Be safe while doing your winter driving.

While winter in East Idaho and Wyoming can be exciting with all the skiing and snow activities, it is important to be careful when enjoying yourself, whether it be Targhee, Yellowstone, Jackson or where ever you're headed. Driving during this season leads to roads filled with drowsy drivers and related car accidents.

Drowsy driving is similar to the dangers of drunk or distracted driving. When a driver hasn't had enough rest and gets behind the wheel, his response times, judgment and ability to stay alert behind the wheel are significantly compromised. Here is a list of some dangers that can arise and some prevention tips related to the traffic safety problems:

The truth behind drowsy driving

• As much as one out of six fatal traffic accidents involve drowsy driving.
• A recent study found that more than 30 percent of drivers admit that they have driven while they were tired enough that it was hard to keep their eyes open.
• Another study found that 10 percent of drivers admitted that they had fallen asleep while driving in the past year.

What should you do to prevent drowsy driving?

• Generally, a person needs seven hours of sleep in order be well-rested and safe to drive.
• Don't drive if you feel too tired. Get a ride, or get some sleep before driving.
• Don't push yourself to drive for too long without taking a break to get up and stretch and/or get some sleep. Your destination will still be there whether you arrive sooner or later. Consider taking a driving break every two hours to avoid driving dangerously.

There are other driving tips related to drowsy driving prevention. But the surest and safest way to avoid accidents is to be honest with yourself and others when you feel too tired to drive.  If you're too tired, rest.

Medical Marijuana in Idaho?

Most states in the US have some form of medical marijuana.  Those states that allow you to have a prescription to posses marijuana will allow you to use medical marijuana if you follow the guidelines set up for each state.

Idaho on the other hand is one of the few states left that does NOT recognize medical marijuana.  What that means is that not only can you not qualify for medical marijuana use in Idaho, but if you are passing through Idaho with marijuana, your medical marijuana permit from another state will do little to help you.

As a criminal defense attorney in east idaho, I often see poeple traveling throught Idaho on their way to many different places including Yellowstone, Jackson and the like. It is important to remember when traveling through that you should leave your medical marijuana behind.  If you don't, you could be facing penalties and jail time.

Courts in Idaho Falls, Pocatello and the surrounding counties will often prosecute a medical marijuana charge just as they would a person without a medical marijuana permit.  If you find yourself in a situation where you forgot to remove your medical marijuana while driving through, it is important to take any charge seriously and address it like any other criminal charge.  Idaho is strict on marijuana and will attempt to enforce serious penalties, regardless of the amount, and regardless if its for medical use or not.

What will a criminal attorney do?

Attorneys are human beings just like the rest.  Criminal lawyers are not miracle workers, but they will do the best they can for you. No matter what, a person faced with a criminal charge has certain facts, both good and bad in their case.  Some facts will be difficult.  For instance, if you ran from the cops, got out and tried to fight them, we are probably going to have a difficult case on our hands.

Many people expect their criminal lawyer to come in to their case, find some fatal flaw, expose some witness on the stand, and get a not guilty verdict. Most the time it does not work like this.  In fact, normally the person charged just wants to get a fair resolution and move on with their lives.  This happens because in real life people talk to the cops, people get caught red handed, people consent to the search of their vehicles and homes. While we have rights, cops know what those limits are.

What a good criminal lawyer will do for you is uncover every rock and investigate every nook and cranny to see if any issues are out there that will help your case. If that works, then that’s great. If it doesn’t, then they start working hard to get the best deal possible for you. Our job is to do our best for you, get you the best outcome, keep you out of jail, and allow you to lead a productive and fruitful life.

There are no guarantees in criminal defense. There is no guarantee the prosecutor assigned to your case will be open to discussing the case with you. There is no guarantee the officer that stopped you is going to make a mistake. And there is no guarantee that your attorney is going to be able to get your case dismissed. To think otherwise just isn’t smart.

If you ever need a criminal attorney, get someone that will work hard for you, that will interview the people that need to be interviewed, and will push the prosecutor to understand the weaknesses in your case. A good attorney will keep in mind that you want to get a quick resolution, but will focus on issues that will get you a good resolution, even if it means taking more time.  Sometimes a good resolution takes time, and investing that time is important. You get that, and you’re probably getting the best outcome possible.

Charged with a crime, what do I do?

Idaho Falls, Pocatello and the rest of East Idaho, while conservative, follow similar approaches to the court system as anywhere else.  If you are charged with a crime in any of these areas, the first thing to note is you have an arraignment date.  This is the court date at which you plead not guilty. (I wouldn't recommend pleading guilty unless you have talked to an attorney first).  The nice thing in Eastern Idaho, specifically Idaho Falls and Pocatello, is the courts will allow an attorney to file a notice of appearance for you which will re-schedule your court date.  This makes it so you don't have to show up at the arraignment and you will automatically plead not guilty. 

After you plead not guilty you will be set for a pre-trial date.  If you have an attorney this is where negotiation will take place with the State regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the case.  If you do not have an attorney, you can discuss with the prosecutor yourself.  Depending on how discussions go, you can plan a plea deal, continue for more discovery, or set the case for trial.

While this doesn't fully exhaust everything that happens, hopefully this gives you a good idea on where the process will go.  Being charged with a crime is stressful and not fun. Having an idea of what will happen should make the process a little smoother.

When can a police officer stop your car?

As a criminal defense lawyer in Idaho Falls and Pocatello, people will ask me when can a police officer stop my car? The truth is while it may not take much, a police officer can not stop you for just any reason.
The general rule is that if a police officer must have at least a reasonable articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot. This rule is derived from a United States Supreme Court case, Terry v. Ohio. Consequently, this type of stop has come to be known as a Terry Stop.

A police officer is not allowed to rely solely on an unjutified suspicion. The United States Supreme Court has said exactly that; a law enforcement officer cannot rely solely on a gut feeling, or mere suspicion. A police officer is not allowed to do what you and I do every day. In order to be justified in stopping a vehicle, and detaining the person in that vehicle, he must have a reasonable and articulable suspicion.

A common example of this is weaving within a lane. Many times officers use this as a basis for stopping a vehicle. However, there are many times where the weaving within a lane is not significant enough to amount to a reasonable articulable suspicion that the driver was drunk or inattentive. Slight deviations within a lane are to be expected, and so the weaving would have to be substantial enough to amount to reasonable articulable suspicion that the person was drunk or was inattentive in his driving, since the activity of weaving itself is not illegal. Sometimes the specific facts are not instances of illegal conduct themselves, however they may lead an officer to infer that criminal activity has occurred, or is about to occur.

If an officer stops you and it is found he does not have an atriculable suspicion to do so, evidence from his stop will be supressed in court. The only time this will come up is if you have been charged with some wrongdoing and have evidence that needs to be suppressed. If you have questions about a situation you have been in, feel free to give us a call. http://www.eastidahoattorney.com/

Injured at work? Someone else's fault?

Often times while working on the clock, someone is injured by another party.  This situation can arise in an automobile accident, construction accident, product liability accident, premises accident, or medical malpratice claim for instance.  In these situations, while you may be eligible for worker's compensation benefits, you may be entitled to even more compensation if the third party is liable for your accident or injuries.  Claims in these circumstances can be confusing. 

Deciding who is responsible for paying what is always a big concern.  Furthermore, worker's compensation can claim subrogation rights to and file liens on any third party recovery.  Under Idaho law these employer's rights can be affected by the employers own liability.  While this article may not provide many answers if you have been invovled in this type of situation, hopefully it will give you an idea of what you may need to think about and an understanding that you do have rights.  In later articles I will address specific concerns in more detail. In the meantime, feel free to contact for a free consultation to discuss any of these issues.

Police patrols in Idaho Falls, Pocatello, Island Park and Driggs.

Just a wish for everyone to have happy holidays.  It's important to keep in mind that during the holidays and ski seasons, cops and police officers put extra patrols out to try and ensure everone stays safe.  With difficult weather on the way, there is a higher risk for car accidents, injuries and a higher chance of being stopped by the police.  While it is a good thing to have police on the road, it also puts everyone at more risk for traffic tickets, injuries, and possible criminal charges.  Remember to stay safe.

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Provider Fraud and Medicaid Fraud in Idaho.

We just finished a Provider Fraud Case in Bannock County, Pocatello last week.  Had a social worker who worked for a private company.  She submitted false progress notes to her employer who paid her and then sent the form to medicaid to get reimbursed.  State wanted to say she defrauded medicaid by "knowingly, with intent to defraud...presented" a claim to medicaid for payment.  We argued she could have been charged for a crime by sumbitting a false claim to her employer, but it was not possible for her to defraud medicaid as she did not, could not and did not ask medicaid to pay her anything.
After three days of trial, the jury, after two hours of deliberation agreed she could not have committed Medicaid fraud and acquited.