Martinson & Beason, P.C.
Accidents can happen to anyone. It is critically important that your child is in the correct car seat and that it is also installed correctly to best prevent injuries in the case of an accident. Click below to view the full infographic to ensure your child is safe when riding…
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:
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) filed a lawsuit last week on behalf of millions of student borrowers who may have been illegally cheated or deceived by Navient, the nation’s largest servicer of student loan debt. Navient, formerly known as Sallie May, who also services student loan debt. Navient counts over 12 million borrowers with over $300 billion in debt. The Navient lawsuit comes at a time of growing student loan debt, which now stands at more than $1.4 trillion dollars nationally.
A mistrial was declared in a Huntsville, AL criminal case where a man is on trial for shooting his daughter’s boyfriend. The jury was unable to reach a verdict in the case of Fitzgerald McQueen, who shot his daughter’s boyfriend after finding him naked in his daughter’s closet late at night. McQueen argued self-defense, in that he went to check on his daughter, only to find the naked man, Jaizon Collins, in hiding. Conversely, the prosecution argued that McQueen shot Collins out of anger. Collins, who was not killed in the attack, was charged with statutory rape due to the age difference with the daughter. However, those charges were dropped and the case was removed to juvenile court.
Alabama law requires that the jury reach a unanimous verdict. Ala. R. Crim. P. 23. When the jury is unable to reach a unanimous decision, the judge declares a mistrial. Before declaring a mistrial, however, the judge often instructs the jury to try deeply to reach a unanimous verdict. This is sometimes known as a “dynamite charge.” If the jury is still unable to reach a unanimous decision, the mistrial is declared. The prosecution must then decide whether to bring charges once again. In this case, Circuit Judge Donna Pate has already set the case for retrial in September of this year.
