Jurors tend to trust peace officers' testimony due to the authority that officers hold in the community. Additionally, prosecutors also tend to believe the officers' reports because officers are suppose to protect and serve and uphold the laws. Yet, could that trust be misplaced? In at least two cases, the answer is a resounding "yes."   One trooper has been accused of lying on the[...]

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The New Hampshire Supreme Court reversed a lower court ruling that held a woman criminally negligent in an accident that killed two people on a motorcycle. The ruling highlights the importance of understanding prosecutorial error. The Facts   The accident occurred in 2005. The woman was making a left turn on Route 12, near Charlestown. She turned and struck a motorcycle in the oncoming [...]

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Shauna Lake who is the long time news anchor for KUTV Channel 2 was arrested at 12:20 a.m. on Wednesday, May 10th in Murray for Driving Under the Influence. Lake has been charged with a DUI, a class B Misdemeanor; and using license plates that were registered for a different vehicle, a class C Misdemeanor. The license plates that were registered to another car is what got her pulled over. The [...]

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You may already know that taking prescription drugs that were not meant for you can lead to an arrest, especially if you're arrested while driving and your ability to drive is impaired. However, did you know that you can also be arrested in Utah for this offense even if you were told by your doctor to take the drugs, and you were given a prescription?   The issue is that some medications[...]

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Utah currently has an alcohol limit of .08%. A Provo lawmaker wants to make Utah the first state in the country to lower its legal limit for driving under the influence to a 0.05 % blood-alcohol content — a level the average male drinker could reach at three drinks and at which a female could be considered drunk after two. The State Rep. from Provo, Norman Thurston who proposed the change[...]

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There have been differing opinions over the years about sobriety checkpoints and whether they have, as intended, helped to keep drunk drivers off of the roads. However, new data shows that they have been simply costly, ineffective and a distraction for police officers. Sobriety checkpoints are just one of the tools that law enforcement uses to catch drunk drivers and lower the number of car [...]

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Recently, Utah changed the penalties for those arrested for Driving Under the Influence (DUI) who are under 21 years old. Under the old law, if police stopped a driver under 21 and the driver had "even a drop" of alcohol in his or her system, the driver would lose his or her license until age 21. Lawmakers saw that those who lost their licenses were driving anyway and looked for ways to encourage [...]

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Arrests and convictions for driving under the influence (DUI) and driving while impaired (DWI) -- even when no one is hurt -- can be costly, time-consuming and life-changing. It's important for you to know when you've reached the legal intoxication limit even when you don't feel drunk. And it can be even more important if you are a woman because you can often reach those limits faster than your [...]

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