URGENT!!! Scary DUI I didn't even know about! Court day after tomorrow!

[CdwJava]

Ambien can also be impairing according to this article from the Journal of Forensic Sciences:

http://breathtest.wsp.wa.gov/SupportDocs\DRE_Forms\publications\drug\Zolpidem and Driving Impairment.pdf

And, according to the PDR people taking zolpidem may experience effects similar to those associated with alcohol. This is, of course, why impairment would have to be shown at court. Memory loss by itself should not be sufficient to prove impairment. I suspect there is something more to this that the officer or witnesses put in the report, and that is what the DA read.

- Carl

 

[TheGeekess]

Don't plead guilty. While I have little sympathy for you since you placed yourself and others in danger by "sleep driving", you should plead not guilty at arraignment and get an attorney - this way you can stand a good chance of at least being treated fairly.

You don't have a clue, do you? OP didn't do this consciously. It wasn't like she popped a handful of Ambien™ and decided to go for a drive.

OP's story has the backing of science. It's one of the many 'side effects' of many of these newer sleepers.

 

[>Charlotte<]

Ambien can also be impairing according to this article from the Journal of Forensic Sciences:

Who are you going to believe? A vast network of physicians, attorneys, toxicologists, engineers, physicists, and chemists who have spent 50 years conducting billions of dollars worth of research, or me?

 

[CdwJava]

You don't have a clue, do you? OP didn't do this consciously. It wasn't like she popped a handful of Ambien™ and decided to go for a drive.

OP's story has the backing of science. It's one of the many 'side effects' of many of these newer sleepers.

And the unintended consequence may be what convinces a DA to drop the matter ... however, the facts still meet the definition of the law with regards to DUI.

Would a victim of this "side effect" be any less dead if hit by the OP?

Just sayin' ...

- Carl

 

[CdwJava]

Who are you going to believe? A vast network of physicians, attorneys, toxicologists, engineers, physicists, and chemists who have spent 50 years conducting billions of dollars worth of research, or me?

I'll split the difference.

Since the article also articulates the memory loss you mention, it coul dhave both, or either effect ... or none.

- Carl

 

[cetiya]

just to give you an idea on what might happen... i had a dui for the same reason, i was in bed, woke up confused and got in my car. i was in a blackout. i didnt lose my license but recieved 5 years probation, 6 months court ordered rehab, victims panel, 1000 dollar fine. at the end of the probation i will be convicted of negligent driving.

 

[Proserpina]

There have been "Ambien defense" acquittals, oddly enough.

TEWKSBURY, Mass. -- A judge finds an Andover attorney Ki Yong O not guilty of motor vehicle homicide in an accident that happened last year in Tewksbury.

The 36-year-old struck and killed Anthony Raucci while on the prescription sleep medication Ambien.

The judge in the case said that since O did not know the side effects of the drug, he could not be found guilty.

It's a bit worrisome actually.

 

[aubreyz]

Carl, I am actually truly sorry if I took something you said the wrong way and snapped back. I realized that I was really on edge about all of this coming up tomorrow when I wrote, and had also just been raked over the coals by someone ELSE about the situation.

While I accept responsibility, this charge just feels so out of character for me, and it has been both humiliating and exasperating to be lumped in with irresponsible or suspicious alcoholics and drug addicts. It's also been quite frustrating--no matter where I go, I've gotten all the feedback in the world over whether or not I'm guilty, whether this is a real DUI, what I actually took, etc etc etc. I'm fairly well-educated, and I have access to Google just like anyone else.

The fact is, I ALREADY KNOW that there are varied opinions that exist out there: I know that they will take the officers account into consideration just as much as they will the testing, I know I need an attorney, I know that some people blame the driver and some people blame the manufacturer of Ambien. I guess because it's such a volitile issue, people feel compelled to share their opinion no matter what. I can be very, thick-skinned, and never snotty, when need be.

I came here to see if anyone could tell me about the parts of this that ARE foreign to me, such as being cited nearly 5 months after the fact, or what I should expect for bail, remaining in a county where I don't live anymore until trial, whether I needed to see the blood work results myself, what to plea, etc. Of course I have my attorney's opinion, but I was wondering if people who have "been there" would have ideas similar to his.

Thanks to those of you who have answered my questions. I'll let you know how it goes!

 

[aubreyz]

My case was dismissed

Just to update anyone following this thread, my case was dismissed yesterday. I met with the public defender for about 10 minutes before my hearing. Despite the wide variety of situations for which I had prepared, it was dropped without me having to explain too much.

The reason it was dismissed was that the night of the incident, I was not arrested or booked after the blood draw before the officer took me home. I was asked if it was possible that I just didn't remember being booked, because apparently it is standard procedure to do so, even when the defendant is escorted home afterward. The judge asked a clerk to retrieve more records, and she came back with paperwork stating that indeed, I had never been taken to the police station or anything. I was also told that although it was not illegal, it was highly unusual and improbable for a DUI to be filed almost 5 months after the incident.

Now I'm just baffled. While I'm happy to be released, I don't understand what happened, why this came up so many months later, and how it even came up when I was never arrested. I guess I'll never know...

 

[CdwJava]

I suspect it happened because a report from the police department on the incident was forwarded to the DA's office and they filed charges based upon the report. As a result of all those things you spoke of, the matter was dismissed.

Hopefully you will be staying away from Ambien in the future.

- Carl