Articles Posted in DUI/OVI continuing education

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Myrtle Beach, for the second year in-a-row, was the site for a seminar and retreat for the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (OACDL). I intended to go last year, but the timing didn’t work with my schedule. When it came up again this year, I made the event a priority on my calendar. I’m so glad I did. The unique seminar format, the interesting topics and the camaraderie made for a great experience.

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The continuing education part of the retreat was unique. Rather than having the room arranged like a classroom, the tables were set up in a rectangle, like a meeting.  It also didn’t hurt to have the beach as a backdrop.  The speakers, rather than giving a monologue presentation, facilitated lively discussions.

 

Medical Marijuana And Ohio Law
One topic we discussed was marijuana. The Ohio legislature passed a law two years ago permitting the use of marijuana for medical purposes under certain circumstances, but the regulations for the details of medical marijuana have not been finalized. Nevertheless, some Ohio doctors are already ‘prescribing’ marijuana to patients who are Ohio residents.

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I have been attending this DUI / OVI seminar since its modern inception in 2002. For five years before that, I practiced all varieties of criminal defense, with a focus on serious felonies. I didn’t think OVI defense was as complex as cases like murder, robbery and burglary. The seminar in 2002 showed me I was wrong. Shortly after that seminar, I decided to make OVI the focus of my practice. Fast forward 16 years, and I co-chaired this year’s two-day seminar presented by the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (OACDL). I was primarily responsible for the first day, which means my job was to introduce the speakers without drooling or stuttering.

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The seminar got off to a great start with a presentation by Mimi Coffey from Texas. Mimi is board certified in DUI Defense, has twice completed the Borkenstein course at Indiana University, and is a regent with the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD). She discussed how to win an OVI case involving a breath test. Her discussion included favorable case law, important scientific principles and helpful litigation strategies.

The next speaker was Lauren Stuckert from Wisconsin. Lauren is the nation’s youngest lawyer to become board certified in DUI Defense. She discussed the analysis of blood and urine. The first part of her lecture focused on the analysis of alcohol, and the second part focused on the analysis of other drugs. Lauren included a spotlight on marijuana, as there is a growing number of Ohio OVI cases involving marijuana which will only increase with the legalization of medical marijuana.

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Vegas-2017-strip-closed-300x201A few hours before the Las Vegas shooting, I checked-in at the Monte Carlo, four ‘doors’ down from Mandalay Bay. I was there to attend the DUI defense seminar presented by the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD). The desk clerk said the Monte Carlo was being renovated (no pool, no spa, nearly no restaurants), and she offered to move me to Mandalay Bay. I decided to stay at the Monte Carlo and just use the pool at Mandalay Bay. My body was still on Ohio time, so I was going to bed when the shooting started. I was aware there was a lot of noise (apparently, the Monte Carlo was locked-down), so I put in earplugs and went to sleep.

Vegas-2017-news-reporter-300x225The next morning, I woke up and learned the nation’s largest mass shooting took place just down the Strip. Still on Ohio time, and traveling with an Ohio police officer, I walked down to the area. Witnesses were returning from police interviews: draped in hotel towels, crying, and wearing outfits obviously selected for a country music concert. News reporters, like the one pictured here, were reporting on the incident from every angle.

 

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And then there was the police presence. Law enforcement had Las Vegas Boulevard shut down south of Tropicana Avenue. Police cruisers and motorcycles lined Las Vegas Blvd. from one end of the Strip to the other. Groups of officers were stationed outside each resort.

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Lawyers disagree on what part of a trial is the most important. Some lawyers say the closing argument is the most important part because that’s when we tie everything together and persuade. Others say the closing doesn’t matter much: trials are lost or won during jury selection. Still others say the most critical phase of a trial is cross-examination.

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Cross-examination was the subject of a recent workshop in Charleston, South Carolina (a couple days after Hurricane Irma hit!), and I was part of the faculty for the workshop. The workshop was part of a three-day seminar presented by the DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA), and first two days of the seminar were lectures on various DUI/OVI topics. The third day was a trial skills workshop focused on improving the attendees’ cross examination skills.

 

In DUI/OVI cases, cross examination is very important. In all OVI trials, the defense attorney cross-examines the prosecution witnesses. In many OVI trials, there are no defense witnesses testifying, so all of the testimony comes from the prosecution witnesses. Therefore, it is critical for those prosecution witnesses to be effectively cross-examined.

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In his book Good To Great, Jim Collins discusses ‘the hedgehog concept’. The concept is essentially this: although the fox is a cunning predator, the hedgehog always defeats the fox because the hedgehog focuses on doing one thing well – it rolls into a ball of spiky quills the fox cannot penetrate. The hedgehog concept applies to practicing law: focusing on one narrow area of law and doing it well leads to expertise and effectiveness. In the narrow area of DUI/OVI defense, one great way to learn is attending advanced level seminars like the summer session of the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD).

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I recently attended the NCDD summer session at Harvard Law School. Over the course of three days, some of the best DUI lawyers in the country discussed advanced topics in DUI defense. The seminar included lectures, demonstrations, and workshops. Additional learning took place informally each night as the lawyers exchanged ideas, tactics, and best practices.

While all the presentations were informative, there were two presentations which stood out to me: one about metrology, and one about pharmacology. The metrology presentation discussed the uncertainty involved in measurements and explained common failures in the measurement of blood alcohol concentration. The pharmacology presentation compared the work of law enforcement Drug Recognition Experts to that of pharmacologists in DUI/OVI cases involving drugs other than alcohol.

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Lawyers sometimes learn through trial and error;  literally.  Education at the school of hard knocks can be valuable, but learning from the experience of others has its own value.  One way attorneys can shorten the learning curve is by attending high quality continuing education seminars.  One outstanding annual seminar for DUI/OVI lawyers is ‘The Premiere Ohio DUI Defense Seminar’ sponsored by the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (OACDL).

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The focus of this year’s seminar, held last week, was drugged driving.  Ohio has seen an increase in the number of drivers charged with OVI for being under the influence of drugs.  With medical marijuana on the horizon, it’s likely the numbers of drugged driving cases will continue to increase.  With that in mind, the presentations addressed the science, the law and the litigation involved in drugged driving cases.

The Science Of Drugged Driving
Pharmacologist James O’Donnel taught the basics of pharmacokinetics.  He described, in terms understandable by non-scientists, the absorption, distribution and elimination of drugs in the human body.  Interestingly, he explained why retrograde extrapolation cannot accurately calculate the concentration of a drug in a person’s system at a particular point in the past;  like when the person was operating the vehicle.

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Yes, I saw Carlos Santana perform at the House of Blues.  It’s true, I rented a convertible Mustang.  I admit I hiked a breath-taking trail in Red Rock Canyon.  I also acknowledge I enjoyed the luxury of Bellagio and saw amazing views from the High Roller.  However:  the primary purpose of my trip to Vegas was to learn more about DUI/OVI defense.

Photo of NCDD seminar name tag at Bellagio

I recently attended the annual ‘DWI Means Defend With Integrity’ seminar.  The seminar is co-sponsored by the National College for DUI Defense and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.  It’s held in Las Vegas each year at the end of September or beginning of October; not a bad time to be in Vegas.  The location has historically been Caesar’s Palace, but for the last two years, the seminar has been held at Bellagio.  This year marks the 20th anniversary for the seminar, and I have attended for about 15 years.

 

This is a great seminar.  The speakers are some of the best DUI lawyers and experts from around the nation.  I have been practicing since 1997, and I have been focusing on DUI/OVI defense since 2002.  I feel like I have developed a bit of expertise in this area.  When I attend this seminar, however, I always learn more.  Hearing from the seminar faculty helps me avoid the limiting comparisons of my local market and allows me to benchmark against world class attorneys.  It also adds to my box of tools for winning.

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Last week was the annual DUI/OVI seminar presented by the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (OACDL).  One of the slogans now attached to the seminar is ‘The Premiere Ohio DUI Defense Seminar’.  When I hear that slogan, two questions come to mind:
1.  Are there any other Ohio DUI defense seminars?
2.  If so, what makes this one the ‘premiere’ seminar?

Page one from Brochure for OACDL DUI seminar March 10-12 2016

Full disclosure:  I co-chaired the seminar this year, so my opinion is probably not unbiased.

With that said, my answers are:
1.  Yes, there are, in fact, several other seminars focused on Ohio DUI/OVI, and
2.  What makes this one the ‘premiere’ seminar is the topic of this blog entry.

One factor which makes the OACDL seminar impressive is the sheer volume of information.  The seminar lasts for about 20 hours.  During that time, about 35 speakers give presentations on topics relevant to DUI/OVI in Ohio.  No other Ohio DUI/OVI seminar comes close to providing that amount of information.  For some, such a long seminar may sound like a nightmare.  For me, it’s time well spent.

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Even someone with a poker face gives a lot of information to others through facial features. I learned this in Vegas, but not at a poker table: I learned it at the 2015 Las Vegas DUI seminar presented by the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL).

The annual seminar is titled “DWI Means Defend With Ingenuity”, and this year’s magic-show theme was “Secrets Revealed: Overcoming The Illusion Of Guilt”. The presentations included “Techniques For Making Judicial Bias Vanish”, “Magical Techniques And Strategies To Win”, and “Pulling Back The Curtain: Overcoming Biased Prosecutorial Practices”. The seminar featured some of the best DUI lawyers and experts in the country and took place at one of the best hotels in the country: Bellagio Las Vegas.

WP_20151001_010The most novel part of the seminar was Mac Fulfer’s presentation on face reading. Fulfer practiced law for 22 years but now runs face reading workshops. According to Fulfer, examination of a person’s face can reveal information about personal history, personality, and preferences. Fulfer is not talking about interpreting facial gestures. Instead, he is reaching conclusions from facial features such as the shape of the nose, the slant of the forehead, and the curvature of the mouth.

When I saw the topic, I thought face reading sounds like quackery on par with fortune telling.  Fulfer, however, explained the science behind face reading, based primarily in genetics.  Genes work in concert with other genes and share multiple functions.  The genes responsible for personality, preferences, and processing information are also involved in shaping the features of our faces.  Facial features change with time, so our faces are a combination of genetics and life experiences  (now I understand how teenagers cause parents’ faces to wrinkle).

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‘Best in the Midwest’ has become one of the slogans associated with the annual DUI/OVI seminar presented by the Ohio Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (OACDL). A speaker from another state poked fun at the slogan by asking, “isn’t this the only DUI seminar in the Midwest?” I’m sure there are plenty of other DUI seminars in the Midwest, but this is the only one I know of which is nationally recognized and approved for credit from the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD) and the national DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA). The seminar is two-and-a-half days and draws speakers and attendees from around the country. Whether it’s the best or not, the seminar held last week in Columbus was outstanding.

OACDL 2015 DUI seminar brochure page 1The seminar’s theme this year was ‘trying cases post-Ilg’. State v. Ilg is the breath-testing case decided recently by the Ohio Supreme Court. In that case, the Court reiterated a defendant in an OVI case has the right to challenge the accuracy of the specific breath test result in his or her case. Ilg clarified the holding of State v. Vega, which had been subject to misinterpretation for the last 30 years.

Thursday’s presentations focused on scientific issues in OVI cases. Thomas Workman from Massachusetts discussed breath test data, explaining what data is maintained, what data is not being provided to defendants, and what should be done about it. Pharmacologist/statistician Robert Belloto and attorney Andrew Bucher presented a scientific and statistical assessment of the Drug Recognition Evaluation program. There was also a panel of judges discussing State v. Ilg and breath test challenges at trial. It was interesting to hear the different interpretations of Ilg and various predictions about the future of breath-testing litigation in Ohio OVI cases.

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