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Getting divorced is a painful process; there is no doubt about that. While there are people who feel like extending the process as long as possible can work in their favor, many others feel like just getting it over with as soon as possible.

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As a young driver, one important thing to understand is how to avoid a DUI. Here are several methods to stay safe when you get behind the wheel. If you still find yourself accused of a DUI, then it’s time to defend yourself.

• Don’t drink and drive

If you don’t have to drive, then it’s best not to. Even if you’ve only had a few drinks, it could be enough to put you over the .02 or .08 percent limit. There are many options for getting around today, from taking a taxi to using a ride-sharing service. If you’re caught with a high BAC behind the wheel, you can face charges. You may be able to defend your case if you can show that you had to drive for an emergency or had no other options.

• Don’t drink underage

Those under 21 are not supposed to drink except in limited circumstances like religious ceremonies or at dinner with their guardians. Driving after either of those circumstances can be dangerous. Fortunately, if you’re accused of a high BAC that is lower than .08 at that time, you may be able to argue that you were drinking in a recognized and approved situation to defend yourself.

• Stay in if you plan to drink

If you’re planning to have a drink or two while you’re with friends, consider staying overnight where you’re drinking. If you’re at a friend’s house, plan to stay there until the alcohol wears off. If your friends are coming over, plan to have them stay, so they don’t drive drunk.

Staying safe is your responsibility. If you choose to drink and drive and are arrested, you will need to defend yourself to make sure you can get back on the road in the future.

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Maybe your long exposure to crime-based dramas emphasizing the supposed infallibility and unerring accuracy of DNA-based and other types of “scientific” evidence leads you to conclude that when a highly trained lab technician speaks, it’s likely truth that you’re hearing.

Many commentators who address forensic-evidence issues these days — including, certainly, blogger and author Michelle Malkin — argue that, if you’re quickly inclined to disregard any questioning concerning the validity attached to forensic science (especially its application in criminal law matters), you might want to rethink your assumptions.

And here’s why: a deluge of disturbing and confirmed stories regarding material taint linked with forensic evidence used to criminally convict defendants on sex-crime charges and other offenses calls into question the accuracy and general validity of what Malkin disparagingly calls “junk science.”

Obviously, DNA evidence has proved to be accurate and dispositive in many criminal matters. Nonetheless, stories from across the country — several which Malkin relates in a recent article she penned for the National Review — have revealed shocking injustices and even large-scale fraud that have resulted from a too-ready reliance on experts’ DNA-related testimony.

Malkin views it as akin to a national tragedy when material forensic errors and shortcomings are largely kept under wraps. She says that, “Secrecy about the crime-lab crisis is a toxic recipe for more wrongful convictions.”

The antidote to that crisis, she states, is uncompromised public scrutiny of criminal laboratories, prompt disclosure and widespread transparency concerning errors, and material consequences “for forensic fraudsters and fakers.”

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We duly note that on the drug crimes page of our criminal defense website at the Coeur d’Alene law firm of Palmer | George PLLC. We stress therein that the charges we defend against on behalf of clients from across the state that need our help relate to a broadly encompassing range of alleged unlawful behaviors, spanning simple possession to drug trafficking activities.

And, unsurprisingly, the list of drugs involved is varied and lengthy. We defend a diverse clientele against charges linked with marijuana, prescription drugs, cocaine, methamphetamine, hallucinogens and more.

It is clear that the work done by knowledgeable, aggressive and impassioned attorneys on behalf of state residents facing stringent drug charges is not going to decrease anytime soon. In fact, recently reported statistics indicate that, conversely, Idaho authorities are focusing in on drug crimes more than ever before.

Here’s a telling number that supports that assessment: Reportedly, drug crimes spiked by more than 15% last year as compared with 2015. One media report spotlighting that jump calls it “striking.”

In practical terms, it extrapolates to this: more than 11,300 unlawful drug-related acts reported in Idaho last year.

Of course, that spike is arguably linked closely with what authorities posit, namely, more drug-related activity. The upped numbers and alleged ratcheting up of crime might also be attributed in part, though, to a heightened law enforcement focus on drug crimes within the state. If more time, money and resources are devoted to uncovering and prosecuting drug crimes, then, inevitably, more criminal activity in the area will be uncovered.

The bottom line is that many Idaho residents need practiced and immediate help when they are arrested on drug charges and facing a potentially dire sentencing outcome. A proven criminal defense attorney well-versed in drug-crimes advocacy can meaningfully respond to that need.

The post Recent stats render this clear: Idaho is focused on drug crimes appeared first on Palmer | George PLLC - CDA Law.

Here’s one: a greater parental role in many instances for fathers in child custody outcomes.

We note on a relevant page of our website at the Coeur d’Alene law firm of Palmer | George PLLC one long-time — and seemingly implacable — reality visited upon many fathers in Idaho and nationally, namely, a judicial perception that “favored mothers as a more ‘natural’ choice for raising children.”

Although that view might still persist to a degree in some courtrooms, we properly add on our site that “it has been a long time since the courts actively and openly took such stances.”

In fact, dads stand a much better chance these days of routinely being accorded the fairness and respect they deserve as loving parents involved in family law matters.

That improvement — collectively on display in courtrooms across the country — is an obvious byproduct of evolved judicial thinking.

But it also owes to something else, specifically smart, proactive and persuasively presented legal advocacy provided by a practiced and empathetic family law attorney well attuned to a client’s legal rights and best interests in any matter involving children.

Dads care about child-centric outcomes every bit as much as do the mothers of their children. In fact, a recent Pew Research Center survey revealed that legions of mothers and fathers are virtually identical in the degree to which they view parenting as “extremely important to their identity.”

A common premise these days is that — excepting exceptional circumstances — children’s well-being is best promoted by the regular and ongoing involvement of both parents.

Family law courts recognize that, and seasoned legal advocacy can often help secure that desired outcome.

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As reported in a recent Idaho Statesman article, that is the opted-for strategy employed in one world-class tourist destination in New Zealand with a reported “epidemic of drunken driving” on its streets.

That locale is Queenstown, a travel Mecca admittedly more than a quick jaunt away from Coeur d’Alene and other Idaho municipalities. Notwithstanding its placement in a remote corner of the world, though, we find a prominent DUI-themed story that is receiving a massive amount of publicity there to be broadly relevant virtually everywhere.

And certainly in Idaho, where motorists are arrested and convicted on drunk driving charges every day.

On top of the myriad and harsh exactions that typically follow many DUI convictions (in Idaho, those range broadly from jail time and license suspension to hearing requirements, prohibitively large fines and other levied costs, and additional penalties), one Queenstown newspaper has found an additional way to punish offenders: public shaming.

What that means is this for convicted DUI motorists in the city: their names, ages and BAC levels staring out from the front page.

Truly, there is nowhere to hide. The Statesman article notes that, “With about 100 names, there was no room on the page for other stories” in the paper’s most recent edition.

Although the ploy might be a bit singular and dramatic, the concept of shaming is far from unique. In Idaho, too, an adverse stigma can quickly and easily attach for any driver who becomes embroiled with criminal authorities following a DUI stop.

And, as noted above, that repercussion is in addition to many other exactions that collectively yield truly adverse consequences.

Any individual facing a drunk driving charge might reasonably want to secure the proven assistance of a proven and aggressive defense attorney without delay. A strong legal ally during a trying time can promote both peace of mind and a heightened potential for a best-case outcome.

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One thing that some people may not consider is the actual impact a drug crime can have on a student even when the school doesn’t turn to the police. The administration can penalize a student for drug possession by suspending him or her, which can mean having to go to a new school.

If that happens, it may also mean that the student can’t get a reference from anyone at the previous school for college. That has the potential to seriously influence the child’s future.

What can parents do if their children face drug possession charges?

As a parent, you should reach out to your attorney to begin defending your child right away. The conviction of a student can lead to far-reaching consequences, and even if the police aren’t involved, the school administration could decide on severe punishments that influence your child’s future. Your attorney may be able to reason with the school’s administration or negotiate with the prosecution to help reduce or eliminate the charges against your child.

Are drug crimes really that serious in high school?

They can be. While some criminal acts may be sealed in a juvenile’s record, they still impact them until they reach adulthood. Applications to college, job applications, and other activities may be affected. Your child could lose his or her spot on a sports team or lose scholarships. There are many different ways the crimes can affect them, even when you only consider how the school itself may penalize the student. If the school does turn to the police, your child may face time in juvenile detention or have to participate in drug abuse programs.

Your attorney can help you navigate this situation. It’s in your child’s best interests to work with someone who can help protect him or her while the charges are processed.

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At the time, Jones was Idaho’s Attorney General, later becoming the state’s Supreme Court chief justice.

Time spent in those positions altered the long-time state official’s perception regarding both the ethical aspects and utility of mandatory minimums.

These days it is not hard to quickly fathom Jones’ position on that most central tool in the oft-termed War on Drugs.

He hates mandatory minimum sentencing.

In fact, he calls it “discredited,” and additionally maintains that U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ recent directive to renew a vigorous application of mandatory minimums that had waned owing to an Obama administration directive is driving the country “back to the bad old days of mass incarceration.”

Jones is hardly alone in that view. Sessions’ memo of last month to federal prosecutors urging them to more consistently invoke the harsh sentencing tool has brought strong criticism from both sides of the political aisle and in states across the country.

What Jones and others prefer is a return to enhanced judicial discretion.

Jones notes that judges “are best positioned to tailor the appropriate punishment for the crimes committed by a particular defendant,” and that simply imposing long penal terms on drug defendants — especially low-risk offenders — brings a multitude of adverse consequences. Those include higher prison populations, more taxpayer money expended, no benefit as far as reducing recidivism, and “needlessly inflicted damage” on inmates’ families.

The bottom line for Jones regarding lower-tier drug offenders is that alternatives to the often draconian outcomes linked with mandatory minimums — such as early release, ongoing supervision, placement in job programs and so forth — are readily available, comparatively cost-efficient and well proven.

Let’s support legislation focused upon proactive engagement strategies, he says. In his view, they harbor “great promise for success.”

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And control.

In fact, it is that issue of control — marked by the question, “Who has power over their storage, editing and release?” — that centrally features in a recent NPR piece focused on the cameras’ steady proliferation and an attendant controversy that accompanies this singular policing tool.

Footage shot by body cameras is now a mainstay in Idaho and nationally in matters ranging widely from drunk driving stops to drug-related stings and in police-citizen interactions involving alleged sex crimes, domestic violence, theft offenses and myriad other enforcement actions.

And the question is often asked: Who are the cameras intended to primarily benefit, the police or the citizenry?

The NPR report duly cites “a growing public perception that body camera video is really meant to serve the needs of police, not the public.”

As long as such a belief exists among even a notable minority of Americans, a tandem distrust in the public domain accompanies it.

And that perhaps makes a voluntary relinquish of video storage and in-custody controls over camera video by police departments a sound idea.

If, as many police officials routinely state, the cameras are a tool to enhance police accountability, some non-police body might make optimal sense as an oversight manager.

“[P]erhaps the footage should be under the control of an independent entity,” says one commentator in the NPR article.

Seemingly, many Americans agree with that, based on recurring acrimony directed toward police departments across the country in recent months for their perceived manipulation of tape and questionable tardiness in releasing it when doing so seems manifestly dictated.

A director of one college program focused on police practices and social justice says that police departments need to quickly surrender tight controls over video to an outside organ deemed impartial and objective by the public.

If they don’t, he contends, many Americans will simply believe that the cameras have scant little to do with keeping police accountable, and are far more geared to documenting the public and making records of potential suspects for future cases.

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