Monday, February 15, 2010
Source: State.RI.US
Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske, sponsor of a stiff new drunken driving law that was used for the first time this weekend in a crash that killed one Brown University student and injured another, said he is “saddened that the law had to be used at all, but pleased that the families of the victims will at least be assured some justice in the wake of this terrible tragedy.”
The new law, sponsored and championed by Representative Gablinske, now allows a police officer to request a search warrant to take a blood sample if probable cause exists to believe that an individual has been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, after that individual has refused a to take a breathalyzer test. The law only applies to situations where drunken drivers refuse a breathalyzer test in accidents where death or serious bodily injury results.
On early Friday morning, a 23-year-old man ran over two Brown University students walking near campus, killing one and severely injuring another. The driver was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol, and Providence police used Representative Gablinske’s new law to obtain a warrant to have the suspect’s blood drawn.
“It truly breaks my heart each time I hear about another drunken driver killing or injuring an innocent person,” said Representative Gablinske (D-Dist. 68, Bristol, Warren), whose father was killed by a drugged driver 38 years ago. “This weekend’s tragedy is yet another example of why our state has desperately needed this new law. At the very least, the victims’ families in this case will have some solace in the fact that the man who committed this unthinkable crime will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law- because we’ve now given law enforcement the tools to ensure that this happens.”
For years, law enforcement officials were able to request a search warrant based on probable cause from a judge to seek the blood of a person who refused a chemical test after causing an accident that resulted in death or serious bodily injury due to alleged drunken driving. In 2000, the Rhode Island Supreme Court ruled this practice unconstitutional.
However, the United States Supreme Court has upheld the legality of this type of search for 23 years and in recent years, upheld police action to forcibly withdraw blood from a drunken driver without a warrant.
Before Representative Gablinske’s new law, Rhode Island was one of the only states in the nation in which law enforcement is denied access to the best evidence of a driver’s intoxication after they have killed or maimed someone. For 5 consecutive years, Rhode Island has led the nation with the highest percentage of alcohol related traffic deaths.
Currently, 44 states allow law enforcement officers to obtain blood results in cases where a person is killed or seriously injured.
Twenty-eight of these states allow the police to forcibly have blood drawn from suspected drunken divers involved in collisions which resulted in death or serious injury. Sixteen other states allow police to obtain a search warrant or court order to obtain blood from a drunken driver where death or serious injury resulted.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Source: rilin.state.ri.us
In light of a recent tragedy in Scituate where an alleged drunk driver who had nine previous arrests- including one for breathalyzer refusal- killed a mother of six, Rep. Douglas W. Gablinske (D-Dist. 68, Bristol, Warren) will hold a news conference to discuss his legislation to crack down on drunk drivers.
The news conference will be held tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15 at 2:30 p.m. in the House Lounge of the State House.
Representative Gablinske’s legislation (2009-H5039) would allow a police officer to request a search warrant to take a blood, breath or urine sample if probable cause exists to believe that an individual has been driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, after that individual has refused a to take a breathalyzer test.
Joining Representative Gablinske at the news conference will be Rep. Jon D. Brien (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket), co-sponsor of the legislation; Colonel David Randall, Chief of Police for the Scituate Police Department; representatives from the Rhode Island Police Chiefs Association, the Rhode Island State Police and the Attorney General’s office; representatives from the Department of Transportation’s Office of Highway Safety, the Rhode Island Traffic Safety Coalition and Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD); and Cathy Andreozzi, the mother of a victim of a hit-and-run drunk driving accident and founder of the Tori Lynn Andreozzi Foundation.
“The issue of drunk driving is very personal to me and I won’t give up until our state does more to prevent tragedies like this from occurring over and over again,” said Representative Gablinske, whose father was killed by a drugged driver 38 years ago. “Rhode Island needs to come down on the side of the victims and their families, not the side of a defendant, who killed a mother and left her children motherless. We have ignored this growing issue for far too long, causing more innocent people to fall victim to negligent and thoughtless individuals who drink and get behind the wheel of a car in an impaired state. The time is now for our state to enact policies that will serve as deterrents to drunk drivers.”
For more information, contact:
Shana Mancinho, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-2457
Friday, April 03, 2009
Source: RIcentral.com
For almost a decade, the R.I. House Judiciary Committee has tabled bill H-5039 for further study.
Sunday, March 01, 2009
Source: Doc.RI.gov
The annual departmental awards ceremony was held on Thursday, February 19th, 2009 at 9 a.m. in the George C. Arnold Conference Center. This special edition of the RIDOC Review recognizes this year’s honorees.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Source: RI.gov
EVENT: Rhode Island Department of Corrections Annual Employee Awards Ceremony
DATE: Thursday, February 19, 2009 TIME: 9:00 a.m.
LOCATION: R.I. Department of Mental Health, Retardation and Hospitals Eleanor Slater Hospital George C. Arnold Conference Center in the Regan Building 111 Howard Avenue Cranston, RI 02920
