The criminal process involved in excessive speed violation and DUI.
When robin was charged with excessive speed violation along I70, it occurred in a state that has absolute speed limits. This means that by driving at 85 miles per hour he had violated the absolute limits. In an absolute speed limit state, violation of the speed laws occurs even when one drives one mile above the posted speed (JURIX (Conference), & In Hoekstra, 2014).
Upon arrest, Robin was issued with a misdemeanor traffic offence ticket class 1 because not only was he speeding but he also caused a potentially fatal accident. However, the twist in Robin’s case makes it even more complicated because he was driving under the influence. In every state in the United States DUI is illegal and such cases are classified as either class 1 criminal misdemeanor or traffic felony. In this case, the traffic officer should take Robin into custody (arrest) if he still appears intoxicated. In order to prepare evidence for a case, the officer should arrange for a breath or blood test to prove that the blood alcohol concentration was more than 0.08 percent (Perkins, 2008).
The next process is booking Robin. The officer takes his personal information, records the alleged crime i.e. excessive speed violation, DUI and causing an accident. The officer searches for previous traffic offences, he confiscates and records the personal property held by Robin and places him in a holding cell (Perkins, 2008).
Bail- Robin will be allowed to pay money in exchange for his release after booking, and he promises to be present in court for the scheduled criminal proceedings. Alternatively Robin may opt for ‘own recognizance’ release (Perkins, 2008).
Arraignment- Robin is called before a criminal court judge, charges against him are read, and he is asked if he has a lawyer, or the court should provide one. He also answers his plea to the charges. The dates for future proceedings are set if the plea is ‘not guilty’ or ‘no contest’ (Perkins, 2008).
Preliminary hearing- the judge shall decide if the prosecution has sufficient evidence to put Robin on trial (Perkins, 2008).
Trial- the judge and members of the jury will decide if the evidence brought forth beyond reasonable doubt that Robin is guilty of the crime charged. The verdict is finally given which Robin will either contend with or file for an appeal (Perkins, 2008).
I would sue Robin for negligence. The argument here is that Robin behaved in a careless manner thereby causing the accident. All motorists have a duty of care that basically entails the dos and don’ts of the Highway Code. Robin breached that duty of care by driving under the influence and speed above the pre-determined speed limit that led to the accident. This resulted in physical injuries that put me into comatose for a week and poor health for six months. I also lost my car as a result of the accident (Miller et al. 2012).
References
JURIX (Conference), & In Hoekstra, R. (2014). Legal knowledge and information systems: JURIX 2014: The Twenty-Seventh Annual Conference.
Miller, R. L. R., Jentz, G. A., & Miller, R. L. R. (2012). Business law today: Comprehensive edition: text & cases: E-commerce, legal, ethical, and global environment. Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage Learning.
Perkins, J. S. (2008). Enforcement of driving under the influence (DUI) laws: A policy analysis.
