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Top Ten Jury Verdicts of 2009

By: Justin Rebello
Published: January 15, 2010

Tags: breach of fiduciary duty, defamation, DUI, Engle litigation, hormone replacement therapy, medical malpractice, motor vehicle accident, Philip Morris, Prempro, Top Ten Verdicts, workers' compensation

The year’s top verdicts include two drunk driving accidents, one $300 million tobacco verdict, and one verdict in the ongoing Prempro litigation against Wyeth Pharmaceuticals. But which verdict was #1? A look back at the top verdicts of the past year.

2009: The year in criminal law 

By: Justin Rebello
Published: December 30, 2009

Tags: breath test, cyberbullying, DUI, ineffective assistance of counsel, search and seizure

Year after year, the practice of criminal law is marked by a wide array of debates over search and seizure matters, ineffective assistance of counsel and many other issues – and 2009 was no different.

Here is a look back at the stories that shaped the criminal law practice in the past year.

DUI conviction reversed 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: October 27, 2009

Tags: DUI, presumption of innocence

A DUI conviction must be reversed where the trial court failed to explicitly question each potential juror about certain principles, such as the presumption of innocence, the Illinois Appellate Court has ruled in ordering a new trial.

DUI breath test law constitutional 

By: Correy Stephenson
Published: October 8, 2009

Tags: breath test, DUI, Fourth Amendment, search and seizure

A state law which imposes criminal penalties upon those who refuse to consent to chemical testing after being arrested for operating a motor vehicle while under the influence doesn’t violate the Fourth Amendment, the Ohio Supreme Court has ruled.

Fight over Intoxilyzer source code continues 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: September 16, 2009

Tags: DUI, Intoxilyzer, source codes

In the latest opinion over a hot-button DUI defense argument, a state supreme court has ruled that a drunk driving defendant is not entitled to inspect the source code for the Intoxilyzer breath machine by subpoenaing the manufacturer.

DUI defense attorneys pursue new argument 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: July 30, 2009

Tags: breathalyzer, DUI, Intoxilyzer, Melendez-Diaz

Criminal defense attorneys are already taking advantage of a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling to challenge breath test evidence of blood alcohol levels.

State has no duty to provide source code 

By: Sylvia Hsieh
Published: April 9, 2009

Tags: breath test, DUI, Intoxilyzer, source code

The state has no duty to provide a defense attorney with source code for the Intoxilyzer 8000, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled in reversing a trial court.

Choosing a jury in DUI cases

By: Diana Digges
Published: February 3, 2003

Tags: drunk driving, DUI, jury selection

Alcoholism, social drinking, and drunk driving may be very different animals but in the public mind, the lines between them are blurred, experts tell Lawyers USA. And the results of this “media blitz” are felt in jury selection. People who used to freely say they had a couple of beers at a bar before getting behind the wheel are increasingly reluctant to admit to driving after drinking anything at all.

This social disapproval of drinking and driving means that DUI cases, a “crime of degree” that affects more adults in America than any other, are increasingly tough for defense attorneys to win.