For people accused of DUI, or any crime, in Montana, a large number of constitutional protections apply. These include protections against unlawful search and seizure, the protection against Double Jeopardy, and the right to a jury trial. As I’ve discussed before, the State must prove all the elements of a charge beyond a reasonable doubt. [...]
Most DUI cases in Montana do not go to trial. There are a thousand different reasons for this, and they’re not worth getting in to at this time. However, it is a defendants unequivocal right to have all the elements of any criminal charges against him proven by the State beyond a reasonable doubt. At [...]
Montana law provides for immediate and automatic suspension and revocation of a driver’s license if you refuse to comply with a valid request for a Alcohol Content (AC) Test. This could be either a Portable Breath Test (PBT) at the scene, or a more technical and accurate test at the station, or a blood test [...]
Anyone who follows the news in Montana knows that DUI laws are near the top of the legisture’s agenda for this session. The Flathead Beacon details the proposals by Kalispell Representative Steve Lavin to toughen DUI laws in Flathead County and the rest of Montana. One of his proposals would require repeat drunken drivers to [...]
A deferred prosecution is a type of plea bargain, and basically a contract with the Court where you agree to meet certain conditions in exchange for the Court agreeing to postpone prosecution of your case. If you complete all the requirements, your case will be dismissed and no conviction will be entered against you. Let [...]
When a person is pulled over and the officer conducts a DUI investigation, he is looking for one main thing: evidence that you are impaired by alcohol or drugs. But, the officer has a number of disadvantages regarding the accuracy of his investigation. The first is that he is unaware of what your normal faculties [...]
As a native of Bigfork myself, I understand what it’s like to be caught on the outskirts of “town.” Surrounded by incorporated cities, the village of Bigfork occupies an interesting place in Flathead County’s legal landscape. Unlike Kalispell, Whitefish, Columbia Falls, and Polson, which all have their own city courts, Bigfork is (legally speaking) just [...]
As a Montana criminal defense attorney and DUI defense lawyer, I often get asked how I can justify what I do. The person who asks this question always seems to think that I am making the world a more dangerous place for Montana drivers, by ensuring that dangerous people aren’t punished for their drunk driving. [...]
A traditional DUI is the operation of a motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol or drugs. This is a relatively subjective assessment with no bright line rule. Determining whether you are “impaired” requires an assessment of your skills that is difficult to make and even harder to prove. The results of Field Sobriety Tests are [...]
Under a recently reached plea agreement, Kalispell state Sen. Greg Barkus will plead no contest to felony criminal endangerment for his part in the August 2009 boat crash on Flathead Lake that injured five people. The plea agreement sets a 3 year deferred sentence and dismisses the other two felony charges of negligent vehicular assault. [...]
