SCOV Law

Extreme Rehabilitation By Andy Delaney   Three opinions between May 1 and May 15. I would have written sooner, but things have been busy. And, you know . . . I'm lazy.  Our first opinion, issued May 1st, deals with the right to counsel in a DUI arrest. Mr. Eaton crashed his car, got arrested for DUI, and was taken to the station. The officer read him the implied-consent rights, including the limited right to consult with an attorney under this statute . Mr. Eaton talks to on‑call counsel. Counsel asks the officer whether Mr. Eaton has prior DUIs. The officer incorrectly says yes. In reality, Mr. Eaton's prior DUI charge resolved as negligent operation. On that bad info, counsel advises Mr. Eaton to take the evidentiary test. Eaton, who had planned to refuse, follows counsel’s advice and blows drunk-and-a-half (I'm being unfair—it's one-and-a-half times the legal limit of .08, which does not necessarily translate to "drunk" but as you can see, that parenthetica...