Charles A. Ramsay's DWI Law Blog
Current Events and Updates on Minnesota DWI Law. To open the blog in a new window, click on either the title of the topic, or the link at the end of the preview. Or, you can click here to go to the main page of the Minnesota DWI Defense Blog.
April, 2008
TO COME: CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES -- WHY DOES THE GOVERNMENT ...
Soon ... articles revealing:
--Why the Minnesota BCA failed to establish any minimum routine preventative maintenance and/or calibration standards for the Intoxilyzer 5000?
--Why Minnesota's breath testing program has the lowest standards in the country?
--Why the Commissioner of Public Safety refuses to establish any minimum procedures to ensure that Minnesota breath tests are valid, reliable and accurate? (click here to see all of Chuck's questions and to read the entire entry)
Urine Testing in Minnesota Yields "Absurd Results"
One Minnesota Judge recently threw out a urine test in Minnesota, citing the lack of scientific safeguards to ensure the result is valid and reliable. Click here for More ...
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) claims that such testing is good science. However, overwhelming evidence proves the BCA wrong; such testing is completely absurd. (click here to read entire entry)
Judge and Wife Allege Harassment by Minneapolis Police
Around 10 p.m. on September 5, 2006, James Cannon, his wife Lois, and their 22-year-old son, James Jr., climbed into the family's PT Cruiser and drove to the Wrecker Services impound lot in downtown Minneapolis. Earlier in the day, their son's car, a green Ford Contour, had been towed for being parked illegally in the West Bank neighborhood.
At the impound lot office, a cramped space with all the charm of a prison visiting room, the Cannons forked over $250....(click here to read entire entry)
Why I Post This Blog -- To Share Information and to Promote Excellence
Drunk Driving Law, also known as DWI/DUI/OWI, is the most rapidly changing area of the law today. To be successful, defense attorneys stay abreast of the daily changes in the law; judicial decisions at the appellate and trial court level, new scientific studies and research, government publications, police officer training, breath test equipment and new issues in toxicology, medicine, intellectual property, constitutional law. (click here to read entire entry)
The Robustness of Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus
The author of this 2007 "Robustness" study claims that the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus (HGN) test is valid and reliable. However, her own statistics prove otherwise. (click here to see study from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - PDF file) (click here to read entire entry)
Breath Testing Software -- A Law to Hide the Truth?
The Intoxilyzer 5000 EN is the breath test machine currently used in Minnesota. More than 35,000 of such tests are run on Minnesota drivers every year. We DWI/DUI defense lawyers have discovered that every aspect of the machine is controlled by the software, often referred to as the source code. (click here to read entire entry)
CMI Loses Appeal of Florida Fines for Refusal to Provide Source Code
CMI, the manufacturer of the Intoxilyzer 5000 EN, the breath test machine used in Minnesota, lost an appeal in Florida. It had appealed a lower court order which imposes more than $3,0000 per day for refusing to turn over the source code. The fines have totaled well into the hundreds of thousands of dollars. (click here to read entire entry)
