an eraser to a blackboard, and the client is in the exact same position that they were prior to the first trial (i.e. they are presumed to be innocent and have not been convicted of DUI.) Or, to use a golf analogy, Virginia allows all DUI clients a “Mulligan” on their first DUI trial!

The trial courts rule on both fines and jail time and license suspension issues

In many states, a DUI charge leads to two separate trials. The trial in court in front of a judge who determines whether someone is guilty and what fine and/or jail time someone receives, and in administrative license hearing in front of that state’s Division of Motor Vehicles. Virginia does not have a separate hearing for the determination of the status of someone’s driver’s license. By statute, the judge has to suspend the person’s license for a specific time based on whether this is a first or subsequent offense. The judge has the authority to grant a Restricted License allowing the person to drive to work, school, alcohol education classes and certain medical and family driving.

Virginia DUI Penalties

Administrative License Suspension (ALS)

For a first DUI offense and/or breath test refusal, your driver’s license will be automatically suspended for seven days if your BAC is 0.08 percent or higher.

For a second DUI offense and/or breath test refusal, your license will be automatically suspended for 60 days or until you go to trial, which ever comes first.

For a third DUI offense and/or breath test refusal, your license will be automatically suspended until you go to trial. Conviction of a DUI offense will result in suspension of your driver’s license and other penalties in addition to the administrative suspension.

First Offense – Penalties

i) BAC < .15

Class 1 misdemeanor (Up to $2,500 fine and 12 months in jail) with a mandatory minimum fine of $250.

ii) BAC .15 to .20

If the person’s blood alcohol level as indicated by the chemical test administered as provided in this article was at least 0.15, but not more than 0.20, he shall be confined in jail for an additional mandatory minimum period of 5 days or,

iii) BAC > .20

if the BAC level was more than 0.20, he shall be confined in jail for an additional mandatory minimum period of 10 days.

License Suspension

License revoked for 1 year. Eligible for immediate Restricted Operator’s License. Ignition Interlock required for BAC of .15 or above.

Second Offense – Penalties

A) Committed within less than 5 years from a prior offense

• Minimum $500 fine

• Confinement in Jail for one month to one year. 20 day mandatory minimum jail sentence.

• If the BAC was between .15 and .20, additional 10 days mandatory minimum jail sentence.

• If the BAC was greater than .20, additional 20 days mandatory minimum jail sentence.

B) Committed within 5 to 10 years from a prior offense

• Minimum $500 fine

• Confinement in Jail for one month to one year. 10 day mandatory minimum jail sentence.

• If the BAC was between .15 and .20, additional 10 days mandatory minimum jail sentence.

• If the BAC was greater than .20, additional 20 days mandatory minimum jail sentence.

License Suspension

License revoked for 3 years.

• 2nd conviction within 5 years- eligible for Restricted Operator’s License after 1 year. Ignition Interlock required for Restricted OL.

• 2nd conviction within 5-10 years- eligible for Restricted Operator’s License after 4 months. Ignition Interlock required for Restricted OL.

Third Offense – Penalties

A) All 3 committed within 5 years period

• Class 6 FELONY: 1-5 years imprisonment; or up to 12 months in jail and $2,500 fine.

• Mandatory minimum jail sentence of 6 months

                • Mandatory minimum fine of $1,000.

B) All 3 committed more than 5 years and up to 10 year period

• Class 6 FELONY: 1-5 years imprisonment; or up to 12 months in jail and $2,500 fine.

• Mandatory minimum jail sentence of 90 days.

• Mandatory minimum fine of $1,000.

• License Suspension

License revoked indefinitely.

Fourth Offense in 10 Years- Penalties

Class 6 Felony with mandatory minimum 1 year imprisonment and mandatory minimum $1,000 fine

License Suspension

License revoked indefinitely.

Transporting Children While Under the Influence

Conviction of any DUI offense involving a juvenile passenger (age 17 or younger) in the vehicle at the time of the offense carries an additional mandatory five-day jail term in addition to all other fines and jail sentences. You may also be assessed an additional fine of at least $500 and up to $1,000.

A second DUI offense with a juvenile (age 17 or younger) in the vehicle carries an additional 80-hour community service requirement in addition to all other fines and jail sentences.

Multiple Offenders and the Trauma Center Fund

Virginia also requires anyone has been previously been convicted of DUI/DWI in any state to pay $50 to the Trauma Center Fund to subsidize the cost of emergency medical care to accident victims in alcohol or drug use car crashes.

Virginia Alcohol Safety Action Program (ASAP)

If convicted under Va. §18.2-266 (DUI/DWI statute) or Va. §46.2-341.24 (DUI/DWI of a commercial vehicle), Virginia statute requires enrollment in ASAP. This course costs between $250 and $300. The program is 20 hours long and focuses on substance abuse and driving, substance abuse and health, and self-evaluation of potential for substance abuse.

Ignition Interlock Program

Virginia requires that anyone convicted of a second DUI or anyone that has a BAC greater than .15 for their first DUI have an ignition interlock system installed. This system records the drivers BAC via breath test each time the car is started. It also requires that the driver blow into the breath analyzer ever 5-20 minutes.

8 Secrets 

1. If everyone insists on their constitutional right to go to trial, the prosecutor will be in court all day.

2. In most cases, the mandatory minimum sentences for DUI are so harsh that a defendant in a DUI trial risks absolutely nothing by going to trial. Many clients ask me if a judge will penalize them with a harsher sentence if they assert their right to trial. The Virginia legislature has now raised the minimum sentence for all DUI cases to such a high level, that, if you decide to go to trial on your case, in most instances, as a practical matter, you are going to get the same sentence as the person who pleads guilty.

3. The prosecutor doesn’t want to be there. No one takes a job at a prosecutor’s office because they fantasized about prosecuting in traffic court! In most jurisdictions, the prosecutors would rather be prosecuting their felony cases than handling a traffic court docket. Furthermore, the prosecutor has 20 to 30 other cases with attorneys on the traffic court docket that they must handle that day.

4. The prosecutor is unprepared. In the vast majority of jurisdictions in Virginia, prosecutors do not look into traffic cases ahead of time. Most of my clients are shocked when I tell them that it is impossible for me to contact a prosecutor with knowledge about their case prior to the court date to discuss their case, because the prosecutors do not look into the cases ahead of time. In most jurisdictions, if someone shows up without an attorney, the prosecutor does not get involved. Thus, it is impossible for someone attempting to represent himself in these jurisdictions to discuss a possible plea bargain with the prosecutor, because the prosecutor will not speak to them. In some jurisdictions, such as Virginia Beach, there is not even a prosecutor for any traffic case, even a DUI with an attorney!

5. The police officer is unprepared. Your case is just one of an entire docket full of cases that the officer has on that date. It is not unusual for an officer to have 5 to 10 DUI cases on one date in addition to dozens of other traffic tickets. The officer often has little if any recollection of your arrest. That becomes apparent time and time again in court when I object to an officer testifying by reading from his notes and, after my objection is sustained by the judge, the officer clearly has no independent recollection of the arrest.

6. Most prosecutors know very little about the science (or lack thereof) behind field sobriety testing. At no time during law school does the professor ever say, “Today we’re going to learn about standardized field sobriety testing.” A thorough knowledge of these tests would actually hurt their cases and prevent them from making arguments that I routinely hear prosecutors make to judges while trying to argue that the results of these tests should be given more weight than they were ever intended to. For example, the three standardized field sobriety tests were only used to predict a BAC of .10 or above. Since the legal limit is now .08, there is almost no weight that a judge could give to these tests on someone with a BAC of .08 or .09.

7. The police officer did not follow proper procedures for the field sobriety tests. If a police officer receives proper training about field sobriety tests, they will be told the proper standards and procedures according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”). However, for example, on the “follow the pen with your eyes” test (the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, or HGN), the manual says that if the suspect moves his head during the test, the officer should use his flashlight or his free hand as a chin rest of the suspect.

In 25 years of practicing law, I have never seen an officer use anything as a chin rest for a suspect, even though in the vast majority of those cases the officer testifies that the suspect was swaying and unsteady on his feet! The manual also states that the walk-and-turn and one-leg stand test should not be done if the suspect is over 50 pounds overweight or has physical impairments that could affect his balance. The manual also states that the walk-and-turn test “requires a line that the suspect can see.” This is rarely done.

8. The breath testing equipment is inaccurate. The breath testing machine is just that- a machine. The machine uses an assumption to calculate the amount of alcohol in a person’s blood based on the amount of alcohol that is released into a person’s breath. The amount can vary from between 1100 and 3200. However, the machine uses a standard ratio of 2100, almost the average between the two.

If you exchange alcohol at the 1100 rate, the machine gives a reading twice as high as it should. On the other hand, if you exchange at the 3200 rate, it gives a reading half as high as it should. In any event, the principle is flawed and readings can vary up to 50% from the actual breath content. The manufacturers of the Intoxilyzer 5000 have flat out refused to reveal their source codes to defense attorneys. The source codes are basically the mathematical formula that the machine uses to convert a small sample of breath to a blood alcohol content number. Courts in Florida and Minnesota have already ruled that this refusal is a basis to dismiss DUI prosecutions. Virginia appeals courts have yet to rule on this issue.

CONCLUSION

A DUI charge is liable to make you feel overwhelmed and at the mercy of a Court system, police system and legal system that you do not understand. With the police and the prosecutor trying to convict you, you might think that it is useless to fight the charges against you.

The goal of this book is to help you feel more in charge of this potentially overwhelming ordeal, to shed some light on what you are going through, and to help you find a qualified defense attorney who will work to ensure that justice is done. When it comes to your case, justice means demanding that the police follow proper procedure, that only legally admissible evidence is presented at trial, and that you are not convicted on the basis of anyone’s opinion or prejudice.

Regardless of the particulars of your case, you deserve to find a lawyer who knows what your are going through, who knows what you are up against and who has years of experience going to bat for others in your situation by fighting the DUI Guilt Myth. And a chance to fight for your rights is not simply what you deserve. It’s the law.

 www.BobKeeferLaw.com

Bob Keefer
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