Posted on 12/30/2010 12:49:32 PM PST by RikaStrom
Harris County law enforcement agencies will again crack down on drunken drivers during Christmas and New Year's, but the expanded operations no will longer be limited to holiday weekends.
The "no refusal" initiative — a countywide program that expedites search warrants for blood samples from drunken driving suspects who refuse breath tests — now will be in effect every weekend for the next three years due in large part to a grant recently issued by the Texas Department of Transportation to the Harris County District Attorney's Office. The initiative, which also includes funds from the District Attorney's Office, will total about $750,000.
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
So let's see. If I exercise my 4th and 5th amendment rights to not provide evidence against myself, then that becomes "probable cause." And based on that probable cause, the state can compel me to provide evidence against myself from within my body.
Justice served, circular fascist style!
Seems like with that kind of logic, anything you like can be dispensed with in the Bill of Rights!
I think we should drug test the mayor, city council, and staff for drugs. Hair samples to be cut this afternoon at 3:15pm.
They are making plenty of other unsound judgements and our lesbian mayor has a history of ignoring state law to do whatever she wanted to (pre-office) anyway.
It’s for the good of the chil’ren.
Just my personal opinion but as American Citizens we are supposed to have the right to travel about freely within our country. Being stopped at a roadblock for a breath test is BS. If the cops think you are a hazard to the road then they should pull you over. Have you ever seen a drunk driving? They are all over the place they stick out like a sore thumb.
Beyond the roadblock it is unconstitutional to force an American Citizen to a blood test. I don’t care what its in connection with. Under the Constitution we have the right to be “secure” in our persons. No judge can take that away from us.
I find it very unsettling to read postings from people who just say “well stay off the road” What is that supposed to mean? This is supposed to be the land of the free not Russia.
And apparently there is some new pilot program for first time offenders I've heard it's rather draconian and it costs the defendant a bloody fortune, but if you manage to get through the process they expunge the DWI.
This is pure revenue generator.
Put some security cameras on the holding cells too just to catch the “few” crooked cops who assault prisoners.
If we are going to get 300 security cameras on the street to be able to follow up on assault calls, there should be a few in the prisons too.
LOL, in Houston? That won't happen, but I totally agree with you, that is should!
This really is turning in to Nazi Germany.
Very. What a gaggle of people they are going to have at these stops. And I don't trust breathalizers. Too easy to muck with the calibration.
As usual, Mr. Crichton has the last dozen pages of his story referencing laws and cases currently on the books to support his assertions.
If the police can forcibly take my blood - what's next? My heart? Liver? Brain? Bones? Under what pretext? In this case - my blood is being forcibly taken, to testify against me in a court of law.
This is wrong, on so many levels it's scary.
Also drug test the Cops and all welfare recipients and all their kids and especially all Politicians.
That's IMPAIRED driving. This is criminalizing drinking. The new "standard" they are pushing for (down from present 0.08 and prior 0.15) is 0.03-0.05.
It's about getting "easier" convictions. More revenues. More wins on paper.
The founder of MADD left the organization she began in the 1980s when she saw the way it was heading. She lobbied against them on behalf of brewers and bars in the 1990s.
Utah wants breathalyzer ignitions on all cars, prior charges or not. Hey, we can all take the time to respond to a nagging ignition system wanting a "retest" while we've are driving, right? Rainy roads can wait.
If we are going to take these measures with drinking and driving, we'd better be at least as strict when it comes to cellphone/texting and driving. That causes accidents throughout the day, not just 10pm-6am.
Texas was already caught red handed doing studies of illegally collected blood samples from babies in hospital.
Too right.
Me, I'm traveling about three miles.
And it ain't exactly Westheimer out here. ;-)
And don't think you can film the officers in your traffic stop...
How about reappraising the evaulation of Bill White's home? It went down $1million in evaluation while he was mayor and he claims he didn't even ask them to do it.
Wonder if he filed an amended tax return to get back his "overpayment" on the earlier evaluation?
Houston's Mayor, Anise Parker?
You could get a hair sample from between her teeth but it wouldn't be hers.
I never actually said that...
No. If you’re stopped and they have reason to think you’re drunk, they have probable cause, and they can ask you to take a sobriety test. If you refuse the test, they can show/explain probable cause to a judge to get a warrant.
The probable cause isn’t the refusal ... the probable cause is what leads to the question that led to the refusal.
SnakeDoc
Hair? That’s just carpet.
There's a reason we call them 'U-tards'.
Somehow, the whole idea of "Honey, come over here and blow in this tube, so I can go get some more beer" hasn't crossed what passes for a brain here.
The city cut loose Mayor Bill White’s minor daughter when she was busted after curfew, pulled over on probable cause, asked to submit to a drunk test, refused, and was bonded out all before 8am.
Again Bill White claimed he had no influence in this matter. The case was later dropped when the officer changed his statement. Did he lie in his initial report then?
Nothing but a sham either way.
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