Cell phone laws :
Here it comes. The latest nanny-state lawmaking would ban the use of hand held cell phones while drive in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The link below takes you to a story on Boston.com that describes the new legislative efforts to take your ability to use cell phones away while driving.

http://www.boston.com/Boston/metrodesk/2012/01/hands-free-cellphone-ban-unanimously-approved-massachusetts-legislative-committee/GnGEKwHE3yD9bfbpSnhH7L/index.html

If you have been accused by the police in New Hampshire of “DWI“, “Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or a Controlled Drug”, “possession of marijuana”, “possession of controlled drug”or any alleged motor vehicle or criminal offense, feel free to call Attorney Mark Stevens today at 603-893-0074 to arrange a free consultation to discuss your case.

I don’t even know where to start with this one….

Man Spends 2 Years in Solitary After DWI Arrest

Dona Ana County, NM.  Jan. 25 – A New Mexico man who said he was forced to pull his own tooth while in solitary confinement because he was denied access to a dentist has been awarded $22 million due to inhumane treatment by New Mexico’s Dona Ana County Jail.

Stephen Slevin was arrested in August of 2005 for driving while intoxicated, then thrown in jail for two years. He was in solitary at Dona Ana County Jail for his entire sentence and basically forgotten about and never given a trial, he told NBC station KOB.com Tuesday night.

"[Jail guards were] walking by me every day, watching me deteriorate," Slevin said. "Day after day after day, they did nothing, nothing at all, to get me any help."

Slevin’s medical problems extended beyond his dental issues, he said. His toenails started curling around his foot because they were so long, he told KOB.com. And his countless requests to see a doctor for depression medication were ignored, he said.

He said his lawsuit "has never been about the money. I’ve always wanted this to make a statement."

The $22 million, awarded by a federal jury Tuesday, is one of the largest prisoner civil rights settlements in U.S. history, according to KOB.com.

"I wanted people to know that there are people at The Dona Ana County Jail that are doing things like this to people and getting away with it," said Slevin, who now suffers from PTSD and believes he will have to take medication for life as a result. "Why they did what they did, I have no idea."

The mistreatment started from the moment his client was arrested, Slevin’s attorney, Matt Coyte, told msnbc.com.

"He was driving through New Mexico and arrested for a DWI, and he allegedly was in a stolen vehicle. Well, it was a car he had borrowed from a friend; a friend had given him a car to drive across the country," Coyte said.

Slevin was depressed at the time, Coyte explained, and wanted to get out of New Mexico. Instead, he found himself in jail.

"When he gets put in the jail, they think he’s suicidal, and they put him in a padded cell for three days, but never give him any treatment."

Nor did they give him a trial, Coyte said. Slevin said he never saw a judge during his time in confinement.

After three days in a padded cell, jail guards transferred Slevin into solitary confinement without explanation.  "Their policy is to then just put them in solitary" if they appear to have mental health issues, Coyte told msnbc.com.

Dona Ana County officials were tight-lipped about the case, refusing to answer questions about whether any jail employees were reprimanded or fired over Slevin’s treatment…

While in solitary confinement, a prisoner is entitled to one hour per day out of the cell, but often times, Slevin wasn’t even granted that, Coyte said. He was deprived of showers and grew fungus underneath his skin. He lost his will to even want to get out and live in the outside world, Coyte told msnbc.com.

"Your insanity builds. Some people holler or throw feces out their cell doors," he said. "Others rock back and forth under a blanket for a year or more, which is what my client did."

By the time Slevin got out of jail, his hair was shaggy and overgrown, his beard long, and his face pale and sunken, a drastic contrast from the clean-shaven booking photo taken of him when he was arrested two years prior…

"Hs life has been devoted to survival [since his release from solitary]," Coyte told msnbc.com. "He is totally inequipped; he is hollow. They’ve removed his humanity from him."

His suffering hasn’t been in vain though, Coyte said.  "He’s a brave guy. When he says it’s not about the money, he really means it. He wants no one to go through what he went through. And people do, in New Mexico and across this country."

This wasn’t China or North Korea.  This happened in America.  And as his attorney said, this kind of thing isn’t going on just in New Mexico, it’s happening "across this country".
 

(Thanks to Robert Battle and Bill Sullivan.)
 

As we discussed late last year, the Minnesota Court of Appeals interpreted Minnesota’s DWI Forfeiture Statute in a way that defended, rather than undermined, the rights of all vehicle owners. The court came to the common-sense conclusion that the government must return any forfeited vehicle if the driver is never convicted of the crime that gave rise to the forfeiture. The Supreme Court has officially granted review of this decision, meaning it is possible that this case will be overturned. How would this affect future drivers?

Here’s an example: being charged with second degree DWI gives the government the legal authority to seize the vehicle being driven during the offense (regardless of who owns the vehicle). However, being charged with a DWI is not the same as being convicted of a DWI – and smart drivers will file a petition to challenge the vehicle forfeiture. That’s because, under the current state of the law, beating the second degree DWI charge will mean that you should get your vehicle back. If the Supreme Court reverses the appellate court in this case, the situation could be turned on its head.

It’s this question – whether the government can keep a seized vehicle even if you beat the DWI charges – that is about to be considered by the Minnesota Supreme Court. It will be very interesting to see how our Supreme Court decides the future of our faulty DWI forfeiture scheme.