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Louisiana Parish Goes to Mandatory BAC Testing for Drunk Driving
'No Refusal' initiative to be in force at all times
Lafourche Parish officials have announced that a 'No Refusal' policy tested under a pilot program will now be permanently adopted throughout the parish. Under the initiative, when a driver is suspected of driving while intoxicated in Louisiana and refuses to submit to a test for blood alcohol content, a warrant is sought for a court ordered blood draw.
Citing an interest in saving lives and altering behavior, the parish sheriff says aggressive enforcement makes "absolute, perfect sense".
Of the 30 fatal crashes in the parish in 2008 that resulted in 34 deaths, 18 involved alcohol impairment. During the same statistical period, 150 motorists were arrested for DWI in Lafourche Parish. Under current Louisiana DWI law, a driver who refuses to submit to a breath or blood test is subject to loss of driver's license for one year. With a second suspected LA DWI offense, the suspension becomes two years.
Rapides is the only other parish in the state to enact a full-time 'No Refusal' policy.
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LSU Student Hits 9 Cars While Intoxicated
18-year old female stops only after crashing into a restaurant
An 18-year old Louisiana State University student was charged with drunk driving in Baton Rouge after crashing into nine parked cars and slamming into a local restaurant. Anne Wallace was seen backing up at full speed and hitting four vehicles. She then went forward and hit another five cars. She hit a truck with enough force to drive it into the wall of Koi Sushi on State Street. Wallace's car also struck the restaurant.
The incident left a 5 foot hole in the restaurant wall, with broken electrical lines and plumbing, and displaced concrete blocks from an adjacent retaining wall. Tables and booths in the restaurant were overturned, but no one was injured.
Wallace had a blood alcohol content of 0.13%. She was booked at the East Baton Rouge Parish jail on charges of driving while intoxicated in Louisiana and failure to maintain a vehicle.
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Statistics Show New Orleans Police Focus on Minor Crimes
More significant offenses, like Louisiana DWI, remain small portion of total arrests
The New Orleans Metropolitan Crime Commission has revealed that arrests during 2009 reached a three year high though the focus of police action appears to still be on minor crimes. The New Orleans Police Department made 59,974 arrests last year. Of that total, 7,945 were for felony crimes. The majority of arrests were for traffic offenses, like license violations and speeding. Arrests for driving while intoxicated in New Orleans amounted to 2% of the arrests made in Orleans Parish.
The MCC contends that the figures show the police department is wasting resources with little benefit. While convictions for violent felonies have more than doubled, this has been credited to better communications between NOPD and the Orleans Parish DA's office. The number of arrests for petty municipal offenses, like public intoxication and disturbing the peace, has gone down though the types of overall arrests still show a strategy of quantity or quality.
The MCC advocates the issuance of tickets or summonses for lesser crimes, allowing officers to remain on patrol for more serious offenses. The NOPD Superintendent agrees that the department could be more efficient but says that some arrests for seemingly minor offenses are necessary.
Another issue the NOPD is facing is the time involved with arresting people with warrants or for traffic offenses who are from neighboring parishes. Of the 20,514 arrested for an out-of-parish warrant, 67% were released within a day or two when other jurisdictions would not pick up the arrestees. A new law being waiting for the governor's signature would allow officers to issue court summonses to out-of-parish offenders. This is expected to tens of thousands of law enforcement manhours for more targeted crime prevention.
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State Troopers Arrest 229 for Louisiana DWI
'No Refusal' effort contributed to 5 arrests for drunk driving
Over the Fourth of July weekend, Louisiana State Police arrested 229 motorists for driving while intoxicated. Of that number, five involved a 'No Refusal' initiative where the motorists were required to provide blood samples to check blood alcohol content.
The 'No Refusal' campaign was conducted in selected areas around the state. When a law enforcement officer suspected drunk driving in Louisiana and the motorist refused to submit to a breath test, a search warrant was requested from a judge. The warrant allowed troopers to take the LA DWI suspect to a medical facility and have a blood sample drawn. Though the BAC result would not be known until the sample was tested at a toxicology lab, the suspects were arrested for DWI in Louisiana and booked into jail.
State troopers say that the drunk driving crackdown contributed to only one traffic related death over the extended Independence Day weekend. Investigators of that single vehicle accident suspect the victim was not impaired, and suffered injuries from not wearing a seat belt.
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Panel Recommends Long Jail Term for Louisiana DWI.
Repeat LA drunk driving offenders could face up to three years in jail.
A DWI Task Force organized by the office of Gov. Bobby Jindal has proposed significant jail terms for those convicted of multiple drunk driving offenses in Louisiana. Third time Louisiana DWI offenders would be required to spend one year in jail. A fourth offense would lead to a three year jail sentence. Current Louisiana DWI law stipulates a minimum of 45 and 75 days respectively for these offenses.
The proposal to increase the penalties for driving while intoxicated in Louisiana have been backed by the state’s District Attorneys Association. The recommendations have not yet been drafted into legislation. The 2010 legislative session begins March 29.
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Plan Aimed at Increasing Louisiana DWI Penalties
Goal is to quadruple the time a license is suspended.
A Taskforce on DWI and Vehicular Homicide assembled by Gov. Bobby Jindal has recommended legislation quadrupling the penalty for refusing a breath test in cases of driving while intoxicated in Louisiana. The law, which is still in draft form, would call for the suspension of a motorist’s license for 24 months. Under current Louisiana DWI law, a license is suspended for 6 months if a suspected impaired motorist refuses to submit to a breath test, compared to two years if the test is taken and failed.
Because of the difference in the suspension period, the governor and the task force members feel that the current law encourages drunk drivers to refuse a breath test. Opponents say the task force focused on only increasing penalties rather than offering treatment for chronic drunk driving offenders. One state representative cited a situation where a family member had to travel 1,100 miles to get treatment not offered in Louisiana, and indicated that harsher penalties alone will not necessarily change behavior issues.
Jindal approved of the DWI license suspension measure last month and the issue will be considered during the upcoming 2009 legislative session.
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Governor Wants New Laws for Louisiana DWI
Gov. Bobby Jindal outlines laws designed to reduce drunk driving in Louisiana.
Governor Bobby Jindal has announced an interest in new laws to strengthen the penalties involved with DWI arrests. He especially wants increased penalties for those who refuse to submit to breath tests when stopped for suspicion of driving while intoxicated in Louisiana. The initiative is one of three proposed by Jindal and a Louisiana DWI Task Force.
Under current LA DWI law, a first offender who refuses to submit to a breath test is subject to suspension of driver’s license for six months. If the person took and failed a test, the suspension is for two years. The new law would increase the suspension period to two years for refusal. A second DWI conviction would result in a four year suspension and an inability to get a hardship license for travel between home and work or school.
Another measure calls for criminalizing driving with a suspended license after a DWI conviction. Such action is currently treated as a traffic violation. A third law would streamline the driver’s license suspension process following a Louisiana DWI arrest.
The Governor acknowledges that key details have to be worked out before the measures are presented to the 2009 legislative session, which starts April 27. The goal is to introduce the proposed laws to the state legislative body by May 6.
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Louisiana Sheriff’s Deputy Charged with DWI
Plaquemines Parish deputy wrecked patrol car while off-duty.
A Plaquemines Parish sheriff’s deputy was charged with driving while intoxicated in Louisiana last weekend. The arrest report states that Deputy Jamar Thomas was off-duty when he wrecked his patrol car around 6:00 pm.
Thomas, a 10-year veteran with the sheriff’s department, has been suspended without pay. The department stated that Thomas had been out on an extended sick leave and he should not have been driving the patrol vehicle while off-duty.
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Task Force Seeks to ‘Get Tough’ With Louisiana DWI
Three proposals aimed at reducing drunk driving in Louisiana.
Nearly half of the vehicular deaths in Louisiana can be attributed to alcohol, and a state task force recently joined with prosecutors to map out a ‘get tough’ plan. The Louisiana DWI Vehicular Homicide Task Force feels that motorists are in denial about their drunk driving habits and our culture has reacted slowly to the problem. In response, the group crafted three goals for state legislators to consider.
They are: increase the penalty for driving with a suspended license from a fine to a criminal offense; increase the penalty for refusing to submit to a breath test to check for blood alcohol content in a suspected Louisiana DWI; and limit information covered in pre-trial hearings. In the latter situation, Louisiana DWI defense lawyers are gathering police officer testimony at pre-trial hearings and then using any conflicting statements during trial to impeach the officer’s testimony and seek dismissal of the case. Similar legislation failed last session.
The DWI task force was hand-selected by Governor Bobby Jindal, with the hope that the recommendations from the group would hold greater influence with members of the Louisiana State Legislature. The task force plans to meet again in early March to finalize its proposals. The legislative session starts April 27.
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District Attorney Charged with Louisiana DWI
Winn Parish DA charged with drunk driving in Louisiana.
The District Attorney for Winn Parish was arrested for driving while intoxicated in Louisiana last Wednesday. Richard Christopher Nevils was involved in a hit and run accident around 9:50 pm. When stopped, Nevils reportedly failed a field sobriety test. A breath test revealed a blood alcohol content of .173%, over twice the legal limit for intoxication in Louisiana.
Nevils in the DA for the 8th Judicial District of Louisiana in Winn Parish. He was booked on charges of Louisiana DWI, leaving the scene of an accident and failure to maintain control of his vehicle.
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