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8/15/05-A district judge in Virginia is dismissing cases against drivers charged with driving under the influence of alcohol.
District Court Judge Ian O’Flaherty said the law prosecutors use to convict drunken drivers is unconstitutional.
Virginia law presumes that someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher is intoxicated, denying their right to a presumption of innocence, O’Flaherty ruled in dismissing charges against at least two alleged drunken drivers last month, MSNBC reported.
Corrine Magee, a defense attorney who first successfully argued the issue to O’Flaherty, said Virginia’s law presumes the blood-alcohol level at the time the test is given is equal to the level at the time of the offense, even if the test is given hours after a driver is pulled over.
Prosecutors reportedly are now taking steps to avoid O’Flaherty on all drunken driving cases.
Patrick O’Connor, president of the northern Virginia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told The Associated Press the decision “undermines the efforts of the police and prosecutors to enforce the DWI laws, puts drunk drivers back behind the wheel and potentially denies justice to victims of drunk drivers.”
State Delegate David Albo, a defense attorney, said he sees no difference between a presumption of intoxication at 0.08 and a presumption of speeding at 80 mph.
District Court Judge Ian O’Flaherty said the law prosecutors use to convict drunken drivers is unconstitutional.
Virginia law presumes that someone with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher is intoxicated, denying their right to a presumption of innocence, O’Flaherty ruled in dismissing charges against at least two alleged drunken drivers last month, MSNBC reported.
Corrine Magee, a defense attorney who first successfully argued the issue to O’Flaherty, said Virginia’s law presumes the blood-alcohol level at the time the test is given is equal to the level at the time of the offense, even if the test is given hours after a driver is pulled over.
Prosecutors reportedly are now taking steps to avoid O’Flaherty on all drunken driving cases.
Patrick O’Connor, president of the northern Virginia chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, told The Associated Press the decision “undermines the efforts of the police and prosecutors to enforce the DWI laws, puts drunk drivers back behind the wheel and potentially denies justice to victims of drunk drivers.”
State Delegate David Albo, a defense attorney, said he sees no difference between a presumption of intoxication at 0.08 and a presumption of speeding at 80 mph.