Are You Ready for the New
"Drugged Driving" Law?
Excerpted from the KACDL June Video Seminar,"2010 Legislative Update"
Ernie Lewis, KACDL Legislative
Agent
"[At hearings] we argued that drugged driving was already illegal. We argued that per se only made convictions easier. And we argued that innocent people would be found guilty of DUI because the impairment did not have to be shown, that proof was going to be simply that there was a drug in the blood, and that there were going to be drugs that do not impair that result in DUI convictions.
"For example, a person can take their spouse's Ambien at 10 PM, sleep well, wake up the next morning completely refreshed, and have an accident on the
way to work. If Ambien is found in the blood then the person can be charged
with DUI or, perhaps, vehicular
homicide as a result of the new per se law.
"There has to be a blood test that is shown to be scientifically reliable, and
that has to be taken within two hours of operation or control. If it's taken
outside that two hour period of time, then it's inadmissible in a prosecution
for drugged driving. The blood test results can only be admitted under
the per se law when blood is taken within two hours.
"So how do you advise your clients when they call you up in the middle
of the night and ask, 'Should I consent to a blood test?'"
The Drugged Driving law and much more will be covered in
KACDL's
ADVANCED DUI SEMINAR
Louisville, Friday, September 17th
Lexington, Friday, October 15th
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