A young man in Eugene is now facing 8 charges after after allegedly drinking and getting into an accident. The young man, who is only 19 years old, hit a 63 year old woman in a head on collision. According to reports about the accident, both drivers were taken to the hospital. After being released, the man was arrested on a panoply of charges including DUI, Reckless Driving, and Assault.
As I noted in an earlier post about vehicular homicide and assault, under Oregon law, prosecutors can charge drivers with a variety of other crimes if the drivers are involved in accidents while drinking and driving. This is especially the case when a driver injures another person.
This case in Eugene highlights the serious nature of driving under the influence. Drinking and driving is extremely dangerous. When asked how to avoid a DUI, I always tell people not to drink and drive at all. In the young man in Eugene is convicted of these crimes, he could be facing serious consequences.
Because DUI is so dangerous, it is an emotionally charged crime. Unfortunately this makes defending a DUI charge all the more difficult. Any criminal defense will have challenges. Driving under the influence cases also adds what many lawyers call the "DUI exception to the Constitution." That is to say, Courts often appear to allow otherwise inadmissible searches or evidence into DUI cases.
Drinking and driving is not illegal. It is only illegal if someone is intoxicated. Because of the emotion tied to DUI, there is a constant push from organizations such as MADD to make drinking and driving more and more criminalized. Coupling that push with some of the case law which tends to favor the government, makes DUI cases challenging. It is also why professional DUI attorneys play such an important role in protecting people accused of these crimes.
