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LEGAL TIPS

Birmingham DUI Laws :
Originally, the law said convictions had to take place within a five-year period. Later, this five-year criteria was amended out in some places but remained in others.

Legal Term "ROBBERY"

Robbery is the crime of seizing property through violence or intimidation. A perpetrator of a robbery is a robber. Violence is an ingredient of most robberies, and its use sometimes results in the murder of the victim(s). Robbery is generally an urban crime. In common with most legal terms, the precise definition of robbery varies between jurisdictions.

The element of force differentiates robbery from embezzlement, larceny, and other types of theft. Piracy is a type of robbery. Armed robbery involves the use of a weapon. Highway robbery takes place outside and in a public place. Carjacking is the act of stealing a car from a victim, usually at gunpoint. Banks are often the target of robberies.

DUI & Driving Under The Influence:
Alabama & US DUI Laws :
It is also a criminal offense in all states to drive a vehicle while under the influence of drugs DUID, or under the combined influence of alcohol and drugs; the drugs themselves need not be illegal, but can be prescription or even over-the-counter. This offense requires evidence of impairment as a result of the drugs or drugs and alcohol, although some states have passed laws making driving with the mere presence of certain drugs a criminal offense.

Field Sobriety Test :
An increasingly used field sobriety test involves having the suspect breathe into a small, handheld breath testing device. Called variously a PAS (preliminary alcohol screening) or PBT (preliminary breath test), the units are small, inexpensive versions of their larger, more sophisticated instruments at the police stations, the EBTs (evidentiary breath test). Whereas the EBTs usually employ infrared spectroscopy, the PAS units use a relatively simple electrochemical (fuel cell) technology. Their purpose, along with other FSTs, is to assist the officer in determining probable cause for arrest. Although because of their relative inaccuracy they were never intended to be used in court for proving actual blood-alcohol concentration, some courts have begun to admit them as evidence of BAC.

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Glossary of Legal Terms :: Alabama Lawyers

What is a DUI? :
The various versions of driving under the influence generally constitute a misdemeanor (punishable by up to one year in jail) . However, the offense may be elevated to a felony (punishable by a longer term in state prison) if the incident caused serious injury (felony DUI), death (vehicular manslaughter or vehicular homicide), or extensive property damage (a state specified dollar amount) or if the defendant has a designated number of prior DUI convictions within a given time period (commonly, 3 prior convictions within 7 years). California, which is being followed by a growing number of states, now charges second-degree murder where the legal state of mind of malice exists -- that is, where the defendant exhibited a reckless indifference to the lives of others.