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Russians Develop DUI Camera

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Handheld device claims to remotely detect the presence of alcohol in a moving vehicle.

Localities may one day issue tickets for the crime of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) by mail. The Russian firm Laser Systems has developed Alcolaser, a device that uses lasers to remotely detect the presence of alcohol vapors in an automobile. The Alcolaser is available in either in the form of a handheld gun the size of a police radar or in a mounted version designed to work from a moving police car.

The device takes about half-a-second to scan an automobile. According to the manufacturer, the laser has a range of 65 feet and can test vehicles moving at up to 75 MPH. Laser Systems claims that Alcolaser can detect amounts as small as a quart of beer or 3.5 ounces of vodka without being fooled by other sources of ethanol

ASSET speed camera also checks your seatbelt, insurance, can call the police all by its lonesome

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 31 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

By Tim Stevens posted Nov 8th 2010 9:13AM

Speed cameras have dubious legality in many places here in the States, but over in Europe they're an ugly fact of life. Now they're getting smarter, and the first is going into deployment in Finland. It's called ASSET, the Advanced Safety and Driver Support for Essential Road Transport, which confusingly abbreviates to ASDSERT and is the product of £7 million in government funding and years of development. Each of the £50,000 (about $80,000) cameras can naturally tell just how fast you're going and, if you're speeding, take a picture of you and your license plate number. That's just the beginning. It can also look up the status of your insurance, tell if you're wearing a seatbelt, and ding you for tailgating, all while sitting alone on the side of the road, relying on a wireless data connection and an internal

"Innocent Until Proven Guilty????"

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 24 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Before you read the following article from the Los Angeles Times Newspaper talking about the latest public relation stunt from the city of Huntington Beach, CA please remember the following:

1. An arrest is not a conviction;

2. A person is presumed not guilty of a criminal charge until a conviction;

3. In South Carolina, the judge instructs a jury in a criminal case that "the presumption that the defendant is not guilty remains with them all the way through this trial";

4. Since when did police agencies get involved in destroying people's reputations-based upon an arrest, and not a conviction?

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-1118-drunk-driving-facebook-20101118,0,1798210.story

Body scanners, pat-downs violate law and privacy

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

By Marc Rotenberg, Special to CNN

(CNN) Body scanners that peer through clothes are deployed in airports across the country. Travelers who object are subject to "enhanced" pat-downs. Parents watch as their children are groped before boarding a plane.

The elderly are asked to raise their arms high above their heads so that the body scanners can capture a naked image of a 78-year-old man or an 81-year-old woman.

No other country in the world subjects its air travelers to the combination of screening procedures that Americans are being asked to endure.

"Although the constitutionality of airport screening searches is not dependent on consent, the scope of such searches is not limitless," wrote a federal court not long ago.

The government contends that travelers are happy with the new procedures and there are hardly any complaints.

But those claims ring hollow in the face of Americans' real experiences at the airport. In documents obtained by

“Padilla ruling extending far beyond deportation cases”

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 10 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

Last term’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Padilla v. Kentucky placed an important duty upon criminal defense attorneys to advise clients if a plea of guilty carries a risk of deportation through US Immigration.

But now, state and federal courts are considering applying the ruling’s duty to the defense attorney warn to a host of other collateral areas outside the immigration context.

“One of the biggest questions raised by the Padilla case is, how far does it go?” said Margaret Colgate Love, a Washington solo practitioner who sits on the American Bar Association Commission on Effective Criminal Sanctions.

Lower courts are citing the opinion in challenges to guilty plea agreements that resulted in a number of collateral consequences unforeseen by the defendants – including the loss of public housing, ineligibility to vote, adverse financial consequences, the loss of adoption and child custody rights, the loss of a driver’s license and even

Lakers Star Guns Ferrari to 110 MPH -- Cops Swoop In

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 05:00:00 GMT

11/17/2010 12:05 AM PST by TMZ Staff

For a guy nursing a bum right knee, Los Angeles Lakers star Andrew Bynum can still move pretty damn fast this according to cops who claim the guy was doing 110 on an L.A. freeway in his Ferrari.

In South Carolina speeding violations are broken down into three categories: Less than

Mel Gibson Admits Slapping, Not Hitting Oksana

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 27 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

11/15/2010 1:00 AM PST by TMZ Staff

TMZ has obtained Mel Gibson's sworn declaration in the custody war with Oksana Grigorieva, in which Mel admits slapping Oksana because he says she was so hysterical she was endangering the baby but he denies hitting her.
his declaration, dated June 23, 2010 and filed with the court, Mel says he and Oksana were having one of their frequent arguments at his Malibu home, when Oksana grabbed Lucia out her of bassinet, brought her right in the middle of the argument and

Oksana to Mel: 'Too Much Evidence, My Dear'

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 20 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

TMZ has obtained emails Oksana Grigorieva sent Mel Gibson just before their mediation, which Mel's lawyers believe are proof of extortion. Oksana claims she has "Too much evidence, my dear."
Read more...

Floyd Mayweather skips hearing

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Associated Press

LAS VEGAS A Las Vegas court has ordered boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. to stay away from his former girlfriend and their two sons after prosecutors say he hit her and threatened to beat his children if they called 911.

The 33-year-old Mayweather was not required to appear at a hearing Tuesday before Las Vegas Justice of the Peace Diana Sullivan on eight misdemeanor and felony charges. Sullivan gave Mayweather a week to pay $31,000 in bail.

Authorities allege Mayweather also took mobile phones belonging to Josie Harris and his sons following the Sept. 9 dispute.

Mayweather faces charges of felony coercion, grand larceny and robbery, and misdemeanor domestic battery and harassment.

He could face up to 34 years in prison if convicted on all charges. He is due back in court Jan. 24.

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/boxing/news/story?id=5784140

In South Carolina, the misdemeanor offense of "domestic battery" is referred to as "criminal domestic violence." Based upon the

Idaho Appeals Court Allows Warrantless GPS Tracking of Motorists

steve@stevesumnerlaw.com (Steve Sumner) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 05:00:00 GMT

Another state court of appeals on Friday saw no problem with police attaching a GPS tracking device to an automobile without first obtaining a warrant from a judge. Idaho's second highest court denied the appeal of Filip Danney who was convicted on marijuana charges based on evidence gained from the spying device.
Read more...