Caleb Ballew

Court Appearance For Pet Licenses

March 19, 2018 by Caleb Ballew

A recent story was published on AL.com regarding the number of people being jailed over failure to register or license their pet inthe city limits. However, upon further inspection, most of these jail sentences don’t result from the underlying charge of failing to register, but instead of paying fines/fees and missing court altogether.

Regardless of the nature of the offense, missing court is a recipe for disaster because it will almost always lead to the issuance of an arrest warrant. Some of these “failure to appear” warrants do not contain a bond because the defendant has already shown that he or she cannot be trusted to show up in court when they are supposed to. Please visit our firm’s blog post regarding active warrant, including failure to appear warrants and how to address them here.

Daylight Savings Time: Change Your Clocks… It’s the Law!

March 6, 2018 by Caleb Ballew

The nation is set to roll the clocks forward this weekend, Sunday, March 9, 2018, at 2:00 A.M. But, did you know that “changing the clocks” is actually mandated by federal law? With the time change coming up, I thought it would be fun to do a little digging on the legal history of daylight saving time.The current structure for time zones in this country (there are 9) and Daylight Saving Time (DST) is governed by The Uniform Time Act of 1966.

Time zones and daylight saving time was originally created by Congress in 1918 with the Standard Time Act, though that law was repealed shortly thereafter, leaving states and municipalities to legislate it themselves. The lack of uniformity and predictability with respect to the time created numerous headaches for interstate travel and commerce, so Congress passed The Uniform Time Act as a way to help regulate and simplify interstate transportation and commerce in the country. [Read more…] about Daylight Savings Time: Change Your Clocks… It’s the Law!

Tiger Woods & The Controlled Substance DUI

June 6, 2017 by Caleb Ballew

Recently, Tiger Woods was arrested on suspicion of DUI, however, news reports after his arrest have stated that he blew a 0.00 on his breathalyzer. How is it possible to get arrested for a DUI with no alcohol involved? The answer: “Controlled Substance DUI”

In Alabama, there is no strict requirement for alcohol to be involved in order for someone to be guilty of DUI. In fact, Alabama’s DUI statute designates many different types of DUI offenses, including a “controlled substance” DUI found at Code of Alabama §32-5A-191(A)(3), which states that “a person shall not drive or be in actual physical control of any vehicle while under the influence of a controlled substance to a degree which renders him or her incapable of safely driving.”

A controlled substance, for purposes of the DUI statute, includes any federally categorized controlled substance in Schedules I – V. Certainly this includes all completely illegal substances such as cocaine, heroin or marijuana, but also includes prescription pills, even if you have a prescription for them! Simply because you are allowed to legally possess or ingest a controlled substance, does not give you the right to drive a vehicle while under the influence of that substance. This is the reason why doctors instruct patients not to operate heavy machinery or drive while taking a certain prescription.

Controlled substance DUIs are generally tougher to prove because there is not a definitive way to test for someone’s present influence or consumption of substances like a breathalyzer test can do for alcohol. Some police departments throughout the country have implemented special training for drug recognition so that officers can be equipped to detect signs of controlled substance use; though a string of cases in Cobb County, Georgia shows that this drug recognition process is not an exact science, and may lead to the arrest of sober drivers.

At the end of the day, if your taking any medication be sure to check it’s side effects and how it interacts with any other medications you’re taking and how it may impact your ability to drive.

Alabama A&M VP Pleads Guilty To Forgery Misdemeanor

April 4, 2017 by Caleb Ballew

Earlier this month, Alabama A&M Vice President, Kevin Rolle, pled guilty to possession of a forged instrument in the 3^rd degree, which is a class A misdemeanor in Alabama. Mr. Rolle was originally charged with two felonies: Theft of Property 1^st Degree, and Possession of Forged Instrument 2^nd degree. However, the State of Alabama agreed to dismiss the theft charge and amend the felony forgery charge to a misdemeanor forgery charge. Mr. Rolle is scheduled for sentencing in May and faces up to a year in jail, but the judge is able to suspend that year and place Mr. Rolle on probation for up to 2 years.

Certainly, this is a shocking and scandalous case because it involves public official corruption and deception, but this case also highlights some important aspects of law that apply to all cases: Statute of Limitations. Below, I have explained some important issues regarding limitations on how long the prosecution has to file charges, using facts from Mr. Rolle’s case as an example.

Statute of Limitations – General Rules for Felonies & Misdemeanors

Unless there is an exception, all felonies must be prosecuted within five (5) years from the date of the offense. Code of Alabama §15-3-1. There are, however, numerous exceptions, including some offenses that have no statute of limitations at all. Code of Alabama §15-3-5 There are no limitations for prosecution on the following crimes: [Read more…] about Alabama A&M VP Pleads Guilty To Forgery Misdemeanor

Analyzing Alabama DUI Law in Light of Arrest of Madison Mayor’s Wife

February 23, 2017 by Caleb Ballew

Serious traffic offenses seem to be a common occurrence in Huntsville, and this topic became more prevalent recently following the arrest of Julie Finley, the spouse of Madison mayor, Paul Finley, on suspicion of DUI and reckless driving. Local news outlets reported that she was pulled over for driving 103 miles per hour on I-565 (65 mph zone), complied with a “preliminary breath test” that generated a result of .273 blood alcohol content (BAC), which is over three times the legal limit. However, that same news report also states that she refused a BAC test, which may have been a more sophisticated blood or chemical test for alcohol content than the breath test. Ultimately, the articles do not provide enough facts to make a full legal analysis, but raise some good issues to consider in DUI and reckless driving cases:

Breath Test Refusal

First, if you refuse any test to determine blood alcohol concentration, then there will be a 90- day suspension of your license. Code of Alabama 32-5-192. This would apply to the BAC test that Ms. Finley refused, according to the article, so it would appear she will face a 90-day suspension of her license, regardless of the outcome of the case. [Read more…] about Analyzing Alabama DUI Law in Light of Arrest of Madison Mayor’s Wife

Drug Possession & License Suspension Update

November 11, 2016 by Caleb Ballew

As of January 30, 2016 of this year, if you are charged with an offense of possession of controlled substance, possession of marijuana 1^st degree, or possession of marijuana 2^nd degree, you will no longer face a mandatory 6-month suspension of your driver’s license. However, a judge may still suspend your license if he or she feels that it is necessary.

Prior to the change in the law, neither a judge nor a prosecutor had the authority to waive the mandatory suspension of a driver’s license for simple drug or marijuana possession. Without a required suspension period, the judge may still suspend your license but is not forced to do so. If you were arrested prior to January 30, 2016, but were not sentenced until after that date, you may still be subject to a license suspension. However, the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency must notify you of their intent to suspend your license; otherwise your driving privileges should remain active.

Additionally, certain drug offenses, such as simple possession of controlled substances, i.e. cocaine, and felony marijuana possession with a prior misdemeanor are now reclassified as Class D felonies. Class D felonies have lower minimum sentences than Class C felonies, and more commonly include sentences of probation or community corrections instead of jail, though incarceration is still possible.

If you have been charged with a simple drug offense, or if you are facing a suspension of your driver’s license, do not hesitate to contact the experienced Huntsville criminal defense attorneys at Martinson & Beason, P.C. to go over your legal options.