Olympia DUI Lawyer Blog

Washington State Patrol is targeting those with active warrants on DUI cases. Troopers are working with the Mason County Prosecutor's office to apprehend the 1,160 defendants who have missed court on DUI charges. Mason county is asking those with DUI warrants to call Mason County District Court at (360) 427-9670, ext. 339 to learn how to quash their warrants.

Recent headlines regarding the Cleavland Brown's Donte Stallworth's DUI manslaughter conviction have been centering around his apologies for the crime. Stallworth, who struck and killed pedestrian Mario Reyes while driving drunk with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .126, served 24 days in jail. Upon his release from jail, he has to now serve 2 years of home confinement. Stallworth will now be able to leave his house to go train with coach Pete Bommarito, even though he is not technically employed with the NFL. (Typically, in Washington, defendant's who are on "house arrest," or electric home monitoring, are allowed to leave their homes to attend work.)

Compare that to local Thurston County resident Karen Lynn Clark, who pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide yesterday in exchange for a 30 month prison sentence. I am sure Clark would have greatly preferred 24 days in the county jail followed by 24 months of staying at home- let alone a home as nice as Stallworth's.

An interesting data release indicated that, based on statistics gathered by the FBI, in 2007, the number of women taken into custody in for DUI was 28.8 percent greater in 2007 than it was in 1998, while the number of men apprehended was 7.5 percent lower. The numbers were taken from just 56 percent of the country, though Alfred Blumstein, a Carnegie Mellon criminologist, states "the trend probably holds true for the country as a whole."

When I represent those with pending drug charges, they are typically not pleased when I tell them that conviction of a drug offense may impact their ability to receive federal student loans. Even conviction of a small amount- ANY amount- of marijuana can trigger these horrific ramifications. The federal Higher Education Act (HEA), section 483(r) prohibits those convicted of state or federal drug charges from receiving FAFSA. Those of us with school loan debt know that FAFSA loans are typically tied to lower interest rates and are often easier to defer should the lendee become unemployed, disabled, etc.

The HEA didn't always include this provision- it was amended in 1998 under President Clinton. Luckily, the law was again amended in 2006 to only bar those who were currently receiving student loans while they were convicted of a drug offense. Prior to the 2006 amendment, the prohibition applied to anyone seeking student loans, including potential or current students. That being said, the law still has real impacts on students. A college student who makes one bad choice and gets convicted of simple possession of a small amount of marijuana for personal use can find themselves incapable of receiving federal aid. For many students, that means an inability to complete school. The law mandates that a first offense of possession bars students from aid for one year, and a second offense for 2 years, a third offense is an indefinite bar. For those convicted of selling controlled substances, a first offense carries a 2 year bar and a second offense carries an indefinite suspension. Though this may not sound that severe initially, imagine getting kicked out of school for a year for experimenting with marijuana.

A possession of marijuana conviction has serious implications aside from student aid. In Washington, a first time conviction carries a mandatory minimum of 1 day in jail and a $250 or $475 fine, depending on how the sentencing judge interprets the statutory mandatory minimum fines. Possession of marijuana is a simple misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail. Judges typically impose 90 days in jail and suspend all but 1 day, thus offenders not only have one day in jail to serve, they have the potential of serving 89 more if they do not follow the terms of probation. It is unfortunate that those sentenced in State courts also must feel the impact of this federal law that limits their ability to move on and get an education.

On July 22, 2009, Congressman Barney Frank introduced a bill, `Removing Impediments to Students Education Act of 2009' or the `RISE Act of 2009,' in the house. It proposes repealing this provision of the HEA that bar students with drug convictions from receiving aid. The bill has been referred to the house committee on education and labor. Cosponsors of the bill appear in this link. Note that Olympia's Congressman Brian Baird is not among the supporters of the bill. Congressman Baird's contact information appears in this link.