Mississippi Criminal Law Blog

Advocacy group Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) ranked the 50 state’s DUI laws in a report that the group releases annually. The report found that Mississippi has the most stringent DUI laws in the country.

MADD came to this conclusion after surveying which states mandated the use of ignition interlock devices for anyone convicted of DWI, including first-time offenders. MADD uses a 5-star rating system in its report based on whether states mandated the use of this device and whether states have specially trained police officers for detecting signs of drunk driving. Other factors the group uses when creating its rankings include frequency of sobriety check points, drunk driving patrols, whether the state has laws that impose harsher penalties for a drunk driver having a minor in the car, and punishing drivers who do not submit to a breathalyzer test.

Based on all of these factors, MADD concluded that Mississippi law enforcement has “cracked-down” the most, along with Maryland and Arizona, and tightened its DUI/DWI laws. You can read more at the Legal Examiner.

If you, the average American, had taken a prescription to assist you with your sleep deprivation then you were found asleep behind the wheel with your car running, would you be convicted of driving under the influence? I would venture to guess you are shaking your head “yes” right about now. Well that may not be the case, at least for everyone.

Former Navy Seal team member Rob O’Neill found himself in the exact situation; however, he was able to convince the prosecution to change the charges to a lesser offense. “Butte-Silver Bow County prosecutors instead charged O’Neill with negligent endangerment and deferred prosecution for up to a year while he undergoes treatment through the Department of Veterans Affairs.”

Granted, if preferential treatment should be given, who better to give it to than the man who claims he shot Osama bin Laden.

Police Officer Jason Jarvis of the Hattiesburg Police Department just received an award from the Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over campaign.  Officer Jarvis had 23 arrests for DUI in a two week period in 2015 and also had the most arrests in the state of Mississippi at 353.  He has been with HPD for about two years.  Officer Jarvis stated that the he takes pride in that fact that he gets impaired drivers off the road.

(see http://www.wdam.com/story/32799454/hpd-dui-officer-receives-awards)

While the pursuit to take impaired drivers off the roads is a noble one, the problem lies in the fact that all the recognition for officers and monetary grants to officers and departments are tied to arrests only.  Whether or not the person is actually found guilty plays no part.  This incentives officers to simply arrest as many people for DUI as possible because they receive their recognition and rewards regardless of what happens at court.  For those people who are actually innocent, the monetary costs, embarrassment and possible job loss they face is a unfair price to pay simply because an officer might be padding his stats so he can get the next award.

Charles Cahill, 49, is facing second-degree murder charges out of Wayne County, Michigan after he rear-ended a vehicle stopped at a stop sign that killed a 12-year-old passenger.

Other charges Cahill is now facing include: operating a vehicle with a high blood alcohol content causing death, operating while intoxicated, third offense, driving while license suspended causing death, and a misdemeanor charge of open intoxicants in a motor vehicle.

According to the Detroit Free Press: “[Cahill’s] driving record, police said, showed 12 drunken-driving convictions, ‘even though his driver’s license has been revoked by the Secretary of State since 1990.’”

August 1, 2016|Updated September 3, 2020| by Vic Carmody Jr., P.A., Board-Certified DUI Defense Lawyer in MS

In 2016, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was found not guilty on the charges of driving under the influence and speeding. Prescott previously played college football for Mississippi State, which is in Starkville. This article discusses how the mere arrest likely cost the star athlete millions in “perceived” value at the NFL draft.

Prescott had been arrested on April 23, 2016 and charged with DUI after he was stopped and accused of speeding near the Mississippi State college campus. Two breathalyzer tests after his arrest produced inconclusive results, but the accusation was filed. Plus, once filed, a prosecutor in Mississippi is statutorily required to conduct a trial or take a guilty plea.

This past weekend, a seven-year-old girl died and three other children have suffered serious injuries because the driver was driving under the influence. The three surviving children, as well as the driver, were quickly driven to the hospital after the female driver crashed into a South Los Angeles home Sunday evening.

Officials have said that the car was traveling “at a high rate of speed” when it struck a home in the 760 block of East 93^rd street at or about 5:45 p.m.

Upon arrival at the scene, officials say that they found four children littered across the lawn and a woman pinned behind the wheel of her car. The seven-year-old girl was dead when officials arrived, but three other children, ages eighteen months, four years, and six years were rushed to a hospital in critical condition along with the thirty-six-year-old female driver.