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People convicted of driving under the influence of prescription or illegal drugs must have an ignition interlock installed on their vehicles as required by New Mexico’s drunken driving law, although the devices don’t detect the use of drugs, the state Court of Appeals has ruled.

Clovis citizens and commissioners debated new Mayor David Lansford’s views on President Obama, and whether they matter for the city going forward. The chairman of the city’s planning and zoning committee, Brent “Bud” DaBell, resigned Wednesday regarding the matter and said his time might be better spent pursuing a recall of Lansford. District 3 Commissioner Bobby Sandoval noted the nationwide attention Clovis has received, and his support for a possible recall of Lansford, in comments that touched off an hour-long debate. He noted concerns that Lansford’s positions would hurt relationships with other communities and federal agencies.

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DUI Charges Against 54 Dropped Prosecutors say a Polk County sheriff's deputy may have taken shortcuts in handling investigations. By Jason Geary THE LEDGER Prosecutors have abandoned charges against 54 people accused of driving under the influence, citing concerns about a deputy's shortcuts in writing reports and conducting blood alcohol tests. Deputy Tex Thomas has made about 124 arrests for DUI since he began working last year for the Polk County Sheriff's Office. In a deposition, Thomas spoke about preparing reports by cutting-and-pasting words from previous DUI reports as a "template" rather than starting with a blank page. Prosecutors also...

FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Fourteen people have been charged with illegally purchasing 77 million contraband cigarettes from undercover agents in Virginia and smuggling the cigarettes to New York. Two are also accused of paying an agent posing as a hit man to kill a husband and wife whom they believed had stolen from them. The indictments handed up Thursday in federal court in Alexandria are the culmination of a yearlong investigation. Authorities say the smuggling ring paid $8 million plus guns and drugs to the undercover agents for the cigarettes. Cigarette smuggling has increased in recent years as high taxes...

A brewery has launched a low alcohol beer called Nanny State after being branded irresponsible for creating the UK's "strongest beer". Scottish brewer BrewDog, of Fraserburgh, was criticised for Tokyo* which has an alcohol content of 18.2%. Campaigners welcomed the 1.1% alcohol Nanny State but said the name showed a lack of appreciation of the problem The 3,000 limited edition bottles of Tokyo* contained six units of alcohol - twice the recommended daily limit. The company had insisted the £9.99 high strength beer would help tackle the country's binge-drinking culture, because customers would drink it in smaller quantities. The name...

That Daryl Fleck , 55, may not have intended to drive when he was found sleeping drunk in the driver’s seat of his vehicle, parked in his home lot at 11:30 p.m. “is immaterial,” Judge Terri Stoneburner argued in a Minnesota Appeals Court decision that upheld Fleck’s drunk driving conviction. Under Minnesota’s Driving While Impaired statute, 169A.20, it is illegal for any person with a blood-alcohol concentration in excess of .08 to “drive, operate, or be in physical control of any motor vehicle.” Stoneburner argues in accordance with State v. Starfield : “Physical control is meant to cover situations where...

Surrounded by flashing red and blue lights, the man in red leather sandals lifted one foot off the ground and waited as the deputy kept time. Then, finding that the man had failed the sobriety test, the deputy pulled the man's hands behind his back and shackled them. The man stood in a strip mall parking lot where he pulled over after an undercover deputy noticed him swerving in and out of his lane on Military Trail and he struck the median, said Sheriff's Cpl. Scott Yoder, who assisted with the arrest. The undercover deputy charged the driver with cocaine...

She quietly pleaded guilty to drunken driving and was sentenced on the day President Obama was inaugurated. But it may be another two years before Cook County Judge Sheila McGinnis is disciplined by the authorities who oversee Illinois judges - if they discipline her, according to the executive director of the Illinois Judicial Inquiry Board. McGinnis on Tuesday dodged a potential one-year jail term when she admitted drunkenly crashing her Chevrolet sport utility vehicle into the back of a family-of-four's minivan May 9 in Tinley Park. With the attention of the Southland and the world focused on Washington, D.C., Judge...

Mali, a 3-year-old American Staffordshire Terrier, balances her front paws on Demarkus Peeples’ thighs, gives him a long look then returns to all fours and takes a walk around the front porch of the North Park house where she lives with her owner, Ross Meyer. She walks back over to Peeples and does it again. She’s got sparkly purple polish on her nails. Two days earlier, Peeples’ dog Egypt, also an American Staffordshire Terrier, was shot by San Diego police officers who say the dog came at them in a threatening manner. Egypt was hit three times—in the paw, lower...

MANATEE COUNTY, Fla., Aug 27, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- In a "first in the nation" pilot program developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Manatee County Sheriff, Brad Steube, announced in a press conference earlier this week, that his sheriff's department was partnering with Mothers Against Drunk Driving. In a unique program that puts specially trained MADD observers on the road to observe traffic and report potential drunk drivers, MADD and the Sheriff's office are committed to saving lives and preventing injuries. "As part of the national Labor Day crackdown, Over the Limit, Under Arrest, MADD Florida and the Manatee County...

If you’re not a convicted drunk driver, should you still be required to have an in-car breathalyzer fitted (at your expense, ‘natch) to your next new vehicle? Apparently, some automakers — including GM and Toyota — think so. They and a few others are working together under the auspices of something called the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety, which is a $10 million federal “research program” that is trying to develop just such technology for mass introduction a few years from now. At the moment, the only people who have to deal with (and pay for) in-car Breathalyzers are...

Heather Squires was the designated driver. Never exactly a fun thing, but a college buddy of her husband's was driving up from Tucson to celebrate his acceptance into law school. So when her husband, Jason, asked, Heather said yes. It's not safe to be the designated driver these days, either. At Chuy's in Tempe, Heather's brother and her husband and the soon-to-be-law-school student knocked off four pitchers of beer. Everybody was having a great time. Around 9:30 p.m., they decided to head home. So they piled into Jason Squires' new pickup truck. As planned, Heather drove. They didn't get very...

Anyone who refuses to submit to a blood-alcohol breath test this weekend will be required to have his or her blood drawn, authorities said Tuesday in reminding residents of a new program scheduled to begin at 5 p.m. Friday. District Attorney Susan Reed said the ‘No Refusal Accepted' program is scheduled to continue through 7 a.m. Tuesday. A registered nurse will be on duty both at the San Antonio magistrate's office and the detention center to draw blood from anyone arrested on suspicion of drunken driving who refused at the scene to take a breath test. Prosecutors will assist with...

The businessman was meeting with clients for lunch at Mimi's Café when he noticed the woman. Sitting a few tables over with her 4-year-old boy, she seemed groggy — yet she was drinking a mimosa. (snip)Turns out, those glasses of white wine were actually water. Wilcutt was groggy because she'd just had dental surgery. She'd thought a mimosa might be soothing, but when it stung her sutures, she pushed it away half-finished.

KELSO, Wash. -- When a man who was suspected of drunken driving in Longview refused to give blood and urine samples he was taken to a hospital. His lawyer says he was held down kicking and screaming for a blood draw. And a tube was inserted into his bladder to withdraw the urine. He sued Cowlitz County. A settlement was reached Friday in which he was paid $15,000, without authorities admitting they did anything wrong. The 37-year-old man, Matthew Clifford Arthur, was on probation at the time of the arrest in November and was required to undergo screening for drugs...

Jay Dow HOBOKEN, N.J. (CBS) ― The racy photos of cops cavorting with Hooters waitresses rocked the Hoboken Police Department. Now, officers face disciplinary charges after a scathing report on their conduct was released. The photos embarrassed and brought unwanted attention to the Hoboken police. Officers of the disbanded SWAT team and their chief are seen in the photos having a ball during Mardi Gras, and with Hooters waitresses during the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. Retiring Hoboken patrolman John Camile told CBS 2 HD he's moving on with a bit of a heavy heart. "You feel that weight that people...

Finally, common sense prevails in dealing with the state's laws on driving under the influence of liquor and drugs. A bill steeped in election-year, get-tough-on-crime grandstanding has quietly gone to the burial ground for bad bills in the state Legislature. It failed to make it out of the Senate Transportation Committee before Tuesday's deadline. Senate Bill 6402 would have required people convicted of a DUI infraction to put fluorescent-yellow license plates on their cars for one year after having their driving privileges restored. Who knows why overreaching bills even get a hearing in Olympia, as this one did last week...

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A passenger who went through an airport security checkpoint -- before remembering that he had a loaded gun -- is facing charges after going back to report his error, authorities said. Travelers go through security at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Gregory Scott Hinkle, 53, of Davis, West Virginia, went through a Transportation Security Administration checkpoint at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport about 7:30 a.m. Sunday, an airport spokeswoman said. After the traveler evidently recalled having the gun, he returned to the checkpoint and disclosed the weapon, authorities said. The TSA contacted airport police, who charged the...

In Fairbanks, Alaska, it's illegal to serve liquor to a moose. By contrast, in Ohio it's legal to serve booze to a fish, but not if you get it drunk. Ever since the repeal of Prohibition, alcohol laws in this country have been a bit nutty. Take the business of bars. Some states mandate sitting, while others require standing at the bar to drink. Texans may take up to but not more than three sips of beer while standing. Some jurisdictions require the interior of public drinking establishments to be visible from the street; others specifically prohibit that. In Iowa...