Senator Crapo’s alcohol problem
In Oregon, and in most states, driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08% or higher is driving under the influence of intoxicants, or DUII. The .08% is defined, semiofficially, by federal law, and it represents a balance between increasing public safety (a low number would capture more drivers) and individual autonomy (if the number is too low, no one could have a few drinks at dinner and still...
Read MoreHow many times do they have to catch you driving under the influence to get three convictions? (Four, of course; the diverted first DUII doesn’t really count.)
I had oral argument today in the Oregon Court of Appeals about whether a first DUII conviction from Nevada counts as a conviction in Oregon for purposes of a lifetime driver’s license revocation. There is a decent argument that it doesn’t; the first conviction in Nevada has a significant treatment component that makes it look kind of like a diversion. The panel (Haselton, Armstrong, Duncan)...
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