Boat BUI
 

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBRWHxqmtoE[/YOUTUBE]

I like that show, one of the few things that I TIVO and watch on TV(besides football).

A 4.0? Is that even possible? He doesn't look that bad,must be seasoned. Doug

I saw that episode on TV. Guy had a nice Cat.

$500,000 boat?:rolleyes:

He was .32 on preliminary test. That is very high if its accurate. His speech is pretty clear and he doesn't appear that intoxicated. The test is either off or he has developed a very tolerance to alcohol with years of practice.

As far as .40 being dead, it depends on the person. I have seen some homeless chronic alcoholics blow over a .50. I have also seen people who couldn't walk or talk at .12.

You are on the money in your assessment of his BAC. I would love to have that guy as my client, unfortunately I only handle New Jersey defendants charged with BUI/DUI/DWI, ect.

Happy Holidays - watch for the sobriety check-points tonight - if you all are drinking.

I party about 50-100 times per year. Amateur night (New Years Eve) is not one of them!!!!!!!!!!

I agree, I was a nerd last night (just stayed home - no boozing). They are too many other times throughout the year that "I get my load on!":ernaehrung004:

Why would you want this dipstick as a client ?????

Because that is how I earn my living. AND, my gut feeling that his BAC is no where near the level the officer indicated.

I do not condone BUI or DUI, but I minimize damage for those who are truly guilty as sh*t; and for those who are borderline (.08 BAC in NJ), or wrongly accused, I am exactly who they need to hire.

Dipstick, nitwit, it does not make a difference to me - we all make mistakes, some people need help. This guy needs help.

No wonder our country is in the toilet

Wasn't me wasn't me

I really only blew a 2.8 officer, does that make me less dangerous ?? NOT

I am not your problem, nor am I problem to society. Country in the toilet? What the f*ck does that have to do with me defending people who are wrongly accused?

I do not possess a magic eraser to undo the damage that a rightly accused defendant has committed. There is a price to pay for doing wrong. If they are guilty, then I am considered a thief for not having done sh*t in their defense, and if I get them off I am a scumbag lawyer in the eyes of the general public. The defendant less dangerous ....I will let the police do their job, and a judge or jury figure out the back end.

I took your comment as a direct insult, not sure who you are and why you would want to bust my balls.

PS - I may very well be a NJ Prosecutor in 2009, so my defending the accused may be a moot point.

not busting your balls sorry if you think that

but i am done with our so called leagle system it is killing this country

and "minimizing"what is proven fact seems so wrong to me

Just like getting out of prison early for good behaviour
why not have the convicted do their time, and if they act bad do MORE time for bad behavior

always seems to minimize or deflect blame just all seems so screwed up

Sorry about over-reacting. I do agree with everyone wants the easy way out mentality, and the "it wasn't me" attitude when they caught red-handed. I hear it all the time. I even had a potential-client, who was caught stone -cold. I told him he was facing serious state prison time, and there was nothing I could do to help him. His reply, "find a loop-hole, or I will break your legs." I told him there was not a loop-hole for stupidity, and politely told him to get out of my office, and here is your money back.

I wrote that example, because I understand your frustration. That is one reason why I am considering changing sides (Prosecution instead of Defense).

Do it, it is the right thing to do.

Thank you for encouraging words, I will know more in the next couple of weeks on what area of law I will be working. I am seeking a new position right now. We'll see....

I really enjoyed that video and thought the cop was cool as hell...somebody I could work with :ernaehrung004:

The only part I thought was lame was his lady coming over to console him...but maybe she was just whispering where she hid his stash and thankful it wasn't found and seized!

Some people just haven't got the message yet that the jig is up when it comes to drinking and operating cars and boats.

Too bad for the guy, but nobody got hurt and hopefully he learned a valuable lesson (and recovered his lid when he got out of jail!) :cool-smiley-027:

Where were the gratuitous shots of the extra seat covers in the boat???

Why not??????? He's got a 500k boat, so he should be able to afford the attorney fees :D

Even if he's guilty as sin, he still has every right to have a legal representation.


Unfortunately the system is all effed up in a lot of ways. Judges know how much time somebody is really going to serve when they get sentenced. Its like setting your clock fast so you won't be late.

Keep this in mind, it cost upwards 200k a bed to build a prison and upwards of 25k a year to keep a prisoner there. That is paid for by you and me. Do you really want to pay for that??? The system is geared to protect criminals, fortunately I know how the system works and put my share of bad guys in jail.

Griff I assume you are with law enforcement GOD BLESS YOU

I think the system is a joke

right to a speedy trial Ha Ha

Pain and suffering is a joke everyone has pain and suffering now days its pain and PAY ME

TV commercials saying
"do you have hemorrhoids? And did you buy a chair from Bobs Chair Company? You may open for compensation. Call Sam Bernstein the attorney on your side we can help"

Planting seeds, and placing blame, is all our system does these days
the innocent have few rights. While the guilty have a ton of rights.

I have been involved in two lawsuits and in both cases it took years to find i was in the right, only to cost 10s of thousands of dollars over years and still never see a day in the courtroom all we did was pay lawyers to play with each other

Our system is broke and the Politian’s wont fix it because to many of them are liars opps i mean lawyers

Smarty this is not directed at you, it is directed at the system The fact that morals no longer play a part in our justice system, just MONEY, it is sad and it is dumbing down America

Lawyers and law firms should have to pay if they loose a case that would slow down some frivolous lawsuits

I could go on all day this thread just started me going

Again Smarty it is not personal i am sad to see our legal system become a joke

Checkpoints are illegal on Michigan roads but I was told by a Sheriff deputy that they can randomly stop boaters. Seems inconsistent; anybody know if it's true? If you refuse a breath test on the road they can take your license, but what happens on the water where you don't have a license?

I don't have any DUI's or BUI's but I see checkpoints as a dangerous infringement on personal freedom.

Yes I am and yes it is in a lot of ways.

The US Supreme court has ruled that checkpoints are legal as long as they are done correctly. You have to stop every car/boat or every third, or every tenth, etc. It actually takes a lot of documentation to run a checkpoint to make it stand up in court.

This instance......
 

Its a fine line, I was pulled over on the water one morning in Parker and let go after waiting almost an hour to be " questioned" not sure thats remotely legal.

As for this video - the stated reason for stopping him was "transom riding" which I cannot see happening but its really blurry.

Certainly I see no one riding on the hatch, so as to weather or not its a legal bust I couldnt say. It could be if you have your butt on the hatch and your legs dangling on the backrest you are "transom riding" at the same time the guy was in a no wake zone apparently heeding the speed limit.

as the attorney here mentions- a .32?
Really? I dont think so-
I did not see the officer SHOW the readout to the boater.

I was told I was drunk while stopped on a motorcylce ride once.
I blew into the machine and it screamed at me then all of the sudden I was on my way to the car /jail that night.

Just by chance I asked that the officer show me the meter I was .075-, BUT if I did not ASK him to show me the readout- Id have a dui on my record right now.

After a long discussion with his buddy they "let me go" - <Back to the hotel room I was already parked in front of.> Not before warning me not to show my face in "their town again" (no prob Ill never pay for me and 10 of my friends to stay and eat there again)

I run hot and cold on stuff like this, on one hand I appreciate the presence of the law, on the other If the guy was sober the "transom riding" stop seems like complete BS to me.

What if you are idling up to a beach and have someone climb on the bow on the lookout for rocks? Can you get pulled over for bowriding at idle or less?

I just don't know about this one- we see X but hear Y.


Uncle Dave

HEY Boatme, You forgot my lawsuit against you, and I WON ! I should have had Headlines direct make a nice plaque for me with a picture of you filling out the check with a SMILE and putting it in the mail to me :cool-smiley-027:

Not worth getting into a war of inteligence and honesty with you when you are unarmed

grow up Chris

I didn't think you were riling anything up.
I for one appreciate your input in the thread.

Ill take another look at the front of the boat in the video -
I agree if that's the case hes asking to be pulled over.

At the same time thought my stories might give different perspective.

As for not having to "show" a radar gun or breath device-
As much as Id think that would be the fair thing to do Im not surprised at all to hear you say that.

The simple reality of the standard citizen is that Police do anything they want, to anyone they want, any time they want, for whatever reason they want.

As I said before I appreciate the presence of the law but the police occasionally need policing themselves.


Uncle Dave

I have mixed feelings about BUI,I occasionally have a few beers while boating IF I'm not going to be doing any high speed driving and I have done the pbt while boating and driving vehicles at least a dozen times in past 10 years and have NOT been legally drunk or even really impaired (at least by Michigans old standards,the new law doesn't specify any bac for impaired,just anything above .02 below .08). Heres a typical "safety" stop by our local law,including the Coast guard. Stop at hooters and eat dinner with the boat,have a few beers over 2 hours (2-3),pull away from the dock and immediately get pulled over,like the other 10 boats I watched getting pulled over leaving hooters while I was eating. First question I ask is WHY AM I BEING PULLED OVER,law enforcement claims it merely a safety inspection but immediately proceeds to question if I was drinking at the restaurant,not really interested in doing a safety inspection once they see I have life jackets out and all the other required stuff. I tell them the truth-yes,I had a few beers-keep in mind I weigh 275 lbs. They start their bs,your going to do a field sobriety test,hold your finger on your nose and count backwards while skipping every other number while standing on one foot with your eyes closed twirling counter clockwise while patting your stomach with your other hand. I simply just say NO,just like I have done every other time. I DO NOT have to play your stupid fukking games that are going to make ANYONE including a sober Nun look drunk,just get out your pbt machine (which they are going to do anyways) and we'll get this over with. I have usually blown a .02-.04,they let me go with a stern warning about the dangers of drinking and driving and I tell them it's a unreasonable violation of a persons civil rights to pull them over specifically because there boat was at hooters or similar,you couldn't do it to someone in their auto.
On the other hand I see guys that are power drinking like theirs no tomorrow,3 times the legal limit endangering them selves and everyone else,they don't seem to ever get pulled over,Smitty

One question - where is there a Hooters on the water? :D

Bay city mi,in downtown. The stories I mention of getting pulled over and hassled were between 97 and about 2000,they just got new breathilizers and cops/coast guard were acting like NAZI"S. I joined a class action lawsuit against the bay county sheriff's department for harrassment along with many others and after a couple hearings and some bad press the "safety " inspections decreased to about 1/10th of what they were,Smitty

Party Heat on tv cracks me up. What are these guys (drivers) thinking.

It good to have some form of patrol on the water, BUT some cops and coast guard personnel have nothing better to do than ruin a good time. They really need to get a real job and stop letching the blood from good citizens.:ernaehrung004:

me too!

If you get a BUI (or DUI) in New Jersey, e-mail me. I will help you.

I posted this information in July 2007. I hope this will help inform New Jersey boaters of the BUI.

"Yes, the officer can and do charge people with BUI/DUI if they cannot pass the physical (field sobriety tests, observation, odor of alcohol) .

Example: If a driver of a car is weaving and touches the yellow line in the middle of the road, and is pulled over, and he has the odor of alcohol on his breath the officer will conduct the road-side sobriety tests. Once the lights go on on the officers the car the tape starts rolling (on NJSP cars and most towns). If you fail the test, then you are arrested so DUI. The Alco-test (New Jersey's new machine that replaced the Breathalyzer) will be administered. If your Blood Alcohol Concentration is less than .08 (BAC) you are considered under the legal limit; HOWEVER, if you smell and act intoxicated, and cannot successfully comply with the officer's commands (field tests), you can be charged with DUI.

The burden of proof is on the Prosecution, but the now charged individual (the defendant), has to put on a defense, and that means spending $$$ on a lawyer. In most instances the DUI will be dropped. Most Prosecutor's with these marginal cases will accept a plea deal when you have a lawyer on these marginal case; I have never seen a .07 BAC or less DUI charge, let alone a person charged with a .03 BAC (and no drugs). That just BS.

You can be convicted in NJ based just on the physical observation; If the BAC reading has been deemed to be inadmissable due to a variety of possible reasons (lawyer finding the holes in the Prosecution's evidence to have evidence barred/inadmissible) it just makes my job a little easier. But if you are on tape unable to stand , arguing, slurred speech, looking like a drunk - that can be very damaging to the defense of the charge, pretty obvious.

If you are convicted for Boating Under the Influence, first offense and you BAC is between .08 and .09, loss of boating privilege for 1 year, loss of automobile privilege for 3 months, fine range of $250 to $400, two days (not less than six hours each day) at the IDRC (intoxicated Driver Resource Center usually on a Friday evening and on a Saturday) twelve hours.

If your BAC is .10 and above on a first offense (conviction) you will lose your automobile driving privilege for seven months to one year, fine range of $300 to $500, and IDRC,(and your actual New Jersey license which will be surrendered to the court at sentencing on both the .08 to .09 conviction and the .10 and above conviction) . Now these are just the plain vanilla charges, if there is personal injury there are enhanced penalties.

The court has the discretion to sentence you up to thirty days.

Other fines include, $200 to DWI enforcement, $50 Violent Crime Compensation Fund, $75 Safe Neigborhood Fund, $200 restoration fee, $150 IDRC (Intoxicated Driver Resource Center), $33 court costs - these fines/cost(s) are mandatory.

There is a NJ DMV surcharge of $1,000 a year surcharge for three years for sencond and third offense convictions.

Second Offense, two year loss of license (motor vehicle), plus more enhanced penalties.
Third Offense, ten year loss of license (ditto)


Hope some of this information is helpful to all. If you get caught, it is very costly.

PS, the charge for you computer literate researchers is ----
N.J.S.A. 39:4-50 Driving while intoxicated"

Stephen R. Jones, Attorney-at-Law (and performance boater)

Smarty, I was told that most states will let you drive to work with a supended license, and N.J. is one of two that will not allow it. Is this true? Doug

Yes, that is true. New Jersey does NOT offer a provisional license/temporary license if convicted.

I love that hooters. I went to school out there and I was at that Hooters twice a week every week. All year long... Do they still have the boat races on the river?

Interesting perspectives here. As someone who used to carry a badge and now carries a law license (private practice, non-criminal), I identify with both sides -- it looks like a legit stop and, if he was anything close to .32 (I've seen it, but only once or twice), he deserves a trip to see the judge; that being said, I think we are all tired of BS stops and shakedowns by wannabees and funcops and all have stories reflecting the fact that it is getting a little crazy out there. The fact is that the water popo aren't going to stop and Congress is not going to extend the 4th Amendment to our boats so, in order to avoid making a bad thing worse, the answer is to make sure you aren't over the limit and make sure you have your act together when it comes to a safety inspection. I have found that great satisfaction can be had by sending the water popo on their way empty handed (the more aggressive they are, the more satisfactory it is!).

Being a prior boarding officer in the coast guard I would just like to let you in on the federal side. If you are in US jurisdiction you may be boarded by the CG at anytime for anything. A vessel safety check is the beginning of a boarding and probable cause must be present for starting the BUI FST's. I wrote up around 50 BUI's because if was my job, not because I wanted to. Federally it is a civil offense, no jail, all that I wrote received $1000 dollar fines, no more, no less. The higher ups push to do boardings in certain areas so that puts the BUI's up. As for pulling everyone over leaving Hooters that is targeting. I hope I didn't write anyone up on OSO!:drink: