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The following facts are fairly typical of what happens in a disturbing number of DUI cases:  

Ohio: Federal Court Overturns Bogus DUI Arrest

Chillicothe, OH.  June 19 — A sober woman is fighting back after she was falsely arrested and imprisoned for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI). The Sixth Circuit US Court of Appeals ruled last Wednesday that Catrena Green could proceed in her lawsuit against Ohio State Highway Patrol Trooper Adam B. Throckmorton after lab tests proved she had a blood alcohol content (BAC) level of 0.0 and no drugs in her system.

The three-judge panel overturned the decision of a US district court granting Throckmorton immunity for his actions in Chillicothe, Ohio in August 2008. He had seen Green’s SUV driving in the opposite direction with her high beams activated. Throckmorton made a U-Turn and pulled her over in stop recorded by a dashboard camera. Green explained she had her high beams on because it was difficult to see in the wet conditions and she was trying to be careful. She asked whether she had done anything else wrong.

"No, not really," Throckmorton said during the stop. "You just brighted me and blinded me."

Throckmorton then claimed that Green’s pupils were "constricted" and that she had difficulty getting out of her seatbelt. Though Green did not smell of alcohol or drugs, Throckmorton decided to perform field sobriety tests on her. He noted that she was unable to follow the swift motion of his pen in a horizontal-gaze nystagmus test that he spent twenty seconds administering. He noted that "she talked slowly" while repeating the letters of the alphabet beginning with "L" and ending in "S." She struggled to stand on one leg in the balance test. Green, who was 42 and overweight at the time, swayed slightly while performing the walk-and-turn test.

On the basis of those tests, Throckmorton arrested Green for DUI. She spent two days in jail while trying to meet bail with only a credit card. Green argues she was detained and tested without probable cause, in violation of the Fourth Amendment. She insisted that the lab tests proved the trooper was lying.

"We find her argument persuasive," Judge Ronald Lee Gilman wrote for the court. "What matters here, rather, is what mattered in Miller: that a subsequent test for drugs and alcohol showed that the driver was in fact sober. That evidence alone is sufficient to cast doubt on the truthfulness of Throckmorton’s testimony regarding Green’s pupils."

The court decided that a jury should decide whether there were specific and articulable facts, not just a hunch, justifying Green’s detention for the sobriety tests.

"We understand, of course, the difficulty inherent in making on-the-fly determinations regarding possible driving impairments, just as we recognize the severity of drunk driving and the potential consequences of an incorrect call had Green ultimately proven to be impaired," Judge Gilman wrote. "But this difficulty and these consequences always exist when an officer stops someone for a traffic violation. Yet officers do not have free rein to administer field sobriety tests to whomever they please and then to arrest that person for making the slightest misstep while performing the tests. Whether that is what happened in this case is a question for the jury."

So….no erratic driving….no slurred speech….no alcohol on the breath….no swaying or poor balance….no bloodshot eyes…no difficulty understanding directions.  But she used her bright lights, had trouble standing on one leg (42, overweight and nervous) and "failed" a nystagmus test which was clearly incorrectly given. Oh….and she had no alcohol or drugs in her body.

The only question here is:  Why did the lower court give this idiot a free pass?  Since when do cops have "immunity"?  

 

DUI BLOG

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the question is how can get some money out of this situation??

please help

cheers
yes, i own the house and garden!

Let me get this straight, a political party can just go on your property in the UK without your permission? Is it a party you support? Did you once give them permission to do so?
If not, call them and ask them for rent. If it is a party you oppose, and they won’t pay rent, go to an opposing party that you support, tell them, and I promise your plight will be on the news, and possibly in some political ads. You might sue them from tearing up your garden.

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I’ve recently started a political forum based on the rational debate of political issues in search of the best solution. I’m paying for everything out of my own pockets, which, being a college student, are not exactly overflowing with cash. I’ve established a good bit of discussion with some friends, who are active. I’ve tried google advertising, I’ve tried starting a group at the university here, I’ve tried putting up signs, I’ve tried getting my friends to spread the word amongst their friends, but I just can’t seem to motivate other people to get involved.

Dude, have I got the help for you. I’ve just gone through all this mess trying to start a movement here in Tacoma. First things first, you have to have a name that grabs peoples attention, both for the group and for the forum. Then you pitch the idea to local groups, like the Democrats or the Greens or some other local organization. If you’re shy, you can spread the word via email lists, forums, message boards, or other media. Then when you get a few hits of people who are interested, you can ask them if they have any resources you can use. Use the cheapest means available to raise awareness of your event. If there are community calendars or bulletin boards at places of social significance, plaster them liberally.

Start a blog. Check out the one I started at www.apctahoma.blogspot.com There you can see that I really created the whole concept right there on the spot. It takes a little work to set up and to post to, but you can do it for free over at blogger.com. With a blog you can update members about meetings, post cool articles, and build an online community. What you really want to do is find a techie or group of techies who like your cause and want to help promote it with their expertise. Without that kind of help, you’re stuck just working on messaging your event and tooling it to appeal to a broad base of folks. Which can be effective, but the sooner you get an active web presence and good media materials, you won’t be seen as quite professional enough.

Sponsors are critical, whether it’s your local Labor Council or a small local business. Use the resources you have to open up other resources.

Since you’re a college student, you have access to something other people don’t have: college faculty. Find a teacher who believes in what you believe, and let him tell you how it’s done. Most active teachers will love to help you set up something like this, particularly poltical science or history professors.

Also, critical to this work is picking events that have action related stuff in the ad. So it could be writing letters, marching, hearing speeches, interacting in workshops, drumming or eating, whatever the activity is. And it should imply that something is actually going to be accomplished. Folks usually only like to go to process-type meetings if they’re involved in the leadership, so instead set up some fun activities for the group to do. You might even partner up with a local charity and do something jointly together as a way of bringing your networks together. In this day and age, service attracts a lot of interesting people.

And know your audience. If your audience is sophomores and juniors have good music, very little drama, and a whole lot of interesting conversation, and the good times will roll. With seniors and beyond, focus on events as they can fit into a full-time grownup’s busy schedule.

Also incorporate elements of you into everything you do. If you like art, get some art for your event. If you like piano, get yourself a pianist. Remember, if it isn’t fun, you won’t keep doing it. And you have to keep doing it.

Go ahead and steal this title idea "Speak Your Peace – A Community Forum on the Future of Democracy" Perhaps that will inspire you to come up with good ideas of your own.

Good luck, and never stop believing in the power of good people to do great things.

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