Next week DUI defense attorneys across the State of Washington will begin arguing for dismissal of their clients charges based revelations that errors were made at the state toxicology lab. Hundreds of legal motions were filed after lab manager Ann Marie Gordon resigned due to allegations that she signed false statements. Defense attorneys cite this as just the latest in a pervasive pattern of misconduct and incompetence at the state lab.

The challenge to test results from the lab is further buoyed by reports of errors in the way breath testing equipment was calibrated. During a two year period the blood alcohol content of drunk driving suspects may have been skewed by lab procedures.

Gordon is accused of repeatedly signing statements that avowed she personally tested the breath-test machines to ensure they were working properly, when in fact another scientist performed the control tests.

The lab increased its roster of toxicologists in 2005 but did not change the formula used to determine the aggregate of their data. Solutions thus used to calibrate breath test equipment across the state were incorrect, resulting in BAC readings of .08 or higher when in fact the blood alcohol content of the suspect was lower than the legal threshold for Washington DUI. The mistake was not realized until a review was performed after Brown

Clint Stoerner, former Dallas Cowboys and University of Arkansas quarterback, was arrested for Arkansas DWI in Fayetteville. Stoerner was initially stopped around 2:00 am for playing music too loudly in his car. Police said they could hear noise from inside the vehicle from 30 feet away.

Police noticed a distinct odor of alcohol and said Stoerner swayed and that his eyes were bloodshot and glassy. He failed a field sobriety test and was booked at the Washington County Jail. There, Stoerner, 29, refused to take a breath test. He was charged with three misdemeanors: driving while intoxicated, failing to adhere to implied consent laws by not submitting to a breath test and violating the city’s auto noise limit.

Stoerner played for the Arkansas Razorbacks from 1996 to 1999, and he established many passing records. He played three seasons as backup quarterback for the NFL Dallas Cowboys.

Stoerner was released after posting bond. He faces arraignment for the DWI charge November 5.

Two months after being stopped for suspicion of drunk driving, a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department executive has been formally charged with California DUI. Division Chief Michael Aranda was arrested by California Highway Patrol last June during a traffic stop. The CHP officers were looking for the county-issued Chevrolet Impala being driven by Aranda after a witness called 911 to report erratic driving.

Aranda, 62, was off duty at the time. Since the arrest, the 40-year veteran of the police department agreed to resign.

A court arraignment date has been set for October 10, 2007. Aranda will remain on paid leave through his retirement date of October 16. Aranda is chief of the LA County police department’s Technical Services Division, which oversees the crime lab and computer systems.

Kiefer Sutherland, who plays Jack Bauer on the Fox series

In a Maricopa County, Arizona courtroom, former heavyweight boxing champ Mike Tyson entered a guilty plea to charges of cocaine possession and driving under the influence. He now faces a maximum sentence of four years and three months in prison.

Tyson, 41, was stopped by police for erratic driving as he left the Pussycat Lounge in Scottsdale last December (2006). An officer saw Tyson wipe a white substance off the dashboard of the car as police approached the black BMW. Bags of cocaine were found in Tyson

Brevard County, Florida has updated its bond fees, increasing the cost of posting bail. A bond schedule is a guideline that judges rely on when setting the cost for being released from jail while waiting for trial. The previous Brevard bond schedule was one of the lowest in Central Florida, which prompted complaints that the fees were outdated and allowed repeat criminal suspects to easily gain jail release.

The new bond schedule raises the bail for non-violent felonies from $4,500 to $15,000 for first-degree charges, $2,000 to $5,000 for second-degree, and $1,000 to $2,000 third-degree. The fees are still lower than other area counties, which charge up to $50,000 for first-degree non-violent felonies.

The bond schedule also adds eight offenses to a list that requires an appearance before a judge in order to determine the amount of bail. Those crimes include Florida DUI manslaughter and DUI fourth offense.

Proponents feel that higher bail for dangerous felonies will make the county safer. The panel that devised the new bond schedule said it was a challenge balancing constitutional rights, public safety and jail overcrowding.

Lisa Beth Thomas of South Lake Tahoe recently pleaded guilty to Nevada DUI. As it was her third drunk driving conviction she would have been sentenced to a minimum of one year in prison. Due to a new law passed in July, however, Thomas was given the option of seeking help with her alcohol dependence instead of being incarcerated.

Under the new legislation Thomas, 45, had her sentence deferred for five years while she demonstrates compliance with conditions for her probation. She agreed to enter substance abuse treatment for five years and six months of house arrest. She is also subject to random searches for drugs and alcohol and she must install an ignition interlock device in all vehicles she operates. Thomas is responsible for paying for the probation conditions and any violation could land her in prison.

The law allows prosecutors to question a defendant’s entrance to the special program. In Thomas’ case the district attorney’s office agreed to the treatment. Thomas has said she is grateful for the opportunity.

The town of Maricopa, Arizona has a new police department and even though it isn

Memory lapse in New Mexico – When police pulled over Jesus Ruiz for driving a pickup truck with expired plates and suspicion of drunk driving he tried to beat the rap by giving them a fake name. Unfortunately Ruiz, 55, could not remember how to spell ‘Rodriguez.’ He got as far as ‘Jaim Rodrige-‘ and couldn’t finish the rest of the name. He was charged with his fourth New Mexico DWI.

Bragging to the wrong person in Florida – On his way to a convenience store for beer, Thomas Jerry Hoffmann, 22, cut in and out of traffic on a yellow Yamaha all-terrain vehicle at 70-75 miles an hour on a road with a speed limit of 45. When approached at the cash register about his actions, Hoffman became belligerent and claimed to know ‘all kinds of lawmen in east Hillsborough County’. Unfortunately for him the person asking questions was a local sheriff who had witnessed Hoffman’s ride from an unmarked police car. Hoffman was charged with Florida DUI and resisting arrest.

Just ‘drunk’ not ‘drunk drunk’ in Florida – Charlette A. Wesley, 50, was stopped in Fort Pierce for driving suspiciously after police witnessed her sitting at a blinking red light with her head below the dashboard. When questioned about drinking she said she wasn’t ‘drunk drunk’ just slightly drunk. While being arrested, the West Palm Beach woman expressed concern about her purse in her vehicle. A police search revealed marijuana and a brass pipe. Wesley was charged with Florida DUI and possession of less than 20 grams of marijuana.

Law enforcement agencies and local officials in Wyoming are observing the twenty-fifth year of the REDDI program, designed to reduce drunk driving and alcohol related fatalities. Initiated by the Wyoming State Patrol, ‘Report Every Drunk Driver Immediately’ asks people to contact police about suspicious driving.

Since its inception, 173,400 calls have been received which has lead to 15,700 Wyoming DUI arrests. State patrol commander Col. Sam D. Powell says, “If we’ve arrested this many offenders on the highway, undoubtedly lives have been saved.” Phone calls to local police and the state patrol are radioed to officers on patrol. The public is asked to provide as much information as possible, including license plate number and description of the suspicious vehicle. If the vehicle is located by police, the driver’s behavior is monitored for probable cause for a traffic stop.

Currently the REDDI program generates about 600 to 700 calls a month and 50 to 60 drunk drivers are arrested.