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Despite Globalization, Lawyers Find New Barriers to Practicing Abroad
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The Rise of the Latino Lawyer: New Study Reveals Inspiring Successes, Lingering Obstacles
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- February 2005 Issue
February 2005 Issue
Cover Story
New Test for DUI Defense
Long a staple of many a general law practice, defending clients charged with drunken driving has evolved into a more complex and specialized field.
The changes track the ever-more sophisticated technology used to detect impaired drivers and a cultural shift that has raised the severity of punishment and imposed a stigma on those arrested.
More states now mandate license revocation, alcohol evaluation and treatment, and jail time or house arrest for a conviction for DUI, also known as driving under the influence. (In some jurisdictions, the offense is known as DWI, or driving while intoxicated.) As the stakes increase, defense attorneys need detailed knowledge of how Breathalyzers work, about the physiology of the human body, and about the intricacies of field sobriety tests, say lawyers who represent DUI defendants.
Feature Section
Mud and Money
Just weeks before the Nov. 2 elections, coal company executive Don L. Blankenship issued a statement saying he had contributed “approximately $1 for every West Virginian” in the contest for a supreme court seat. Blankenship was responding to the buzz over his spending $1.7 million of his own money to bring down an incumbent justice he believed was bad for business.
Law & Marriage
Not long after June Baker Laird left a Denver law firm in 2000 to join a three-lawyer outpost there for a New Jersey firm, her new partners suggested she recruit her husband from his firm.
ABA Connection
New Test for DUI Defense
Long a staple of many a general law practice, defending clients charged with drunken driving has evolved into a more complex and specialized field.
The changes track the ever-more sophisticated technology used to detect impaired drivers and a cultural shift that has raised the severity of punishment and imposed a stigma on those arrested.
More states now mandate license revocation, alcohol evaluation and treatment, and jail time or house arrest for a conviction for DUI, also known as driving under the influence. (In some jurisdictions, the offense is known as DWI, or driving while intoxicated.) As the stakes increase, defense attorneys need detailed knowledge of how Breathalyzers work, about the physiology of the human body, and about the intricacies of field sobriety tests, say lawyers who represent DUI defendants.
