Monday, December 31, 2012

Another "do as I say, not as I do" judge arrested for DUI

 
I encourage you read this excellent article at Lawyers.com about a Minnesota judge arrested for DUI.  Another informative article is here.  It is reported that the judge said he had six vodka drinks before his involvment in a motor vehicle accident.  His blood alcohol level was reportedly 0.28.

What?  0.28?  According to the blood alcohol chart here, it would take six drinks to give you a BAC of 0.28 if you weighed 100 lbs.  Seriously?  0.28?  A person with a BAC of 0.28 has severe motor impairment, may suffer loss of consciousness, and memory blackout.  That is seriously drunk.

Fortunately it does not appear that there were any injuries. 

A drink of your favorite alcoholic beverage may give you a nice pleasant feeling, and you would think that two drinks would make you feel even better.  But there is a point of diminishing return with alcohol.  When you drink more, instead of feeling better, you just turn into a sloppy drunk.  And if you drive, you are a risk to yourself and others.  If you are caught driving, the result will almost certainly be personally and professionally adverse. 

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Saturday, December 29, 2012

Help the Economy - Stop Alcohol Abuse!

 


What is third leading lifestyle-related cause of death in the United States?  According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, it is excessive alcohol use. 

The CDC reports that alcohol abuse attributes to about 80,000 deaths each year in this country.  In 2006, there were more than 1.2 million emergency room visits and 2.7 million physician office visits due to excessive drinking. 

The economic costs of excessive alcohol consumption in 2006 were estimated at $223.5 billion.  Imagine what it is now with today's rising health costs. 

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Thursday, December 27, 2012

California Attorney May Face Trial for Drug Possession

 


Chico State University may have the reputation of a "party school," and so too may one attorney there.  An attorney in Chico, California, who claims to be the "DUI King" may face trial himself for possession of cocaine and misdemeanor battery.  The story is here.  Essentially the attorney was arrested for alleged domestic violence.  The drug charge was added when his wife alerted authorities to a bottle containing cocaine locked in his office safe. 

Remember now, one is innocent until proven guilty.  And an arrest does not make the suspect guilty.  For instance, Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) was arrested in August for public intoxication, but the charges were dismissed.

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Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Lawyer Maimed in Possible Alcohol Related Incident



Everyone knows, or should know, that alcohol is a depressant that adversely affects the drinker's judgment.  The more you drink, the worse your judgment is affected.  Acting with impaired judgment may lead to very bad consequences.  In other words, when you drink, bad things can happen to you.

A New York attorney was reminded of the these truths and, while lucky to be alive, still suffered horrible injuries resulting from her apparent alcohol impaired decisions.  The sources we have managed to read do not confirm that alcohol played a part in the sad chain of events described below, so read on with an open mind and open heart. 

We don't know how we missed the following event, which occurred in late October, and we apologize for not blogging about this earlier.  But better late than never as they say.   

A New York attorney from Manhattan returned to her apartment building - possibly after a night of drinking - only to realize that she didn't have her keys.  This presented two immediate problems.  First, she needed a key to get into the apartment building.  Second, once inside the building, she needed a key to get into her apartment.

Our unfortunate attorney solved problem number one by ringing the bell of all the residents inside the building until finally someone buzzed her in.  The fact that it was around 6:00 a.m. undoubtedly caused some annoyance to her neighbors, but perhaps one should expect these things in Manhattan apartments.

Once inside her apartment building the inebriated attorney embarked upon her plan to gain entrance to her actual apartment.  The plan involved sliding down the garbage chute to the basement, making her way into the apartment building's garden, and then climbing through one of the windows to her first floor apartment.

Tragically, the attorney neglected to plan for the trash compacting mechanism inside the chute, which she activated during her downward plunge.  It grabbed her arm, smashed it, nearly tore it off, and trapped her for about 45 minutes.      

The story is here, herehere, here and all over the rest of the internet.

Here are unrelated trash chute adventures:






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Sunday, December 23, 2012

Attorney's Club Invitation Lands Client In Jail



This story does not involve an episode of alcohol addiction or even alcohol abuse - at least not by any technical definition of those terms.  Nor does it describe an incident in the United States.  But it does involve an interesting situation where an attorney and alcohol indirectly led to adverse consequences for the attorney's client. 

Saskatoon is the largest city in Saskatchewan, Canada.  It has a population of approximately 260,600 residents, or Saskatonians.  Sure the low temperature this Christmas is expected to drop to -27 degrees Fahrenheit.  But pictures of the City are beautiful making me want to visit in the summer. 

Perhaps it was the cold weather and the desire to be indoors without the need for travel that led to the following course of events.  When Saskatoon attorney, Dean Mattison, asked his client to meet with him to sign a legal document, he picked Finn's Irish Pub at the Park Town Hotel as a nice social meeting place.  There was just one problem:  His client was not allowed to be in any bars. 

His client was out on bail after being arrested on suspicion of drug-trafficking.  As a condition of his bail, he was ordered to stay away from any bars or nightclubs, abstain from alcohol and cell phone use.  He claims he reminded his attorny of that condition, but they kept their meeting anyway.  It is claimed by witnesses that once at the pub, the client even ordered a beer and used a cell phone.  The witnesses were none other than the police officers who had arrested the man earlier in the month, and were aware of the conditions of his bail.

The story is here.




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Wednesday, December 19, 2012

What are the DTs?

Delirium tremens or "DTs" is a medical emergency. It is a severe form of alcohol withdrawal that causes such things as body tremors, agitation, irritability, confusion, disorientation, paranoia, and hallucinations.

Generally, the DTs occur when a heavy drinker stops drinking abruptly and experiences alcohol withdrawal. A heavy drinker in this case is one who drinks 4 - 5 pints of wine, 7 - 8 pints of beer, or 1 pint of distilled liquor a day. DTs are also common in alcoholics who have been drinking for more than 10 years.

As we stated, the DTs is a medical emergeny and medical intervention is necessary. Usually patients are treated with benzodiazepines, such as Valium or even Restoril. To read more about delirium tremens and treatment, see here and here.  For a scholarly article on alcohol withdrawal, see here.

And to answer a question that many people have: yes, withdrawal from alcohol can be fatal.   



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Sunday, December 16, 2012

Alcohol Abuse v. Alcoholism

Lawyers - or anyone else for that matter - with a drinking problem may fall into the category of alcohol abusers, or alcoholics.  What is the difference between alcoholism and alcohol abuse? 

Alcoholism is when the person drinking is physically addicted to alcohol.  An alcoholic will continue to drink even though he or she has physical health or mental health problems; or drinking interferes with social, family, or job responsibilities.  Alcohol may control a person's life and relationships, because drinking may be all that person thinks about. 

Alcohol abuse is when a person's drinking leads to problems, but not physical addiction.  What kind of problems?  Well, someone may have too much to drink and get into a fight.  An isolated DUI may be another problem.  A person who begins to have many of these problems may be in danger of suffering from addiction.  When I was in the Marine Corps we used to keep track of a Marine's "alcohol related incidents" such as those mentioned above.  Whenever a Marine started to rack up more that two or three of these incidents that Marine would receive education in alcohol abuse prevention.   

To read more about alcoholism and alcohol abuse read here.



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Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Utah Attorney Ordered To Stand Trial For DUI - Again


A lawyer facing his sixth DUI charge was ordered to stand trial.  He had been arrested on suspicion of DUI six months after being released for a previous DUI conviction.  The story is here
The arresting police officer testified at a hearing that he saw a car swerve and pulled it over.  He smelled alcohol, and said the driver had glassy eyes and spoke with slurred speech.  The attorney arrested is a former criminal defense attorney.
 
The Arkansas Judges and Lawyers Assistance Program reports that at least two studies found judges and lawyers suffer from a higher rate of alcoholism than the general population.  While about 10% of the general population suffers from alcoholism, for lawyers it is almost 20%.  That's why many states require attorneys to complete continuing legal education in the prevention of substance abuse in the legal profession.  Lawyers may also check with their State Bar association for programs offering counseling and treatment. 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 

Sunday, December 9, 2012

West Palm Beach Attorney Arrested: DUI