U.S. Capitol building

No More Weekends in DUI Cases

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Sentencing

Always looking out for the best interests of clients, Michael Bruckheim has come up with a creative way for getting around the new requirement in D.C. that mandatory days of incarceration in DUI cases be served back-to-back. According to the new law that took effect in August 2012, second-time DUI offenders who are sentenced to a mandatory-minimum period of incarceration …

D.C. v. Loftus: Operating On A Suspended License Is A Strict Liability Offense

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Opinions/Cases

Driving without a license has long been a strict liability offense in D.C. That is, in order to secure a conviction for this offense, the government need only prove that you didn’t have a driver’s license at the time you were driving. It does not need to prove any type of criminal intent or guilty knowledge; in this case, that …

Same Standard, Different Penalties for Drinking-and-Driving in DC

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses, Opinions/Cases

D.C. Superior Court judges, prosecutors, and defense attorneys have traditionally treated the criminal offense of Operating While Impaired (OWI) as if it were a lesser-included offense of Driving Under The Influence (DUI).  Although a specific standard for OWI cannot be found in either the statute or case law, judges have repeatedly stated that in order to secure a conviction for …

Emergency Legislation Results in Tougher Drinking-and-Driving Laws in D.C.

Jamison Koehler DUI and Driving Offenses

A new D.C. law, which took effect on August 1, 2012, has increased penalties for people convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI), driving under the influence (DUI) and operating while impaired (OWI).  For example, the penalty for a first-time conviction in a DUI/DWI case has gone up from a maximum fine of $300 and 90 days in jail to a …

D.C. skyline

Ignition Interlock To Be Required For All DUI-Restricted Licenses in Virginia

Jamison Koehler Current Events, DUI and Driving Offenses

Beginning July 1, 2012, every person who is convicted of a drinking-and-driving offense in Virginia and who wants to drive on a restricted license will be required to install an ignition interlock device on his/her car.  Current law applies this requirement only to repeat offenders and to first-time offenders who are convicted of a blood alcohol level of 0.15 or …

Jefferson Memorial

Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle: Applying the Notion of a “Grace Period”

Jamison Koehler Defenses to Criminal Charges, Legal Concepts/Principles, Other Criminal Offenses

  The judge doesn’t like my idea of a “grace period.”  In fact, he chuckles when I propose it:  “I have never seen any case law on that,” he says. I was not trying to be funny. My client has been charged with both unlawful entry and unauthorized use of a stolen car in which he was a passenger. Unlawful …

Complaints, Excuses, and Justifications after a Lost DWI Trial

Jamison Koehler Discovery, DUI and Driving Offenses, Trial Advocacy

  Before beginning my practice in Virginia, I went over to traffic court in Fairfax County to observe, and was struck by the large number of DWI cases that pled. One piece of blue paper after another was passed up to the judge, with the defendants lining up to accept responsibility for their offense. These guys don’t know how to …