I just don’t understand drinking and driving

Actually Carl "M" has a lot friends in this community. I've got his back!

He's got a lot of friends on A2K as well. A really decent bloke donchaknow.

You might do that, but most people would probably not want a criminal record if they were innocent and they could be exonerated at trial. The plea deal is most attractive when the state has the evidence to convict, or likely to convict. This isn't just a matter of "principals", most people don't want a criminal record but they also don't want to risk a trial when the state has a strong case against them.

Nothing you are saying really has much application to DUI cases where all the state needs is evidence you were driving with a BAC >.08+. If the defense can't refute that evidence, there is no point going to trial.

Bullshit as siting in jail for a year or so waiting for your day in court as you as you are not able to take care of your family is more when enough reason to be pressure into accepting a false criminal record for a majority of people.

If you look at the news stories of the DSK case many writters had comments at the time that one of the reasons that the prosecutor did not wish him released on bail was not because of any flight risk but to add great pressure on him to settle the case.

An there is nothing that is always that cut and dry in a DUI case either and in the case we had been talking about the charges do not all relate to being DUI but in leaving the scene also.

Which is why people post bail.

Someone who is considered a flight risk might be denied bail.

You're discussing a tiny minority of the cases, and trying to blow it up into some kind of epidemic. I'm sorry, but I just don't see the sky falling, here.

If you have the money to do so as in so must of our criminal justice system the level of justice depend on your pocketbook.

In mounting any serous defense again any serous charges that pocket better be a few hundreds thousands dollars deep.

So 90 percents of all cases are a tiny minority when it come to plea deals and the pressures that are placed on almost all defenders in one form or another to plea is a tiny minority?

You are living in the Firefly fantasy world.

Generally, bail is set based on the severity of the charges.

So yeah, a tiny minority of folks who can't afford to post bail.

There are lots of worse abuses out there, if you want to get your panties in a twist.

another good reason to simply not consider drinking and driving

as I've posted earlier, I do not drink on days when I know I will be driving. It started when I had a job that I knew I would automatically lose if I lost any points on my license to a DUI conviction.

I didn't see any upside to start drinking on a day I'd be driving when I left that job.

I honestly can't think of any good reason to drink every day.

Tiny?????the jails across this nation are full of people who could not post bail before trial so good luck with that tiny claim.

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/peninsula/2011/07/county-jails-packed-inmates-awaiting-trial


San Mateo County jails packed with inmates awaiting trial
By: Niko Kyriakou | 07/20/11 6:28 PM
Special to The SF Examiner
.
Doing time: A county-commissioned report could change San Mateo County’s decisions on the size of its new jail. (Examiner file photo)
Doing time: A county-commissioned report could change San Mateo County’s decisions on the size of its new jail. (Examiner file photo)San Mateo County could free up considerable space in its overcrowded jails by granting more accused criminals bail, according to a new a report.

County jails are overwhelmingly filled with people still waiting to go to trial, says the report, which was commissioned by the county manager. Pretrial custody makes up 73 percent of the jail population, 12 percent above the national average. By comparison, pretrial inmates made up only half of the county’s jail population 10 years ago, the report says.

The shift reflects a national trend in the “wrong direction,” said Cherise Burdeen, chief operating officer of the Pretrial Justice Institute, the nonprofit group that drafted the report.



Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/peninsula/2011/07/county-jails-packed-inmates-awaiting-trial#ixzz1iVIDwyyt

So you're saying they were convicted?

I think BillRM has you on this one.

see page 6 of this report

http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/us1210webwcover_0.pdf

Most of what I can find supports this view.

~~~

Again, a great argument not to drink and drive.

The numbers look to be with BillRM on this.

"Low-level offenses"

That I can agree with.

I thought were were discussing pre-trial incarceration of DUI/manslaughter defendants.

What the hell are you talking about this is the population that are waiting their cases to be settle or for a trial they had been convicted of nothing at all at this point.

Once more what the hell are you talking about the jails are full of people who could not made bail at all levels of charges.

The bond is set by the judge when the defendant is arraigned. The purpose of the bond/bail is mainly to insure that the defendant will not flee and that he will show up for his court appearances, It is not related to measures to stop drunk driving.

The higher amount of bond is likely related to the fact that, if the person leaves the scene of a DUI manslaughter crash, they might be a flight risk after arrest since they have already shown some tendency in that regard, as well as the fact that this is a very serious crime which can carry a potential significant jail sentence of up to 30 years, and that might impel an individual to flee the jurisdiction to avoid punishment.

The DUI manslaughter law/charge itself represents the attempt to curb drunk driving because of the stiff penalties it can impose. And that penalty can be doubled in Florida when the person leaves the scene. When you leave the scene, you are not only failing to aid the victim, you are removing potential evidence--the car, the condition and identity of the driver, which might allow for possible tampering with that evidence. And, in the case of a drunk driver, it indicates they continued to drive in an impaired condition even after fatally injuring someone.

True, but that obviously isn't enough to stop some people from driving drunk. But, when someone like Thom is arrested, and that is reported in the media, the public is again reminded, not only of the tragic consequences of DUI, but of the very harsh penalties involved. And, if that stops others from driving drunk, or even if it makes them stop and think about the issue, as this thread has done, that's a good thing.

The bail is suppose to be set to be sure the person will show up but as in anything else bails are being set to force plea bargaining more ofter then not.

Hell the grand jury system was suppose to be a safe guard to preverted baseless charges being file and now it is just a tool of the state.

Bail is set by the judge. The judge has no vested interest in forcing a plea bargain.

Most simple DUI cases do not require any bail--the person is most often released ROR, Release On Own Recognizance.
Bail would only be set in a DUI when there is reason to suspect that the person would not show up for court appearances.

If you stuck to the topic we are discussing, you might make more sense.

"the jails are full" is what you responded to

the stats for the U.S. show that a lot of jail space is taken up by people unable to mount bail. There are people who have been charged with DUI/manslaughter within those numbers. Luckily (?) there have been many studies on this.

I can pull more numbers that make even more of an argument for BillRM's position on this. I'd suggest agreeing that he was right on that point.