<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD><TITLE></TITLE>
<META http-equiv=Content-Type content=text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1>
<META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1479" name=GENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY text=#000000 bgColor=#ffffff>
<DIV>I thought that following the period police line, you all would enjoy
this.</DIV>
<DIV>Lady Marion Makkingze<BR><A
href="mailto:johnsonds@earthlink.net">johnsonds@earthlink.net</A><BR><A
href="mailto:johnsonds@hotmail.com">johnsonds@hotmail.com</A></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=charles@siferslaw.com href="mailto:charles@siferslaw.com">Charles L.
Sifers</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=OCDLA_Members@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:OCDLA_Members@yahoogroups.com">OCDLA_Members@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Cc:</B> <A title=okcountydefenselawyers@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:okcountydefenselawyers@yahoogroups.com">okcountydefenselawyers@yahoogroups.com</A>
; <A title=OKLAHOMADUINEWS@yahoogroups.com
href="mailto:OKLAHOMADUINEWS@yahoogroups.com">OKLAHOMADUINEWS@yahoogroups.com</A>
</DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, January 11, 2005 10:11 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> [okcountydefenselawyers] Fw: [dwi-defenders] the last
sentence is intriguing, too. Harpers has the police report on the
python.</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="CG Times">Thought the group(s) might enjoy this one. Was
posted by Judge Rod Kennedy (N.M. appellate judge) on another list
group.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><SPAN class=medium><FONT size=4><B>Wheelchair DUI Case
Dismissed</B></FONT><BR><BR><FONT size=2>By DUANE BOURNE<BR>St. Petersburg
Times</FONT><BR><BR>BROOKSVILLE -- A Hernando judge Monday threw out the case
against a 46-year-old woman accused of driving drunk while operating her
wheelchair.<BR><BR>Judge Peyton Hyslop, in one of his last rulings from the
bench, said the wheelchair essentially was the woman's legs and that charging
her in this case would be tantamount to bringing DUI charges against anyone who
was drunk and standing up.<BR><BR>"While sitting at home in a wheelchair taking
prescribed medication, a person could be charged and convicted of DUI," said
Hyslop in this four-page ruling.<BR><BR>"A wheelchair-bound person overindulging
in alcohol at a wedding, in a restaurant, at a professional football game or in
the sanctity of her own home would also be subject to arrest or
DUI."<BR><BR>Hyslop said under those terms, an able-bodied totally intoxicated
person sitting next to the impaired disabled person "would not be subject to
such arrest, and only to arrest if disorderly."<BR><BR>Hyslop's ruling came on
his final day sitting as a county judge. He was defeated by Assistant State
Attorney Don Scaglione last fall, ending a 15-year judicial career that has been
colorful and controversial. Hyslop was viewed as being lenient on the people who
appeared before him and Monday, he made one woman's day.<BR><BR>"Hallelujah,"
Cynthia Christensen said. "It is such a relief for me because I did not deserve
that. You are allowed to have a party in our yard and have a drink, you
know."<BR><BR>On Sept. 21, 2003, after cooking out and drinking beer with her
fiance, Christensen rolled to the front yard of her home on Sealawn Drive, where
her wheelchair got stuck in the fine sand.<BR><BR>Christensen fiddled with the
joystick, and in an instant, her wheelchair hopped a 4-inch lip at the edge of
her yard and collided with a passing Ford minivan.<BR><BR>Months later,
Christensen was cited on the DUI charge after a blood test she received at Oak
Hill Hospital showed she registered a 0.102 blood-alcohol level. The legal limit
is 0.08.<BR><BR>Christensen acknowledged having a few beers while taking her
prescription medication. She suffers from degenerative disc disease,
osteoarthritis and scoliosis, according to court documents.<BR><BR>The case
boiled down to how both sides defined a wheelchair.<BR><BR>In the end, Hyslop
determined that allowing the definition of a vehicle to include a wheelchair
would violate her constitutional rights to move freely because it would treat
disabled people differently from others.<BR><BR>With his departure from the
bench, Hyslop will not be around to hear Christensen's other pending case. She
was charged with animal cruelty after she was accused of biting the head off a
python last May.</SPAN> <!-- |**|begin egp html banner|**| --><BR><TT>
<HR width=500>
<B>Yahoo! Groups Links</B><BR>
<UL>
<LI>To visit your group on the web, go to:<BR><A
href="http://groups.yahoo.com/group/okcountydefenselawyers/">http://groups.yahoo.com/group/okcountydefenselawyers/</A><BR>
<LI>To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:<BR><A
href="mailto:okcountydefenselawyers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com?subject=Unsubscribe">okcountydefenselawyers-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com</A><BR>
<LI>Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to the <A
href="http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/">Yahoo! Terms of Service</A>.
</LI></UL></TT><BR><!-- |**|end egp html banner|**| --></BODY></HTML>