There are now reports that New Mexico DWI cases appearing in front of one Navajo Nation judge are being dismissed when the arrest was conducted by a non-Native American. Specifically he challenges the concept of non-Native American law enforcement officers arresting Native Americans on tribal land.

The McKinley County District Attorney could not confirm or deny the allegations.

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The money will offset the cost of officers engaged in additional patrols, special party patrols and sobriety checkpoints. The grant is part of the DOT’s Alcohol Traffic Safety and Drunk Driving Prevention program.

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Governor Richardson hopes the anti-DWI message reaches a large audience during the Olympics. He said, “Everybody watches the Olympics and we want everybody to watch this.” The ads are scheduled to air on August 8, the first day of the Olympic games.

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After Las Cruces police officers arrived on the scene, the driver, David Hill, Jr., reportedly exited the truck very slowly. A breath test revealed his blood alcohol content was double that of the legal limit for intoxication in New Mexico. Hill was booked for drunk driving in New Mexico at the Dona Ana County Detention Center. He was also charged with negligent use of a firearm. Hill had a loaded Glock handgun on him at the time of the arrest, and possession of a firearm while intoxicated is illegal in the state.

Hill is a three year veteran with the Albuquerque Police Department. He was placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.

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Kent Craven is one of the more outspoken advocates for tough anti-DWI laws in New Mexico. In a prepared statement, he said his daughter is entering rehab.

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One impound lot covers nine acres, with officers seizing about 2,200 vehicles in 2007. In looking at the assortment, one finds expensive trucks to downright clunkers. Albuquerque's deputy city attorney revealed that hard-core alcoholics actually purchase second 'junk' cars as their drinking vehicles. Many NM driving while intoxicated defendants have said "that's my drunk car."

Police periodically conduct auctions of the seized vehicles. More than 3000 DWI seizure vehicles have been sold since the program was initiated seven years ago. Despite costing half a million dollars to run the seizure program, last year there was a profit from towing, auction and storage fees. That money went into a pool for New Mexico drunk driving programs, including education, training and equipment purchases.

The goal is to have an element of surprise; making driver’s think twice about drinking and driving in Albuquerque.

On a recent Thursday night, police made 20 arrests for suspicion of DWI. One motorist actually abandoned his vehicle at the roadblock and fled on foot.

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The state’s lawyers argued that reasonable suspicion did not apply, as police were instructed to stop vehicles trying to avoid the checkpoint. However that directive did not follow checkpoint guidelines established in a 1987 legal ruling.

Anaya pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated in New Mexico in early 2006, though she and her DWI defense attorney reserved the right to appeal on the case on the grounds that the initial traffic stop was illegal.

The attorney’s general’s office has indicated that the appellate court ruling is under review, and that an appeal to the New Mexico Supreme Court may be made.

If you have been arrested drunk driving in New Mexico, you will need to hire a DWI lawyer in New Mexico.

The new technology will initially be used by law enforcement as an indicator that a more thorough drunk driving investigation needs to be undertaken. Deputies will still use field sobriety tests and breath tests to determine intoxication.

In fact, the ‘TruTouch’ system has to be accepted by judges and the court system before its results can be entered into evidence during a New Mexico DWI case.

A spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Department understands the need for proving the equipment’s validity, saying it must meet all scientific tests for determining blood alcohol content.

If you have been arrested for drunk driving in Bernalillo County, New Mexico you will need to hire an Albuquerque DWI lawyer.

In response, Governor Bill Richardson's administration is advocating for a new law that will require all those moving to the state to get a New Mexico driver's license within 30 days. Penalties will be devised to punish new residents who do not obtain a license within that time frame.

The new program would allow law enforcement to seize a vehicle operated by a person who has been arrested for two or more New Mexico DWI offenses or is caught driving with a suspended or revoked driver’s license. Previously the vehicle could be seized after a third DWI arrest.

The original seizure initiative, similar to ones being used in Albuquerque and Las Cruces, was difficult to administer due to the much larger area of Doña Ana County. The logistics and costs of towing and storing vehicles were prohibitive. Citing a $100,000 deficit in running the program, county officials stopped seizing vehicles. Under the new ordinance, seized vehicles can be sold at auction and the revenue would be placed in a general fund to offset the costs of the program.

Both the new and old measures give DWI offenders the option of having their vehicle booted or temporarily impounded, instead of permanent seizure.

The revised vehicle seizure ordinance will be submitted to the County Board of Commissioners this week. Doña Ana officials say this is another tool in the fight against New Mexico DWI and feel it will decrease drunk driving in the county.

Rachael O'Conner, DWI Czar for Governor Bill Richardson, and state Transportation Secretary Rhonda Faught also announced a two-week long anti-drunk driving campaign surrounding the Labor Day holiday. The New Mexico DWI Super Blitz is a combined effort by state law enforcement groups and the National Highway Traffics Safety Administration.

The national MADD organization today announced a campaign pushing for the use of technologies like breath-test interlock devices in vehicles for all those who have been convicted of drunken driving, even after the first offense.

Only New Mexico has such a law for first offenders; other states allow the device for repeat offenders.

But Terry Huertaz, executive director of New Mexico MADD, outlined a long list of DWI victims at a news conference this morning aimed at announcing, among other things, the holiday weekend's super blitz of DWI checkpoints.

"It doesn't feel like we've gotten very far," Huertaz said.

Among those in the audience today: Family members of Daniel Magnuson, 46, and cousins Ray Martinez, 50, and Kenneth Martinez, 36.

Last Thanksgiving, the Martinez cousins had too much to drink and hailed a cab driven by Magnuson. As Magnuson drove them home, a drunken driver, Gabriel Gurule, struck the cab. All three were killed. Gurule was later sentenced to eight years and fourth months.

The driver of the latest multi-fatal DWI crash can't be charged; Dana Papst died Nov. 12, a day after his truck struck a minivan carrying a Las Vegas, N.M., family. Five of the six family members died.

Papst had been arrested at least five times on DWI charges in Colorado. He still had a valid New Mexico driver's license.

The accident prompted Gov. Bill Richardson to form a DWI strike task force, which meets Tuesday to brainstorm the next DWI offensive as the nation enters the holiday weekend.

"We haven't stopped," Huertaz said of efforts like the interlocking device. "We're going to continue to move forward."

In the first phase of the national plan, MADD, backed by a national association of state highway officials and car manufacturers, announced a campaign to change drunken-driving laws in 49 states to require that even first offenders be made to install the device.

The organization, along with the U.S. Department of Transportation, is pushing for such devices as well as tougher enforcement measures around the country.

"If we can't stop drunks from driving, we'll stop vehicles from driving drunks," said Glynn Birch, president of MADD, at a news conference in Washington, D.C. Birch said technology, along with tougher laws and enforcement, has put eliminating drunken driving "within our reach."

The organization wants states to pass laws requiring breath-test interlock devices in vehicles for all those who have been convicted of drunken driving - even after the first offense. The device shuts down the car if alcohol is detected.

MADD also wants states to implement more sobriety checkpoints. It also wants to establish a panel of safety experts to explore other technology options that would help prevent drunk driving.

"Drunk driving is a problem that is painful and persistent, but it's also preventable," said Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters in a statement. "Pairing the public and private sectors for the common good is a powerful combination, one that will help us achieve real results in terms of saving lives and preventing injuries."

Each year, nearly 13,000 people are killed by drunk drivers with a blood alcohol concentration of .08 or above and countless others are injured, according to MADD.

Other organizations joining the campaign include the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Distilled Spirits Council and the International Association of Chiefs of Police.

November 20, 2006 Source: http://www.abqtrib.com

More convicted drunken drivers may have to blow into devices that won't let them start their cars if they're intoxicated now that several states are embracing tougher penalties.

Lobbyist Richard Roth, holds up the ignition interlock device which keeps a car from starting if the driver has been drinking. By Jeff Geissler, AP

New Mexico last Friday became the first state to require "ignition interlock" systems for first-time offenders. The devices, which act as breath-alcohol analyzers that control a car's ignition, will be on their cars for one year. Drivers with four or more DWI convictions are required to drive with the interlocks for the rest of their lives.

The devices cost the offenders about $1,000 a year.

Until now, they were required only for repeat offenders and for a maximum of a year.

At the same time, the Senate version of a federal highway spending bill before Congress threatens to withhold about $600 million in highway construction and maintenance funds if states don't subject high-risk offenders to stiffer sanctions, including ignition interlocks and license suspensions.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving says 17,000 people are killed and a half-million injured in alcohol-related crashes every year. Only 18 states have mandatory ignition interlock laws, according to MADD President Wendy Hamilton.

High-risk drivers include repeat offenders and those convicted of driving with a blood-alcohol levels of 0.15% or higher. By August, when a Minnesota law goes into effect, the legal limit in every state will be 0.08%.

Forty-three states and the District of Columbia have the option to make convicted drunken drivers use interlocks, MADD says. More are making them mandatory, applying the sentence to all offenders or lengthening the penalty:

This month, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush signed a bill that allows the state to require the device without a court order.

Last year, Washington state began requiring interlocks for first-time offenders with a blood-alcohol level of 0.15% or higher.

New York Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, who spearheaded legislation that bans hands-on use of cell phones while driving in his state, introduced a bill that would require interlocks on all new cars. A similar measure failed in New Mexico last year, but others are being proposed in New Jersey, Connecticut and Washington state.

Tackling the problem

New Mexico, which ranks sixth in the nation in the rate of alcohol-related car fatalities, is becoming one of the toughest enforcers. There are 3,000 interlocks on cars in the state, the highest per capita of any state.

In 2003, 198 of New Mexico's 439 traffic fatalities were alcohol-related, according to the most recent government data. It was the first time since 1998 that the state's alcohol-related fatalities fell below 200.

Fighting drunken driving is one of Gov. Bill Richardson's signature issues. He has appointed DWI Czar Rachel O'Connor and several task forces to tackle the problem of repeat offenders and set up drunken-driving checkpoints statewide.

Source: USA Today