Episode 33: Hitting the Open Road; Ryan Stevens Talks Driving Laws

Go ahead - take to the road in the spirit of Kerouac

Having spent the weekend “down the coast,” I quickly learned that in California, nipping down to the central coast can entail a four or five hour drive! Still, it is summertime after all — why not take advantage of the weather and all the wine tasting there is to be done – but before you get in the car, have a listen to our podcast on driving law and stay safe this summer.

Our guest this week was Arizona-based lawyer, Ryan Stevens, who works in all areas of criminal defense, including traffic defence and aggravated DUI.  Mr Stevens was able to walk us through the trajectory of a DUI charge, from the initial road-side assessment, through the bargaining, to the trial and then finally to sentencing.

One particularly astonishing nugget of information he was able to share was that in the depths of winter, under three feet of snow, you can indeed by convicted of a DUI by simply getting into your car while intoxicated and turning on the engine to shield you from the biting cold! Who’d of thought?

Mr Stevens was also able to give us his qualified opinion on the Raquel Nelson case, highlighting the role of prosecutors to seek justice, not merely to convict.  At the end of the day, prosecutors and defense lawyers are not lemmings, he said,  they have “ultimate discretion” and the duty to balance an ethical judgement with black letter law.

In other news this week, it seems that Norway’s Anders Breivik will not be able to plead insanity after a court ruled that the coordinated attacks were too complex and well planned to have been organised by someone not in control of their actions.

As for the debt debacle, following the vote in the House on  Monday evening, the U.S. Senate has passed a deal hours before the deadline to avert a default.  The bill raises the debt limit by up to $2.4tn from $14.3tn, and makes savings of at least $2.1tn in 10 years.

Take a listen:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

(You can head to our podcast home for full show notes)