Riverside California Tox-Lab scandle
California lawyer Mary Frances Prevost has a blog entry about a scandal at Riverside's Bio-Tox lab. The post, quoting an article from DailyJournal.com, should be an example and a warning for all who think that forensic science in DUI cases is unassailable.
CALIFORNIA'S TOP LEGAL NEWSPAPER TRACKS BIOTOX SCANDAL :: California Criminal Lawyer Blog: "Defense attorneys are questioning the viability of evidence in thousands of criminal cases in Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties because defendants' blood and urine tests were conducted by a forensic lab technician who admitted to fudging his analysis in a previous job.
Lawyers are frantically digging for information on every case Aaron Layton tested on behalf of Riverside-based Bio-Tox Laboratories over two years with the company until he was fired in February. Thousands of cases in the three counties that contract with Bio-Tox have been thrown into question, attorneys and some judges say, because Layton acknowledged lying hundreds of times about his testing while working at a Colorado lab eight years ago."
According to Fullerton DUI attorney Randall Longwith, who practices DUI and criminal defense in Los Angeles, Orange County and Riverside County, this is discouraging from the standpoint of justice and fair play, but some that good California DUI lawyers are always on the lookout for.
And this is not the only lab and the only time that this has happened. Our history is fraught with stories of people wrongfully convicted based on inaccurate and false scientific testimony. Sometimes that testimony is given intentionally, and sometimes out of accident or ignorance. The result is the same. Justice is not served.
Nick Adenhart's killer faces three counts of murder
The man who allegedly killed Nick Adenhart and two others in Fullteron has selected top Orange County California DUI lawyer Randall Longwith to represent him.
Law Practice Examiner: Nick Adenhart's alleged killer to be arraigned Monday: "Andrew Gallo, who is accused of three counts of vehicular murder, including Angel's rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart is scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Fullerton, California.
It has been estimated that Gallo's blood alcohol level was approximately three times the legal limit when he killed Adenhart and two others. Police reportedly found him a mile from the scene.
Mr. Gallo is represented by prominent Fullerton DUI Defense Lawyer Randall T. Longwith.
If convicted of all three counts, Gallo faces 55 years to life in prison.
Given the severity of this tragedy, Mr. Longwith will have his hands full dealing with both the legal issues and the court of public opinion.
Under California DUI law, there may be several aggravating factors in this case, including the deaths, the speed and Gallo's prior criminal history."
Gallo is expected to plead not guilty at his arraignment. I will continue to monitor the story as it unfolds.
Mobile web use caused fatal accident: Woman gets 6 years in prison
There are certain things that impair a person's ability to safely drive as much as alcohol or drugs. Using a cell phone is one them. Putting on makeup is another. Being extremely tired is another.
Below is an article describing a woman in California who was sentenced to six years in prison for killing another person because her multitasking (paying bills on her cell phone while speeding) was more important to her than the lives that she was putting in danger.
Calif woman gets 6 years for fatal texting crash: "REDDING, Calif. – A woman who crashed into a line of stopped vehicles while text-messaging on her cell phone has been sentenced to six years in a California prison for killing a woman in one of the vehicles.
Deborah Matis-Engle was sentenced Friday by a judge in Redding, Calif.
Investigators said Deborah Matis-Engle was speeding and text messaging when she slammed into the vehicles stopped at a construction zone in August 2007.
Shasta County prosecutor Stephanie Bridgett said the 49-year-old woman had paid several bills by cell phone in the moments before the crash.
She was in the middle of one of those transactions when she struck a vehicle that burst into flames, killing 46-year-old Petra Winn.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Stotter said he will appeal."
If instead of using her cell phone, she was drunk or on drugs, nobody would have a problem with a six year sentence. In fact, most people would think it was way too lenient.
This woman is just as bad as any drunk driver. Just as most drunk drivers don't intend to kill somebody, I'm sure she didn't either. But she did intend her actions, and should have been able to foresee the potential consequences, just as a person who chooses to drink and then drive should know the risks.
I'm a defense attorney, so this position will not be a popular one amongst my peers, but I'll say it anyways. This woman deserves every bit of six years, if not more. She needs to serve as an example to millions of others who are doing the same thing as her on the roads every day.
If we enforce DUI laws and abhor the decision to drink and drive, we must treat equally dangerous and negligent actions while driving equally. While I feel sorry for her to have to spend six years of her life behind bars, she did kill another human being because she was too self-involved to care about other people.
