Who Do DUI Attorneys Only Get Breaks When They are DUI Prosecutors?

Why do DUI Attorneys only get breaks when they are DUI Prosecutors?
Posted By Phoenix DUI lawyer Nick Alcock.
Ask any of the hundreds of DUI attorneys in Phoenix and you will hear the same thing. Your typical DUI defendant gets charged without prosecutors sitting around and deliberating what should happen. People charged with drunk driving get ticketed even if their blood alcohol levels are under the legal limit. Seldom do their cases get reviewed. The fact that the prosecution did not charge this woman immediately is very telling. She was well over the limit of .08. There were witnesses who saw her driving. If this were a normal case, she would have been charged, arrested, and a court date would be set and that would be that.
But, DUI lawyers know that cases are not handled the same way every time. We know that sometimes deals are cut for people who are connected. We know that sometimes the police turn a blind eye when the driver is someone who works on their team. This is why DUI attorneys must continue to vigorously defend the rights of people who are arrested and charged without the benefit of a formal “review.” The simple fact of the matter is that people’s rights are oftentimes violated. While some drivers get a free pass, others get unequally and harshly punished. Maybe one day we will see a completely fair and equal application of the law. One day.

Originally Posted

State attorneys weigh DUI prosecution of El Dorado deputy DA
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By Carlos Alcalá
calcala@sacbee.com
Published: Saturday, Aug. 13, 2011 – 12:00 am | Page 1B
Last Modified: Sunday, Aug. 14, 2011 – 11:55 am

State attorneys have taken on the possible prosecution of Gloria Mas, an El Dorado County deputy district attorney who was arrested in July on suspicion of drunken driving.

Mas was arrested in the early afternoon of July 25 at the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office after witnesses said she drove into the parking lot there, appearing to be intoxicated.

According to Mas’ arrest report, released by the California Highway Patrol, the attorney told a CHP officer that she consumed two vodka tonics between noon and 1 p.m. while at home for lunch and then drove to the office.

The county DA referred the case to state Attorney General Kamala Harris’ office because of the potential for conflicts resulting from prosecuting one of their own.

“We have taken that case,” confirmed Nick Pacilio, a spokesman in the attorney general’s office. A decision on whether or how to prosecute has not been made, and the case is under review.

According to the arrest report, a CHP officer attached to the District Attorney’s Office saw Mas drive into the district attorney’s lot. The officer and other witnesses, whose names were edited out of the report, told an investigating CHP sergeant that Mas showed signs and symptoms of intoxication.

The arresting officer, Sgt. T. Brown, performed field sobriety tests and a breath test in District Attorney Vern Pierson’s office.

Mas failed to perform the tests properly and the field breath test showed a blood-alcohol level of about 0.12 percent, above the 0.08 percent legal limit, according to the report. Results of a test conducted at the El Dorado County jail, where Mas was booked, were blacked out of the report.

Mas was arrested in the DA’s office but allowed to walk out to the patrol car before being handcuffed.

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