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Vol. 71, No. 6, June 1998
News Briefs
The New Informing
the Accused Form
1997 Wis. Act 107, effective Aug. 1, 1998, clarifies the language used in the Informing
the Accused form, making it easier for both police officers and
arrested drivers to understand. The new form reads:
"You have either been arrested for an offense that involves driving
or operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
or drugs, or both, or you are suspected of driving or being on
duty time with respect to a commercial motor vehicle after consuming
an intoxicating beverage.
"This law enforcement agency now wants to test one or more samples
of your breath, blood or urine to determine the concentration
of alcohol or drugs in your system. If any test shows more alcohol
in your system than the law permits while driving, your operating
privilege will be suspended. If you refuse to take any test that
this agency requests, your operating privilege will be revoked
and you will be subject to other penalties. The test results or
the fact that you refused testing can be used against you in court.
"If you take all the requested tests, you may choose to take further
tests. You may take the alternative test that this law enforcement
agency provides free of charge. You also may have a test conducted
by a qualified person of your choice at your expense. You, however,
will have to make your own arrangements for that test.
"If you have a commercial driver license or were operating a commercial
motor vehicle, other consequences may result from positive test
results or from refusing testing, such as being placed out of
service or disqualified." |
Informing the Accused form
rewritten in plain English
By Ralph A. Kalal
Wisconsin's new Informing the Accused form, which becomes effective
Aug. 1, may end much of the litigation in drunk driving cases.
The Informing the Accused form is read by law enforcement officers
to drivers who have been arrested for drunk driving before requesting
a chemical test of breath, blood, or urine under the Implied Consent
Law. It contains information about the driver's duty to take whatever
tests the police request and the law enforcement agency's duty
to then allow the driver additional tests.
Past versions of the form used cumbersome legalese, which frequently
confused drivers and police officers about its meaning, resulting
in needless litigation.
1997 Wis. Act 107 should eliminate much of this confusion. Its chief sponsor, Rep.
John LaFave, assembled attorneys and others with expertise in
this area, including representatives of the State Bar, the Department
of Transportation, the Legislative Reference Bureau, and the Wisconsin
Association of Chiefs of Police, to rewrite the statute that designates
the form's language. Now rewritten in plain English, the form
(see sidebar below) is half its former length and more explicit
about what the law requires.
The old form could be read two ways: as requiring a driver to
submit to all tests that the police request, or allowing the driver
to select which test he or she takes. The new form states the
agency wants to test "one or more samples" and that refusal of
any test results in a refusal revocation.
The new form also addresses other problems:
- The new form expressly tells the driver that he or she has been
arrested a condition precedent to Implied Consent Law testing
that wasn't mentioned in the old form.
- By saying that the law enforcement agency "now" wants the driver
to submit to tests, the new form clarifies that merely submitting
to a preliminary breath test does not satisfy the driver's obligation.
- The old form was unclear about when the driver could take other
tests and who would pay for them. The new form makes it clear
that there are "free" police tests; that a driver also has the
right to an alternate test at agency expense; and that a driver
has the right to choose another test at his or her own expense,
but the driver must first submit to all police-requested tests.
- The new streamlined form eliminates the separate warnings given
to drivers holding commercial driver's licenses.
Attorney Ralph A. Kalal is the senior member of Kalal & Associates,
a Madison firm that concentrates in OMVWI defense and other criminal
cases. Kalal was the State Bar's representative to the advisory
committee that helped draft the new Informing the Accused legislation.
Guides offer advice
on legal information management
The American Association of Law Libraries (AALL) recently released
three resource guides on legal information management for law
firms. The guides, "How to Hire a Law Librarian," "Expanding Roles
for Law Librarians," and "Space Planning for Law Libraries," are
the first three releases in a planned eight-volume series of resource
guides on this topic.
The eight-part series is $60 for AALL members and $80 for nonmembers.
Copies of individual guides are $11.25 for members; $12.50 for
nonmembers. For more information about the series, or to order,
contact Steve Serpas at (312) 939-4764, or by email at orders@aall.org.
Araiza earns writing award
Milwaukee
attorney Francisco Araiza is this year's winner of the Hon. Charles
Dunn Author Award. Araiza is recognized by the State Bar's Communications
Committee for his September 1997 Wisconsin Lawyer article, "Se
Habla Everything: The Right to an Impartial, Qualified Interpreter."
The Dunn Award, named after Wisconsin's first chief justice, recognizes
writing excellence in articles published in the Wisconsin
Lawyer. Communications Committee Award Subcommittee members Jesse Ishikawa,
Rob Petershack, and Ann Massie Nelson chose Araiza's article for
its thorough and skillful discussion of the theoretical and practical
issues that arise in obtaining an impartial and qualified interpreter.
"Araiza brings complicated due process issues to life through
the skillful use of courtroom anecdotes and provides very practical
advice, including a toll-free number for AT&T's language lines,"
says Ishikawa, the award subcommittee chair.
Q: What Wisconsin appellate judge "grilled" U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater
on national television in 1956?
The Litigation Section's Appellate Practice Subcommittee tests
your knowledge of Wisconsin's appellate judges. For the answer
to this month's question, CLICK HERE! |
Araiza, an assistant state public defender in Milwaukee, receives
a plaque at the Board of Governors luncheon on June 24 during
the State Bar Annual Convention.
Two additional authors receive certificates of commendation for
their work in the Wisconsin Lawyer. Alexander T. Pendleton is honored for his November 1997 article "Drafting Enforceable
Exculpatory Agreements" and John E. Flanagan for his February 1997 article "The Duty of Good Faith in Contracts:
Mutual Expectations Set the Parameters."
New divorce/annulment certificates available in late June
1997 Wis. Act 191, effective May 1, 1998, amends Wisconsin Statute 69.17 to mandate the reporting of Social Security numbers on Wisconsin
Divorce/Annulment Certificates (DOH 5080). Social Security numbers
are collected for the husband, wife, and any children listed in
the confidential section of the certificate, and are used for
child support enforcement purposes only.
Revised forms will be available from clerks of court by the end
of June. After receiving new forms from your clerk of court, destroy
any old forms you may have, advises Peggy Peterson, assistant
state registrar, Center for Health Statistics.
Once the new forms are available, there will be a 30-day grace
period in which old forms are still accepted for filing.
For further information, contact Peggy Peterson, (608) 267-7812,
or by email.
Figuratively Speaking
- Percentage of blacks in the U.S. who are excluded from jury service
as a result of the common practice of relying upon voter lists
in the jury selection process: 14
- Percentage of Hispanics excluded: 52
"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
-- Martin Luther King Jr. |
- Percentage of those with an annual income of less than $5,000
excluded: 28.7
- Percentage of those earning between $5,000 and $9,999 excluded:
20.9
Source: Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, Vol. 4, No.
3
- Annual number of American children who are injured severely enough
to require emergency room treatment while playing on playgrounds,
according to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC):
200,000
- Percentage of injury and fatality cases involving children and
playgrounds that resulted in lawsuits but were settled out of
court, according to a University of Texas study of 177 playground
injuries and 13 fatalities: 81
- Percentage of lawsuits that went to trial: 9
- Percentage of all cases that involved violations of safety guidelines
established by the CPSC and the American Society for Testing and
Materials: 94
Source: American City and Country, Vol. 112, Issue 4, April 4,
1997
- Estimated number of women stalked each year in the U.S., based
on the results of a survey of 8,000 men and 8,000 women: 1 million
- Estimated number of men who are stalked each year: 370,000
- Percentage of victims who file police reports: 50
- Approximate percentage who file restraining orders: 25
- Percentage of cases that involved overt threats: 45
- Percentage of stalkers who threatened to or actually did kill
the victim's pet: 10
- Percentage of recorded stalking cases in which the stalker spied
on or followed the victim: 75
Source: U.S. News & World Report, Vol. 123, No. 20, Nov. 24, 1997
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