Monday, December 1, 2008

Our Blog Site Has moved

The DWI Defense Blog has moved! Our blog can now be found at www.MNDWIDefenseBlog.com. Please update any bookmarks you may have to stay on the cutting edge of DWI Defense in Minnesota.

Charles A. Ramsay
Attorney at Law
Charles@RamsayResults.com
www.RamsayResults.com

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Defective Breath Test Software Jails Innocent Drivers

Charles A. Ramsay has been very active in exposing flaws in the DWI/DUI breathalyzer machines in Minnesot, according to his press release issued today.

How can you argue with his passion for righting this wrong, when innocent people are getting charged with a crime that is far more sever than DWI, itself? If the Intoxilyzer 5000 cannot analyze a driver's breath, the state charges that person with the crime of DWI/DUI refusal!

The state has been aware of the problem for more than two years. Despite having a corrected version of the software, one of Governor Pawlenty's appointed officials has prevented the state lab from fixing the broken source code.

Untrustworthy crime labs are becoming commonplace. This year, government crime labs in Detroit and the State of Washington have closed or under investigation because of corruption, tampering, and negligence.

Is Minnesota's BCA next?

How can you trust the people and machines that were made and trained to prove your innocence? Imagine ... your life is now in shambles, because a faulty computer says so.

Charles Ramsay is the lawyer that you need on your side. No other Criminal Defense lawyer knows as much about this vicious machine as he does. Chuck is your smart choice -- he gets results for you.

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Video of Chuck Ramsay's Minnesota Supreme Court Argument

Chuck Ramsay argued State of Minnesota v. Netland on September 10, 2008. The Minnesota Supreme Court must decide the constitutionality of the state's DWI-DUI statute which criminalizes refusal to submit to an alcohol test.



The issue is particularly difficult because Ms. Netland did not refuse to submit to a test. The breath test machine -- Intoxilyzer 5000 -- would not accept her breath sample. The police officer believed she was "playing" with the machine. Ms. Netland was persistent and demanded a blood test. The officer refused to give her either a blood or urine test.

Not willing to give up, Ms. Netland called an independent testing company while still in jail. The company collected her alcohol sample and had it analyzed. The result: .03 -- well under the legal limit of .08!

We now know that the source code was to blame. See the sections about Inferno and Smoking Gun. Unfortunately, state officials continue to use the same broken software. Innocent people continue to be hurt.

Friday, October 3, 2008

Court: New trial for Duluth cop accused of exploiting mother - TwinCities.com

The Minnesota Court of Appeals rejected a Duluth Trial Court Judge's order and said a complicated law is not unconstitutionally vague or ambiguous.

In the published 21-page opinion, the court finds there is no evidence to conclude the statute is subject to more than one reasonable interpretation. This is contradicted by the judge who discussed in great detail how the statute is vague.

The jurors also said the law was so comlicated, they did not understand how to interpret the meanings of some of the words and phrases. The Duluth News Tribune was able to speak with some of the jurors after the trial last fall.

"The way the law was written was so vague is why we couldn't come up with a decision,'' one jurror said. "... He was providing, and it didn't seem like Lois was out on the street hungry and homeless."

Juror Brent Gavin, 37, said "the law was very complex and, as lay people, certainly it was difficult to understand. In fact, it seemed not very clear-cut at all.'' He said jurors stumbled on the legal definition of "intent'' and what constituted Campbell's failure to provide for his mother's needs.

See the latest on this from the Pioneer Press.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Charles A. Ramsay & Associates has Moved

Our continued excellence of legal services are staying the same, but the law firm of Charles A. Ramsay & Associates has moved to a new location. Not far from our old location in The Rosedale Towers we are now just 2 miles North of the Rosedale Towers on Snelling Avenue . www.mapquest.com/maps.

Still in Roseville, our new address is:

2780 Snelling Ave. N. Suite #330

Roseville, MN 55113.


Our Phone number is still the same (651)604-0000, as well as our Fax number (651)604-0027.

Please Call to find out more information, or if you need clearer directions on how to get to our new office.


Charles A. Ramsay
Attorney at Law
Charles@RamsayResults.com

CHARLES A. RAMSAY & ASSOCIATES, PLLC
2780 Snelling Ave. N. #330
Roseville, MN 55113
o: 651.604.0000
f: 651.604.0027
c: 651.336.6603

www.RamsayResults.com

Monday, September 22, 2008

Lawyer Unveils Government's Efforts to Conceal Broken Source Code

Hundreds of Innocent Drivers Convicted of DWI

Minnesota is convicting innocent drivers of DWI as part of a conspiracy to conceal fatal flaws in the software that controls breath-testing machines used in drunk driving investigations, attorney Chuck Ramsay says.

The current version of Intoxilyzer 5000 software – in use since 2004 – inflates accused DWI drivers’ blood alcohol content readings, Ramsay said. In addition, the machine now requires a much larger breath sample than most drivers are physically able to provide. Those who can’t provide a sufficient sample are charged with chemical test refusal, a more serious offense in Minnesota than DWI. Many plead guilty to the less severe DWI crime, waiving their right to challenge the breath test result.

Chuck Ramsay's Breath Test Machine: Intoxilyzer 5000, Manufactured by CMI, Inc.

The machine’s manufacturer, CMI of Owensboro, Kentucky, attempted to correct the problem in April 2007 by providing the state with updated software. Minnesota officials, however, have refused to install the updated software in its Intoxilyzer machines, leaving the critically flawed software in use, Ramsay said.

“Thousands of people may have been harmed by the defective software. As long as they refuse to fix the problem, many more innocent citizens will be affected,” he said.

For more information about Minnesota’s refusal to address critical flaws in its breath-testing technology, please contact DWI attorney Chuck Ramsay at 651.604.0000. Ramsay has posted government documents on his website supporting his claim.

Posted by Charles A. Ramsay
http://www.ramsayresults.com/

Sunday, September 21, 2008

Attorneys Chuck Ramsay and Dan Koewler Complete National DWI Course


The attorneys at Ramsay & Associates, PLLC, pride themselves on keeping on the cutting of DWI / DUI defense. Last week attorneys Chuck Ramsay and Dan Koewler learned from some of the other best lawyers in the country at a three-day continuing legal education course in Las Vegas.


The classes included the following topics:

Reversing the Call on the Field: Persuading the Appellate Court
- Rod Kennedy

Chemical Test Discovery: Getting a Complete Scouting Report
- Troy McKinney
Ethics Jeopardy: What is the Right Thing to Do?
- Bruce Kapsack

Gearing-Up Your Offense: Suppressing the Evidence
- John Wesley Hall
What We Can Learn from the Inquest of the Death of Princess Diana
- Dr. Robert Forrest & Jess Paul
Field Sobriety Tests-- Running Through the Drills
- Gus McDonald
Advanced FSTs-- For Whom Are They Designed?
- Mimi Coffey
Was Your Client Tested on a Broken Machine?
- Tom Workman
Scoring the Winning Touchdown with Your Closing Argument
- Les Hulnick & Vic Pellegrino
Voir Dire of the Expert
- Dr. SunWolf
Blood Lab Secrets
- Dr. Robert Forrest & Jess Paul

On the last day of the program, the attorneys broke down in to small groups for the following workshops:

-Advanced Cross-Examination Techniques
Instructed by Mike Hawkins
-Perfecting Your Opening & Closing
Instructed by Les Hulnick & Vic Pellegrino
-Crossing the Officer on FSTs
Instructed by Troy McKinney, Mimi Coffey, and Steven Oberman
- Auto Brewery Syndrome
Instructed by Dr. Robert Forrest
-Bring Your File
Instructed by Jess Paul
-Challenging Drug Recognition Experts
Instructed by Judge Rod Kennedy and Dr. Robert Forrest
-Developing & Implementing Effective Juror Questionnaires
Instructed by Dr. SunWolf
- Converting Your Preemptory Challenge Into One For Cause
Instructed by Dr. SunWolf
-What Every Attorney Must Know About Infrared Spectroscopy
Instructed by Tom Workman and Bruce Kapsack
-Cross-Examination of the Breath Tech
Instructed by Steve Jones
-Cross-Examination of the Blood Tech
Instructed by Gus McDonald
-Analyzing the Police Video
Instructed by Tony Palacios & Sara Compher-Rice

Chuck and Dan are eager use new ideas and know-how in Minnesota. No doubt the classes will benefit their clients immeasurably.

Charles A. Ramsay
Attorney at Law
Charles@RamsayResults.com

CHARLES A. RAMSAY & ASSOCIATES, PLLC

450 Rosedale Towers
1700 West Highway 36
Roseville, MN 55113
o: 651.604.0000
f: 651.604.0027
c: 651.336.6603

www.RamsayResults.com/