DUI

Question 1

DUI Offenses: Categories of Alcohol Offense and Their BAC % + Remember Results and Duration After Driving

Answer 1

General Impairment = BAC .08% - .10%

High Rate of Alcohol = BAC .10% - .16%

Highest Rate of Alcohol = BAC .16% or higher

Remember: This BAC is compared up to 2 hours after driving

Question 2

DUI Offenses: Controlled Substances and Drugs - Schedule 1 Controlled Substances

Answer 2

ANY AMOUNT of a schedule 1 controlled substance constitutes an offense

Question 3

DUI Offenses: Controlled Substances and Drugs - Drugs in General

Answer 3

Being under the influence of drugs that IMPAIRS THE ABILITY to drive safely constitutes an offense

Question 4

DUI Offenses: Controlled Substances and Drugs - Combination of Drugs and Alcohol

Answer 4

Being under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs constitutes an offense

Question 5

DUI Offenses: Controlled Substances and Drugs - Solvent or Noxious Substance

Answer 5

Being under the influence of a solvent or noxious substance constitutes an offense

Question 6

DUI Offenses: Offenses by Minors - BAC % and Within What Number of Hours Driving

Answer 6

A minor (younger than 18) with a BAC of .02% or higher within 2 hours of driving constitutes an offense

Question 7

DUI Offenses: Offenses by Minors - Driving with Any Amount of Alcohol

Answer 7

A minor driving with any amount of alcohol constitutes a MINOR OFFENSE, not a DUI

Question 8

DUI Offenses: Offenses by Commercial Vehicle Drivers - BAC % and Within What Number of Hours Driving

Answer 8

A BAC of .04% or greater within 2 hours of driving a commercial vehicle constitutes a DUI

Question 9

DUI Offenses: Offenses by School Bus Drivers - BAC % and Within What Number of Hours Driving

Answer 9

A BAC of .02% or greater within 2 hours of driving a commercial vehicle constitutes a DUI

Question 10

DUI Offenses: Offenses by Commercial Vehicle Drivers or School Bus Drivers - Driving with Any Amount of Alcohol

Answer 10

Driving with any amount of alcohol constitutes a MINOR OFFENSE, not a DUI

Question 11

DUI Offense: Homicide by Vehicle While Driving Under the Influence - Definition + Remember Unborn Baby’s Death + Remember Intervening Event

Answer 11

The UNINTENTIONAL death of another person as a result of a DUI violation

Remember: The death of a fetus DOES NOT APPLY

Remember: The defendant MAY NOT use contributory negligence, BUT CAN USE evidence establishing the death was caused by an INTERVENING EVENT

Question 12

DUI Offense: Homicide by Vehicle While Driving Under the Influence - Sentence + Remember Merger Doctrine

Answer 12

The crime is a SECOND-DEGREE FELONY, punishable by 3-year minimum for each death, up to 10 years

Remember: Because homicide is the greater offense, the DUI merges with the homicide offense

Question 13

DUI Offense: Aggravated Assault While DUI - Definition + Remember Contributory Negligence + Remember Merger

Answer 13

The negligent causation of SERIOUS BODILY INJURY as a result of a DUI violation

Remember: Contributory negligence is NOT A DEFENSE

Rember: The DUI offense merges with the greater offense of a SECOND-DEGREE FELONY

Question 14

DUI Offense: Constitutionality - Which Standard is Applied to DUI Laws

Answer 14

Courts apply RATIONAL BASIS to DUI statutes because states have a legitimate police power and public safety interest in curbing DUI

Question 15

General DUI Requirements: “Involvement of a Vehicle” Definition

Answer 15

Any device capable of carrying people or property on a highway, except those used exclusively on rails

Question 16

General DUI Requirements: Operation on a Highway or Trafficway + Remember Gated Communities

Answer 16

Highway: Publicly maintained roads

Trafficways: Privately maintained but used by public (excluding gated communities)

Question 17

General DUI Requirements: Operating or Actual Control Determination Test + Remember Sleeping Motorist

Answer 17

Operation or actual physical control is determined by VIEWING the TOTALITY OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES that the vehicle was recently driven (e.g. warm hood, parked on side of road, etc.)

Remember: The mere presence of an intoxicated person, such as a sleeping motorist in a vehicle, is INSUFFICIENT to show operation or actual control

Question 18

General DUI Requirements: Chemical Testing to Determine BAC - Testing Window + Exception

Answer 18

Testing for BAC must be performed within 2 HOURS of driving, UNLESS prosecution can show GOOD CAUSE why the test was not performed in that window AND the motorist did not INGEST ANY ALCOHOL after being arrested

Question 19

General DUI Requirements: Chemical Testing to Determine BAC - What type of blood must be tested? + Remember If Driver Does Not Consent to a BAC Test

Answer 19

BAC must test WHOLE BLOOD for an accurate reading

Remember: If a driver does not submit to a blood test, police must receive a search warrant to obtain that person’s blood sample (NO EXIGENT CIRCUMSTANCES AVAILABLE, unless person is unconscious)

Question 20

General DUI Requirements: Chemical Testing to Determine BAC - Implied Consent for All Drivers + Remember Miranda Rights

Answer 20

Motorists have given implied consent by signing up for a license, and they may refuse to submit a test but it results in a suspension of operating privileges

Remember: Because Miranda rights DO NOT APPLY to chemical testing, the motorist has no right to speak to an attorney or anyone else before taking the test

Question 21

General DUI Requirements: Chemical Testing to Determine BAC - Unconstitutional Warrantless Search Situation

Answer 21

Where an officer warns that refusal of a blood test will result in enhanced criminal penalties, because SCOTUS has ruled that officer’s need a search warrant to procure blood sample

Question 22

General DUI Requirements: Chemical Testing to Determine BAC - Can a blood sample be used if the hospital draws blood for an independent purpose?

Answer 22

NO, where a hospital draws blood for an independent medical purpose, police must first obtain a search warrant in order to get the BAC results from that blood draw

Question 23

Stop and Arrests: Stops - Standard if Stop Ultimately Results in a DUI

Answer 23

A stop based on a violation of the Vehicle Code MUST be supported by PROBABLE CAUSE

Question 24

Stop and Arrests: Stops - Standard Required if Belief that a Motorist is Under the Influence

Answer 24

A stop based on the belief the motorist is under the influence need only be based on REASONABLE SUSPICION

Question 25

DUI Checkpoints: When are these authorized? + Remember Guidelines for Location of Checkpoint + Remember Vehicle Searches at Checkpoints

Answer 25

DUI checkpoints are authorized if police officers are engaged in a SYSTEMATIC PROGRAM of checking vehicles in an objective fashion

Remember: The checkpoint’s location and time must be based on verifiable factor

Remember: The stop MUST BE BRIEF and cannot include a search

Question 26

DUI Checkpoints: Checkpoint Avoidance Rule

Answer 26

Checkpoint avoidance is PERMITTED so long as it is done without breaking a vehicle code

Question 27

Arrests: What is the standard for an officer to arrest for a DUI offense? + Remember Field Sobriety Testing

Answer 27

An arrest must be based on PROBABLE CAUSE

Remember: Field sobriety testing can be used to give an officer probable cause for a DUI arrest

Question 28

Arrests: Admissibility of Field Sobriety Tests and Pre-Arrest Breath Tests at Trial

Answer 28

The results of a motorist’s performance on field sobriety tests and pre-arrest breath tests are INADMISSIBLE as evidence at trial

Question 29

Sentencing: Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition

Answer 29

A first-time offender who is willing to waive speedy trial rights and whose DUI offense did not involve an accident causing injury or death, and did not have a passenger under age 14, may be eligible for this program which expunges the DUI after meeting requirements

Question 30

Operating Privilege Suspensions (Ungraded Misdemeanors/2nd Degree Misdemeanors and First Degree Misdemeanors)

Answer 30

Ungraded Misdemeanors/2nd Degree Misdemeanors: Up to 1 year suspension

First Degree Misdemeanors: Up to 18 months suspension