Period 5 Case 2016-2017

Person is arrested for DUI. August- hot summer day. (Can affect diabetes)

Breathalyzer shows that he has a controlled substance in his bloodstream, but….

Winds up he was having a sudden diabetic reaction…that is what was causing his erratic driving.

He does have a small trace in his bloodstream of the medical marijuana he uses for glaucoma…a condition that often develops in diabetics…but person insists that he has been using the marijuana for a few months and it has never affected his driving before.

He claims he was driving erratically because of a medical condition that was beyond his control at the moment.

The Case of the Doubtful Diabetic: State v. Diabetic

Issue:

Was Mr. Diabetic driving erratically due to use of marijuana.

Law: Anyone found to have enough of a controlled substance in his/her bloodstream so as to impair judgment of distance and speed is guilty of DUI. A controlled substance shall be defined as: ______

Facts: Criminal Case (Rhea)

FACTS: Change this to past tense.

(Rhea J. period 5) It was a hot summer day in August, and Mr. Bloods- a person with Type 1 diabetes- is driving. Suddenly, he starts swerving on the road. A witness stops and calls 911. Police Officer Spotter is traveling on the same road and answers the radio call. He spots Mr. Blood’s car swerving, so he turns on the police car lights and siren and pulls over Mr. Bloods. Mr. Bloods is ordered out of the car and a breathalyzer test is administered, which comes up negative. Mr. Bloods then informs the officer that he is not feeling well due to his diabetic condition. He admits that he had been using medical marijuana earlier in the day, but insists that he has never had a negative effect from this treatment. Officer Spotter immediately takes him to the hospital. When they do a blood test, they find that he is in fact diabetic and did have marijuana in his bloodstream. Officer Spotter then arrests him for DUI.

Issue:

Was Mr. Bloods driving erratically due to his marijuana use or was he having a diabetic reaction to something else? Should he be charged with DUI?

Witnesses:

For the Prosecution, The arresting officer/ breathalyzer expert and a driver who was almost hit by the defendant and called in a complaint.

For the Defense, The defendant (diabetic person arrested) and his Endocrinologist. (Expert doctor on diabetes.)

Witness Statements:

Arresting Officer: Justin Chen

Almost hit driver: Anthony Gadzi

Defendant: Matthew Jojy

Doctor: Sid C.

Sub-Issues:

Krishna:

1.  How does Mr. Bloods’s diabetes effect him?

2.  What time was it at the time of the accident?

3.  Why did Mr. Bloods take the mariguana in the first place? How was he feeling?

Raina:

1. Has Mr. Blood ever had a diabetic attack before?

Raina will revise and type the rest of the questions during our meeting…she gave me handwritten questions that are phrased as interrogation questions.

Justin Chen= Police officer

“ My name is Hugh Spotter. I was in my police car, eating a donut when I spotted a guy who almost hit another car. I got out of my car to see a man driving, looking very tired and peculiar. I got in my car, put on my sirens and chased after the man. He pulled over and I assumed he was drunk. I did a blood test on him and saw that he had a tad bit of marijuana was in his blood. I handcuffed him and drove him to the police station. On the way there. He tried to convince me that he had a diabetic issue and medical marijuana. But I told him to save it for the judge.” Change- blood tests in hospital after he talks about being diabetic. The police do a breathalyzer test on the road and that shows that he has alcohol in his blood. In the end, this winds up to be due to a diabetic reaction to something.

Siddharth Chalasani=Doctor-Defense Witness

“My name is Dr. R. J. Reactions. Today I am defending my patient, Mr. Bloods, and state that he is indeed an innocent man. Mr. Bloods has glaucoma, a condition that can develop in a diabetic. On the day of this incident, marijuana had been found in Mr. Bloods’ blood stream but this marijuana was a small remaining factor of Mr. Bloods’ medical marijuana dosage from a couple hours before. Mr. Bloods has been taking medical marijuana for a while and it has not been affecting him for more than an hour. In his car Mr. Bloods had a sudden diabetic reaction due to his condition, causing dizziness, and extreme headaches (in his case). These symptoms proceeded to make him drive erratically and appear to have taken in more marijuana than he had indeed in reality. Mr. Bloods has had diabetes for 40 years and exercises daily to help his diabetes.

Anthony Gadzi= Eye witness

“My name is Bobby Jones. I was driving down the highway at an even fifty miles an hour when I noticed something strange in my rear-view mirror. I thought it was someone who was trying to overtake me so I just slowed down and moved one lane to the right. But this guy did not just overtake me, he sped up in front of me at around one hundred miles an hour and then he started skidding along the highway while his car was tilted sideways. I pulled on to the curb of the highway and immediately, my buddy, Steve, who was seated next to me, called the police and gave him the direction the driver was going. We then waited for the police to come land the we reported our close encounter to Officer Spotter”

Law:

The law states: Anyone found to have enough of a controlled substance in his/her bloodstream so as to impair judgment of distance and speed is guilty of DUI.

Raina: Will resend Sub-Issues and Concepts