Mississippi Criminal Defense Lawyer
Commentary, News, and Tips about Criminal Law in Mississippi
Last night I went to the WLBT studios and appeared on “Law Call,” a live call-in show hosted by my friends Rocky Wilkins and Tim Porter, and my new friend Tamika Smith. Every show highlights one call-in topic. I went to law school with Rocky, and I go to church with Tim, and they asked me [...]
Read MoreThe Clarion Ledger has an article in today’s paper reporting on the growth of the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The article reports that DUI arrests in Mississippi have grown from 22,511 in 2005 to 32,099 in 2009 – a big increase. Previously, DUI arrests had fallen off, and this was [...]
Read MoreTicket timeliness. A DUI in Mississippi is a misdemeanor driving offense. It is a harsh driving offense, with severe consequences, but DUI(1st) and (2nd) are misdemeanor driving offenses nonetheless. As such, the laws regarding traffic citations are applicable to the offense of driving under the influence as well, even though a DUI ticket is required by law to be [...]
Read MoreRising BAC In Mississippi it is against the law to have a blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) over .08 when you are driving. WHEN you are DRIVING. Not WHEN you are TESTED. It can often take more than an hour after you are stopped before you are tested. It almost goes without saying that your BAC will be different when you [...]
Read MoreThis shouldn’t amaze you, but blood alcohol content, or blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is a measure of how much alcohol is in your blood. It is usually expressed in terms of volume of ethanol per volume of blood, and is scientifically measured by calculating the ratio of ethanol to blood within your system. Ethanol in your blood is a byproduct of [...]
Read MoreI’m back. Sorry I haven’t posted in a few weeks. Two large trials and several smaller matters, and blogging gets put on the back burner. The Clarion Ledger is reporting that the state has launched its ”Drunk Driving: Over the Limit, Under Arrest” campaign again this year for the holidays. The Mississippi Highway Patrol announced that [...]
Read MoreIt is not possible for an adult over the age of 21 to have their record cleared of a DUI conviction in Mississippi. The general misdemeanor expungement statute, Miss. Code Ann. § 99-19-71, states that any person convicted of a misdemeanor, and who is a first offender, can ask the court to expunge all public records of [...]
Read MoreBack in August, I posted about an alarming increase in female DUI arrests and convictions, based on a national study. This article in the Clarion Ledger in Jackson today confirms that Mississippi is in line with that national trend. The article shows that, according to Mississippi Department of Public Safety statistics, female DUI arrests in Mississippi have [...]
Read MoreIf you get convicted of a DUI (1st Offense) in Mississippi, part of the punishment is that the Mississippi Department of Public Safety is going to suspend your driver’s license for no less than 90 days, or until you complete the Mississippi Alcohol Safety Education Program, whichever is longer. Unless you refused to take a [...]
Read MorePublic vs. Private Property A common rumor about DUI is that you can’t get a DUI for driving on private property, as in: “The police can’t stop me from cutting doughnuts in my pasture while I’m wasted because it’s my land.” Here is where the confusion comes in, and where the rumor probably started: Section 63-11-30 of [...]
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