DWI/DUI Answers

Semaglutides are antidiabetic medications used to treat type 2 diabetes and long-term weight management. Many are familiar with the brands:  Mounjaro, Ozempic, Rybelsus, and Wegovy.  Very little scientific research has been published on the effects of these semaglutides. A current scan of the pubmed library (scientific peer review articles)  reveal nine articles with concerns ranging from optimizing fertility, addressing psychiatric illnesses and proving a reduction in alcohol consumption.  The big issue remains-  what are the effects of combining alcohol and a semaglutide?  Ozempic warns of low blood sugar (which produces dizziness and blackouts) when combined with alcohol in addition to worsened cases of diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and upset stomach.  Unlike with many other drugs including ambien, there is currently no FDA warning regarding the combination of alcohol and semaglutides. This brings up legal questions of involuntary intoxication. As of A...

 Cops are taught and always claim the horizontal gaze nystagmus test is the most accurate and scientific.  However; what is lacking is the scientific baseline for this.  Dr. Stephen Rauchman, an ophthalmologist, set out to investigate the  government's "eye" test in the context of DWI/DUI.  His findings are neatly summarized in this article .  The basic concerns I found from this erudite analysis are as follows: 1.  There is no baseline.  To prove HGN correlates with alcohol necessitates HGN be ruled out in the beginning.  There are many causes for HGN (some as simple as people with vestibular problems drinking caffeine).   DWI subjects are never given a baseline test (after alcohol metabolizes to zero, or at a driver's license test) to rule out natural or improperly assessed HGN. 2.  Dr. Rauchman points out the obvious: the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA who is responsible for the field tests being give...

  The breath test result is predicated on a blood to breath partition ratio of 2100:1.  Many folks do not have this exact ratio.    Different countries use different ratios . A person who is anemic, has less red blood cells.  Different cancers and health conditions contribute to a different blood breath partition ratio.  Of course, these factors are never taken into account when a subject is arrested and a breath test result is reported.  One of my favorite Not Guiltys occurred when I educated the jury on my client's blood cancer that affected his blood composition and hence is inaccurate breath test result.  When the case is otherwise triable, never take a breath test at face value. 

 Most prosecutors and many defense lawyers hinge their analysis of a DWI case on the blood result. Fact is I don't.  I look at the "totality of the circumstances."  Every blood test can be fought.  It is the State's burden of proof to show the result met all ISO standards, is accurate and the defendant's blood.  If the blood is not going to make a difference (for example the citizen looks highly inebriated and the driving facts are bad) then going to trial and fighting the blood result may not be in my client's best interest.  Here is an example (true life example) of why one should never trust the blood result.   1.  It may not be the client's result.  How often does this happen?  It is impossible to say because most defendants have some ethanol in their system and no police department calling the lab to say it was a mistake.  A Collin County municipality's police procedure is to have the police officer take a blood test if th...