Early Thursday morning in Richland, a man was arrested under suspicion of eluding police and drunk driving. Police were called around 1am when the man allegedly left Joker's Casino, driving recklessly. When police attempted to pull him over, the man sped away. His vehicle was later found in an o...

A 2007 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that only 2.2% of American drivers tested positive for a BAC over the legal limit on weekends. This has fallen from 4.4% in 1996 and 7.5% in 1973. However, the study also found that 16% of drivers tested positive for drugs ...

The weekend of the 4th of July is always a dangerous time. People often travel great distances to be with family and friends. This travel can lead to a high incidence of crashes, especially when coupled with the incidence of drunk driving. Because of this, police tend to crack down on drunk driv...

On Monday night, a car hit a man and two young children in a crosswalk at the intersection of Aloha and 15th Ave. The man and children were briefly hospitalized, but were discharged that same night. The driver of the car was arrested at the scene for DUI after questioning. Police did not release...

Seattle Seahawks fullback Owen Schmitt was arrested last Saturday night in Black Diamond for drunk driving. On Thursday, the football player issued an apology to “the team, the NFL, the fans and my family and friends for my actions and poor judgement.” He was stopped after Black Diamond police n...

Burien City Manager Michael H Martin was arrested on April 19 and charged in May for drunk driving. He was involved in a crash in a residential area on the night of his arrest when he refused sobriety and breath tests. On Tuesday, Martin was granted deferred prosecution for his DUI. He will unde...

Scott Noble, former King County Assessor, has been sentenced to 8 months in jail for a DUI crash. Noble pleaded guilty in May to the crash that injured two women in another vehicle. As a result of his sentence, Noble will be able to leave during the day for work but will spend his nights in jail...

Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns began serving his 30 day sentence on Tuesday. The sentence is in regards to a DUI collision that killed a pedestrian in Miami on March 14 of this year. Stallworth was facing a maximum penalty of 15 years for his conviction of DUI manslaughter. However, hi...

According to an article in July's Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, alcohol related deaths among college students in the US jumped from 1,440 in 1998 to 1,825 in 2005. These deaths rose in correlation to heavy drinking and drinking and driving in the same group. The article also showed th...

People often underestimate the importance of designated drivers. However, it may be a good idea to reconsider. Having a designated driver completely eliminates your risk of being charged with DUI. On top of that, it significantly reduces your chances of being in a wreck. Remember that most peopl...

Donte Stallworth of the Cleveland Browns is pleading not guilty to charges of driving under the influence of alcohol and DUI manslaughter. He faces up to 15 years in prison if he is convicted. The date for his trial has not yet been set. The charges stem from a traffic incident that occurred in ...

Last week, Tumwater City Councilman Neil McClanahan was arrested for DUI in Olympia. He took two breathalyzer tests, blowing a .263 and a .259, during his booking. He was well over the .08 BAC legal limit. A hearing is set for early July but no trial date has yet been set. Because this is McClan...

A man was arrested last week after a high speed chase on I-5.  The man was driving erratically and was reaching speeds up to 125mph during the chase. According to police, he nearly caused several collisions. The chase began near the exit for NE 124th St and did not end until the man flipped his ...

Over the weekend, a crash occurred when a woman hit a motorcycle cop. The collision occurred on southbound I-5 near 188th St on Saturday night. Both vehicles were southbound in the 10:45pm collision. According to state troopers, the woman was driving under the influence of either drugs or alcoho...

A man in Colorado was issued a traffic citation a few weeks ago for riding his horse while under the influence of alcohol. The $25 ticket was issued in a strip mall parking lot where the man was riding. While it may seem strange for DUIs to be given for riding a horse, it is important to remembe...

A Port Orchard man is facing a 5th DUI conviction after a motorcycle crash on Friday. The man was speeding at 74mph in a 35mph zone. When a state trooper tried to pull him over, the man sped through a residential area where the trooper would not pursue. A few minutes after escaping the police, h...

Attorney Bill Kirk, just returned from New Orleans, Louisiana where he participated in the Mastering Scientific Evidence Seminar.  This annual conference is sponsored by the National College of DUI Defense and the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association.  Mr. Kirk participated in the mock tria...

In review of proposed new legislation this session in Olympia, I've come across House Bill 1408.  This bill would amend RCW 46.61.5152 and a new section to RCW 10.01.  In a nutshell, this law intends on standardizing the DUI Victims' Impact Panel.  In reality, this would mean very little for the ...

We're about one month into the world of the IIL and the more we learn, the less we know.  I have been tracking hundreds of emails from our colleagues about the timing problems for many of our clients.  Specifically, the time lapse between application and actually receiving the IIL. Currently, DO...

All three partners, Doug Cowan, William Kirk and Eric Gaston, have been named “Super Lawyers” for 2009 by Washington Law and Politics Magazine.  This award is handed out to only the top five percent of attorneys in the State of Washington.  For Mr. Gaston, this is the second time he has been reco...

William Kirk just returned from Paradise Island, Bahamas, where he spoke at the 2009 National College of DUI Defense Winter Session.  Bill spoke about 4th and 5th Amendment Suppression Issues on day one of the two day seminar.  Joining Bill as speakers were Donald Ramsell of Illinois, Lenny Stamm...

Happy New Year. Effective midnight, January 1, 2009 any driver facing a suspension under either RCW 46.61.5055 or RCW 46.20.3101 is eligible for the Ignition Interlock License. The applications for the Ignition Interlock License and the work vehicle waiver form are availale via this link: DOL IIL...

This is the first of what I expect to be several blogs.  I want to use this forum to discuss the implementation of the Ignition Interlock License.  (See RCW 46.20.385). As mentioned at the WFCJ Seminar on December 12th, while I'd like to have the answers for all the questions that inevitably will...

Cowan Kirk Gaston partners BIll Kirk and Eric Gaston both lectured at the annual DUI Defense seminar sponsored by the Washington Foundation for Criminal Justice held in Seattle on January 12th.  The seminar is one of the most well attended seminars of its kind in the country, with approximately 3...

A recent article in the Seattle P-I reported that the National Traffic Safety Board had blasted Washington's DUI laws as “not up to the task” of cracking down on drunk driving.Specifically they blasted the State for not allowing police to allow sobriety check points, more commonly known as roadbl...