DWI conviction w/o alchol or illegal drugs

eric75surferic75surf Posts: 12
edited June 2010 in All Encompassing Trip
I have a condition which requires me to take some psychiatric meds I was on my way moving from los angeles to austin TX cause no jobs were available....i may have been driving slightly off...i was in what is called a manic state (manic depression/ bipolar is my condition). I was pulled over given a field sobriety test...the wma said I failed...i blew a zero...I admitted I was on meds (a doctor or pharmacist never said I couldn't drive). I was concicted and spent my first 58 days in ausrin behind bars...Now it's going to be hard for me to get a teacher certification; I know most people have it worse of then me...but "I didn't win the lottery by being born". Any pj club members have any advice to offer. I basically went to jail for being bipolar which contrary to some belief is real problem for some.
E. Pressman
Post edited by Unknown User on

Comments

  • 8181 Posts: 58,276
    lawyer up
    81 is now off the air

    Off_Air.jpg
  • mickeyratmickeyrat Posts: 38,038
    81 wrote:
    lawyer up
    Would have better to do that before the conviction.

    I would suggest requesting copies of all transcripts , reports generated for evidence and have your doctor write a letter stating the reasons for the prescriptions. Tell the truth during any and all interviews. Appearing to be hiding from this will make you look bad. Being up front and honest about it should go a long way to speaking for your character. Good luck.
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  • mca47mca47 Posts: 13,282
    I hope this doesn't come off wrong, but...seriously?

    Did you not think to hire a lawyer? I'm pretty sure any 2nd year law student could have gotten you off and you wouldn't have had to serve ANY jail time.

    I guess now it's most important to clear up any BS that is affixed to your name. Hire any lawyer...seriously...they don't have to be expensive. This will be an easy case for them!

    I just feel bad for you as you really didn't have to spend one second in jail, let along 50+ days!
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305
    Because you're in Austin, I'd suggest contacting this organization to find out about resources:

    http://www.mhatexas.org/index.html

    I worked for this agency many years ago, tho not in Austin. They advocate for people with psychiatric illnesses. I wouldn't expect them to help you directly (I don't think there are attorneys on staff) but they will be familiar with stories like yours and should have some idea of who can assist you.

    Good luck.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • BinauralJamBinauralJam Posts: 14,158
    metsfan wrote:
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas


    +1 , time to come back north, that heat down south makes people a little bit crazy.
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    KO282453 wrote:
    metsfan wrote:
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas


    +1 , time to come back north, that heat down south makes people a little bit crazy.
    or just move anywhere but texas. i wouldn't wanna live in texas with rewritten history and all.
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • JaneNYJaneNY Posts: 4,438
    Oh man I feel for you. The best advice I can give is to get the hell out of Texas. I can say that as I grew up there. I have an adoptive sister who has Huntington's Disease, a neurological disorder which will eventually kill her, and is having the worst time dealing with public services. Get the hell out of that place which doesn't give a shit about anyone who is poor or sick and poor. I am sorry for your troubles. And yes get a lawyer and see if you can get the conviction overturned.
    R.i.p. Rigoberto Alpizar.
    R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
    R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
  • iluvcatsiluvcats Posts: 5,153
    my friend's mom (with a psychiatric illness) moved back to the state where she was born in b/c the benefits were better in her native state. I've never heard of that before officially.

    As for the meds, I know they can make one tired or feel intoxicated, esp. if the dosage is wrong. When you are bipolar, your med is bringing you down, esp if you have high anxiety. Often, people on meds are not told the proper instructions, we have to research it ourselves (the benefit of the internet which is equivalent to the library being open 24/7.) I used to take Klonopin b/c I can't sleep (the ringing in my ears is so loud.) I told a girl I know who was on the same drug, that you are not allowed to eat grapefruit while on it. She was never told. It was on the side of my bottle, it was on a special label.

    I agree about the lawyer, but it may be too late :(
    9/98, 9/00 - DC, 4/03 - Pitt., 7/03 - Bristow, 10/04 - Reading, 10/05 - Philly, 5/06 - DC, 6/06 - Pitt., 6/08 - Va Beach, 6/08 - DC, 5/10 - Bristow, 10/13 B'more
    8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
    10/10 - Brad in B'more
  • iluvcatsiluvcats Posts: 5,153
    how can he move if he doesn't have a job? (did he say he doesn't have a job or am I assuming?)

    are you sure there are no warnings on the bottle or in an insert in the bag that says to be careful driving?
    not just in TX, but i know you CAN be arrested if you have a certain level or valium or xanax in your body for example, even if it is your prescription and not in TX.
    9/98, 9/00 - DC, 4/03 - Pitt., 7/03 - Bristow, 10/04 - Reading, 10/05 - Philly, 5/06 - DC, 6/06 - Pitt., 6/08 - Va Beach, 6/08 - DC, 5/10 - Bristow, 10/13 B'more
    8/08 - Ed solo in DC, 6/09 Ed in B'more,
    10/10 - Brad in B'more
  • flywallyflyflywallyfly Posts: 1,453
    metsfan wrote:
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas

    Because nothing bad happens except in Texas. :roll:
  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305
    metsfan wrote:
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas

    Because nothing bad happens except in Texas. :roll:
    THANK YOU!!!!

    We're not all inbred conservative bigots.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • flywallyflyflywallyfly Posts: 1,453
    metsfan wrote:
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas

    Because nothing bad happens except in Texas. :roll:
    THANK YOU!!!!

    We're not all inbred conservative bigots.

    We are according to those insightful folks on here that like to use a broad brush to paint us all like that. I guess where they all live everyone is exactly the same?
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    metsfan wrote:
    why is it that as soon as i saw the thread title i right away thought this happened in texas

    Because nothing bad happens except in Texas. :roll:
    THANK YOU!!!!

    We're not all inbred conservative bigots.
    did i say all of texas are bigots, ummmmmmm NO. so don't assume things, k thanks.

    so i guess rewriting history is a good thing huh :roll:
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067

    We are according to those insightful folks on here that like to use a broad brush to paint us all like that. I guess where they all live everyone is exactly the same?

    A greater emphasis on “the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s.” This means not only increased favorable mentions of Schlafly, the founder of the antifeminist Eagle Forum, but also more discussion of the Moral Majority, the Heritage Foundation, the National Rifle Association and Newt Gingrich's Contract With America.

    - A reduced scope for Latino history and culture. A proposal to expand such material in recognition of Texas’ rapidly growing Hispanic population was defeated in last week’s meetings—provoking one board member, Mary Helen Berlanga, to storm out in protest. "They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don’t exist," she said of her conservative colleagues on the board. "They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world."

    - Changes in specific terminology. Terms that the board’s conservative majority felt were ideologically loaded are being retired. Hence, “imperialism” as a characterization of America’s modern rise to world power is giving way to “expansionism,” and “capitalism” is being dropped in economic material, in favor of the more positive expression “free market.” (The new recommendations stress the need for favorable depictions of America’s economic superiority across the board.)


    - A more positive portrayal of Cold War anticommunism. Disgraced anticommunist crusader Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator censured by the Senate for his aggressive targeting of individual citizens and their civil liberties on the basis of their purported ties to the Communist Party, comes in for partial rehabilitation. The board recommends that textbooks refer to documents published since McCarthy’s death and the fall of the Soviet bloc that appear to show expansive Soviet designs to undermine the U.S. government.

    - Language that qualifies the legacy of 1960s liberalism. Great Society programs such as Title IX—which provides for equal gender access to educational resources—and affirmative action, intended to remedy historic workplace discrimination against African-Americans, are said to have created adverse “unintended consequences” in the curriculum’s preferred language.


    - Thomas Jefferson no longer included among writers influencing the nation’s intellectual origins. Jefferson, a deist who helped pioneer the legal theory of the separation of church and state, is not a model founder in the board’s judgment. Among the intellectual forerunners to be highlighted in Jefferson’s place: medieval Catholic philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, Puritan theologian John Calvin and conservative British law scholar William Blackstone. Heavy emphasis is also to be placed on the founding fathers having been guided by strict Christian beliefs.

    - Excision of recent third-party presidential candidates Ralph Nader (from the left) and Ross Perot (from the centrist Reform Party). Meanwhile, the recommendations include an entry listing Confederate General Stonewall Jackson as a role model for effective leadership, and a statement from Confederate President Jefferson Davis accompanying a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

    - A recommendation to include country and western music among the nation’s important cultural movements. The popular black genre of hip-hop is being dropped from the same list.

    None of these proposals has met with final ratification from the board—that vote will come in May, after a prolonged period of public comment on the recommendations. Still, the conservatives clearly feel like the bulk of their work is done; after the 120-page draft was finalized last Friday, Republican board member Terri Leo declared that it was "world class" and "exceptional."





    am i really using a broad paint brush when info bout the rewritten history books is out there for the whole world to see. i sure want my kids learning bout the NRA and country music and less of recent 3rd party candidates. i wonder if in the next edition will they include obama being the first black president or leave that part out.
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305
    metsfan wrote:
    Because nothing bad happens except in Texas. :roll:
    THANK YOU!!!!

    We're not all inbred conservative bigots.
    did i say all of texas are bigots, ummmmmmm NO. so don't assume things, k thanks.

    so i guess rewriting history is a good thing huh :roll:
    Of course rewriting history is bad. I've yet to meet one person who is happy about the changes in public school curriculum. Unfortunately there's nothing the average citizen can do about it, unless you can afford to send your kids to private schools. There was a thread about this on the MT, which I think is the more appropriate place for it.

    And I know you didn't call anyone a bigot. I'm just thinking of the typical stereotype of Texans and that seems to be one of the features.

    Yes, we are a national laughingstock because of our archconservative governor who talks about seceding from the union and the state education commission. Not to mention our aggressive use of the death penalty and the fact that we're usually dead last in providing any kind of social services.

    But to automatically assume that what happened to the OP must have happened in Texas just because we're such a "backward" (or whatever you want to call it) place is unfair to the many, many decent people who live here and try to work for changes. Of course things like you mentioned make me mad. This is my home. I want it to be a better place.

    It also hijacks the OP's thread and gets away from what he asked for in the first place, which was help from other members on how he could resolve his situation.
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305
    I would also add that people can be unfairly and wrongly arrested and convicted in any state in the union when they lack competent legal resources. And Texas has hardly cornered the market on stupid politicians. Ever heard of Eliot Spitzer or Rod Blagojevich?
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    Of course rewriting history is bad. I've yet to meet one person who is happy about the changes in public school curriculum. Unfortunately there's nothing the average citizen can do about it, unless you can afford to send your kids to private schools. There was a thread about this on the MT, which I think is the more appropriate place for it.

    And I know you didn't call anyone a bigot. I'm just thinking of the typical stereotype of Texans and that seems to be one of the features.

    Yes, we are a national laughingstock because of our archconservative governor who talks about seceding from the union and the state education commission. Not to mention our aggressive use of the death penalty and the fact that we're usually dead last in providing any kind of social services.

    But to automatically assume that what happened to the OP must have happened in Texas just because we're such a "backward" (or whatever you want to call it) place is unfair to the many, many decent people who live here and try to work for changes. Of course things like you mentioned make me mad. This is my home. I want it to be a better place.

    It also hijacks the OP's thread and gets away from what he asked for in the first place, which was help from other members on how he could resolve his situation.
    i was just making a joke is all. i didn't think people from texas would be up in arms in bout it, god dam
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • Who PrincessWho Princess Posts: 7,305
    metsfan wrote:
    i was just making a joke is all. i didn't think people from texas would be up in arms in bout it, god dam
    Well, as I said, when the whole country is laughing at you it gets kind of old. :oops:
    "The stars are all connected to the brain."
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    metsfan wrote:
    i was just making a joke is all. i didn't think people from texas would be up in arms in bout it, god dam
    Well, as I said, when the whole country is laughing at you it gets kind of old. :oops:
    no worries :)
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • flywallyflyflywallyfly Posts: 1,453
    metsfan wrote:

    We are according to those insightful folks on here that like to use a broad brush to paint us all like that. I guess where they all live everyone is exactly the same?

    A greater emphasis on “the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s.” This means not only increased favorable mentions of Schlafly, the founder of the antifeminist Eagle Forum, but also more discussion of the Moral Majority, the Heritage Foundation, the National Rifle Association and Newt Gingrich's Contract With America.

    - A reduced scope for Latino history and culture. A proposal to expand such material in recognition of Texas’ rapidly growing Hispanic population was defeated in last week’s meetings—provoking one board member, Mary Helen Berlanga, to storm out in protest. "They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don’t exist," she said of her conservative colleagues on the board. "They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world."

    - Changes in specific terminology. Terms that the board’s conservative majority felt were ideologically loaded are being retired. Hence, “imperialism” as a characterization of America’s modern rise to world power is giving way to “expansionism,” and “capitalism” is being dropped in economic material, in favor of the more positive expression “free market.” (The new recommendations stress the need for favorable depictions of America’s economic superiority across the board.)


    - A more positive portrayal of Cold War anticommunism. Disgraced anticommunist crusader Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator censured by the Senate for his aggressive targeting of individual citizens and their civil liberties on the basis of their purported ties to the Communist Party, comes in for partial rehabilitation. The board recommends that textbooks refer to documents published since McCarthy’s death and the fall of the Soviet bloc that appear to show expansive Soviet designs to undermine the U.S. government.

    - Language that qualifies the legacy of 1960s liberalism. Great Society programs such as Title IX—which provides for equal gender access to educational resources—and affirmative action, intended to remedy historic workplace discrimination against African-Americans, are said to have created adverse “unintended consequences” in the curriculum’s preferred language.


    - Thomas Jefferson no longer included among writers influencing the nation’s intellectual origins. Jefferson, a deist who helped pioneer the legal theory of the separation of church and state, is not a model founder in the board’s judgment. Among the intellectual forerunners to be highlighted in Jefferson’s place: medieval Catholic philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, Puritan theologian John Calvin and conservative British law scholar William Blackstone. Heavy emphasis is also to be placed on the founding fathers having been guided by strict Christian beliefs.

    - Excision of recent third-party presidential candidates Ralph Nader (from the left) and Ross Perot (from the centrist Reform Party). Meanwhile, the recommendations include an entry listing Confederate General Stonewall Jackson as a role model for effective leadership, and a statement from Confederate President Jefferson Davis accompanying a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

    - A recommendation to include country and western music among the nation’s important cultural movements. The popular black genre of hip-hop is being dropped from the same list.

    None of these proposals has met with final ratification from the board—that vote will come in May, after a prolonged period of public comment on the recommendations. Still, the conservatives clearly feel like the bulk of their work is done; after the 120-page draft was finalized last Friday, Republican board member Terri Leo declared that it was "world class" and "exceptional."





    am i really using a broad paint brush when info bout the rewritten history books is out there for the whole world to see. i sure want my kids learning bout the NRA and country music and less of recent 3rd party candidates. i wonder if in the next edition will they include obama being the first black president or leave that part out.

    You are when you lump the entire state as being for this garbage. If it upsets you so much petition ur state legislature not to buy the damn textbooks. Again -- not everyone in this state supports this crap !!!

    I'm guessing u live in NY city since ur name is Metsfan -- so I guess everything that happens there should be blamed on the entire city? I blame you for the Yankees.
  • Gary CarterGary Carter Posts: 14,067
    metsfan wrote:

    We are according to those insightful folks on here that like to use a broad brush to paint us all like that. I guess where they all live everyone is exactly the same?

    A greater emphasis on “the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s.” This means not only increased favorable mentions of Schlafly, the founder of the antifeminist Eagle Forum, but also more discussion of the Moral Majority, the Heritage Foundation, the National Rifle Association and Newt Gingrich's Contract With America.

    - A reduced scope for Latino history and culture. A proposal to expand such material in recognition of Texas’ rapidly growing Hispanic population was defeated in last week’s meetings—provoking one board member, Mary Helen Berlanga, to storm out in protest. "They can just pretend this is a white America and Hispanics don’t exist," she said of her conservative colleagues on the board. "They are rewriting history, not only of Texas but of the United States and the world."

    - Changes in specific terminology. Terms that the board’s conservative majority felt were ideologically loaded are being retired. Hence, “imperialism” as a characterization of America’s modern rise to world power is giving way to “expansionism,” and “capitalism” is being dropped in economic material, in favor of the more positive expression “free market.” (The new recommendations stress the need for favorable depictions of America’s economic superiority across the board.)


    - A more positive portrayal of Cold War anticommunism. Disgraced anticommunist crusader Joseph McCarthy, the Wisconsin senator censured by the Senate for his aggressive targeting of individual citizens and their civil liberties on the basis of their purported ties to the Communist Party, comes in for partial rehabilitation. The board recommends that textbooks refer to documents published since McCarthy’s death and the fall of the Soviet bloc that appear to show expansive Soviet designs to undermine the U.S. government.

    - Language that qualifies the legacy of 1960s liberalism. Great Society programs such as Title IX—which provides for equal gender access to educational resources—and affirmative action, intended to remedy historic workplace discrimination against African-Americans, are said to have created adverse “unintended consequences” in the curriculum’s preferred language.


    - Thomas Jefferson no longer included among writers influencing the nation’s intellectual origins. Jefferson, a deist who helped pioneer the legal theory of the separation of church and state, is not a model founder in the board’s judgment. Among the intellectual forerunners to be highlighted in Jefferson’s place: medieval Catholic philosopher St. Thomas Aquinas, Puritan theologian John Calvin and conservative British law scholar William Blackstone. Heavy emphasis is also to be placed on the founding fathers having been guided by strict Christian beliefs.

    - Excision of recent third-party presidential candidates Ralph Nader (from the left) and Ross Perot (from the centrist Reform Party). Meanwhile, the recommendations include an entry listing Confederate General Stonewall Jackson as a role model for effective leadership, and a statement from Confederate President Jefferson Davis accompanying a speech by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln.

    - A recommendation to include country and western music among the nation’s important cultural movements. The popular black genre of hip-hop is being dropped from the same list.

    None of these proposals has met with final ratification from the board—that vote will come in May, after a prolonged period of public comment on the recommendations. Still, the conservatives clearly feel like the bulk of their work is done; after the 120-page draft was finalized last Friday, Republican board member Terri Leo declared that it was "world class" and "exceptional."





    am i really using a broad paint brush when info bout the rewritten history books is out there for the whole world to see. i sure want my kids learning bout the NRA and country music and less of recent 3rd party candidates. i wonder if in the next edition will they include obama being the first black president or leave that part out.

    You are when you lump the entire state as being for this garbage. If it upsets you so much petition ur state legislature not to buy the damn textbooks. Again -- not everyone in this state supports this crap !!!

    I'm guessing u live in NY city since ur name is Metsfan -- so I guess everything that happens there should be blamed on the entire city? I blame you for the Yankees.

    geez dude it was a fucking joke, take a chill pill

    god damn

    i'm from LONG ISLAND not NYC
    Ron: I just don't feel like going out tonight
    Sammi: Wanna just break up?

  • JaneNYJaneNY Posts: 4,438

    Because nothing bad happens except in Texas. :roll:
    THANK YOU!!!!

    We're not all inbred conservative bigots.

    We are according to those insightful folks on here that like to use a broad brush to paint us all like that. I guess where they all live everyone is exactly the same?

    I am originally from Texas. I grew up there. There are wonderful individuals there, and I have relatives there. I guess my visceral frustration at the bad treatment of poor people I know down there came out when I read the OP's story, and wrote what I wrote. No one is saying all private individuals are the same in Texas - there are many community minded, and charity oriented people (my father was one of them). Hell I came from the place, and I have friends there. I went to school there. But I stand by my statement that it seems to be a shitty place to be if you are sick and poor, or just poor, because social services are lacking (from what I have observed), and I feel bad for the original poster.

    And, getting back to the OP's situation - is there any way to get a statement of clarification of some sort from the court, or get a lawyer to help that clarifies that you were NOT intoxicated - did you get a blood test, for example, that would show there was no alcohol in your system? Any documentation that says what your chemical state was at the time of your arrest?
    R.i.p. Rigoberto Alpizar.
    R.i.p. My Dad - May 28, 2007
    R.i.p. Black Tail (cat) - Sept. 20, 2008
  • Ledbetterman10Ledbetterman10 Posts: 16,853
    eric75surf wrote:
    I have a condition which requires me to take some psychiatric meds I was on my way moving from los angeles to austin TX cause no jobs were available....i may have been driving slightly off...i was in what is called a manic state (manic depression/ bipolar is my condition). I was pulled over given a field sobriety test...the wma said I failed...i blew a zero...I admitted I was on meds (a doctor or pharmacist never said I couldn't drive). I was concicted and spent my first 58 days in ausrin behind bars...Now it's going to be hard for me to get a teacher certification; I know most people have it worse of then me...but "I didn't win the lottery by being born". Any pj club members have any advice to offer. I basically went to jail for being bipolar which contrary to some belief is real problem for some.

    This is unfuckingbelievable. I guess I could understand the officer making the arrest but how on earth were you convicted? How could a lawyer possibly lose this case for you? You were driving erratically due to a bad reaction to doctor-prescribed medicine! Maybe I could see them giving you some sort of traffic violation if your driving as that bad. But a DWI? That's preposterous.
    2000: Camden 1, 2003: Philly, State College, Camden 1, MSG 2, Hershey, 2004: Reading, 2005: Philly, 2006: Camden 1, 2, East Rutherford 1, 2007: Lollapalooza, 2008: Camden 1, Washington D.C., MSG 1, 2, 2009: Philly 1, 2, 3, 4, 2010: Bristol, MSG 2, 2011: PJ20 1, 2, 2012: Made In America, 2013: Brooklyn 2, Philly 2, 2014: Denver, 2015: Global Citizen Festival, 2016: Philly 2, Fenway 1, 2018: Fenway 1, 2, 2021: Sea. Hear. Now. 2022: Camden, 2024Philly 2

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