Blog
When a driver is unconscious they can be given a blood draw
On June 27, 2019, the United States Supreme Court (Mitchell v. Wisconsin), held that when a driver is unconscious and being taken to a hospital because of his or her condition, the exigent-circumstances doctrine generally permits a blood draw without a wa...
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Implied Consent Advisories
Kansas law requires that any law enforcement officer requesting a chemical test to determine if someone is under the influence of drugs, alcohol or both read testing notices. These were formerly known as implied consent advisories. On July 1, 2019, the te...
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Prior DUI conviction from the City of Wichita cannot be used to enhance a later DUI in the State of Kansas
The City of Wichita’s DUI ordinance prohibiting operation of a vehicle under certain circumstances, when the element of “vehicle” is defined more broadly than the “vehicle” element in the state DUI statute, it cannot be used to elevate a person...
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New Report Calls for Lowering Blood Alcohol Concentration Levels in All States
The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine is promoting legislation aimed at persuading states to lower the legal limit of alcohol (blood alcohol concentration) in a person’s system from .08 to .05. In an earlier blog, I shared that U...
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Criminalizing Refusal of Preliminary Screening Device Unconstitutional
The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled in State v. Robinson that laws criminalizing refusing a preliminary screening device (“PBT”) are unconstitutional. A preliminary screening device or preliminary breath test (PBT) is considered a field sobriety test. T...
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Drinking, Driving & the Holiday Season
Drinking, Driving & the Holiday Season The holiday season is again upon us which means drinking and driving becomes more prevalent. Each year, I give many presentations and write articles reminding people that the only way to avoid a DUI is to not dri...
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Marijuana and testing for DUI
As marijuana becomes legal in more states, Government’s across the country are still searching for reliable ways to test for cannabis and its impact on driving. As of March of 2017, seven states and the District of Columbia have all passed laws legalizi...
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Boating under the Influence (BUI)
Boating under the influence (BUI) of alcohol or drugs is illegal in the state of Kansas, which make it a crime to operate a boat or personal watercraft while under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. And just like DUI or DWI offenses committed on dry...
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Utah lawmakers pass toughest DUI limit in U.S.
Earlier this year, I shared that Utah was considering lowering the legal limit for DUIs. Last week Utah has passed legislation lowering its DUI limit to .05 – a first in the nation. Currently, all 50 states have a .08 cap. The measure is now on it&...
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Protecting your license after a DUI arrest
Arrested for DUI? Worried about your Driver’s License? There are actions that must be taken right away to protect your privilege to drive. In most states a DUI arrest results in two parallel actions: One by the criminal action and one by the Kansas Depa...
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