WSJ: Attorney Who Raised the Bar on Drunk-Driving Defenses
“I hate drunk driving,” Richard Essen once told The Wall Street Journal. Yet he was also one of the nation’s leading defenders of those accused of it.
Mr. Essen, who died Nov. 30 at age 70, was among a handful of lawyers who in the early 1980s developed what became a legal specialty with practitioners across the nation.
“He was one of the first attorneys to recognize the need for aggressive defense for people charged with drunk driving,” says Patrick Barone, a Michigan lawyer and editor of the legal publication DWI Journal.
Thanks in part to a federal initiative in 1983 that encouraged states to adopt a more stringent approach to drunk driving, laws were tightened, mandating jail time and license suspensions for first offenses.
Mr. Essen, a Miami-based defense attorney, developed strategies for defending against the new laws by filing reams of pretrial motions challenging police conduct and the accuracy of breathalyzers.
Real the Full Story
4 Comments
We applaud you. =)
Attorney Essen was a true leader in the defense of the citizen among us who has been accused of a DUI. Without you knowing it, he has positively impacted your life as he was the epitome of the champion of the Bill Of Rights. He was frequently referred to as the “King of Pretrial Motions”.
My grandfather was killed by a drunk driver back in 1950.I am glad that they have gotten tougher with drunk drivers.I think you should eventually lose you drivers licence for life if you are caught a third time.
I wholeheartedly agree with Attorney Essen that everyone deserves a defense, no matter what society thinks of the crime for which they are charged. In our adversarial system of justice, defendants are allowed to test the prosecution’s case against them and vigorously defend themselves. Given the increasingly stiff penalties associated with DUI, the right and ability to mount an effective defense is paramount. In a drunk driving trial, the defendant is really not on trial. Instead, it is the government’s case which must be proven. The burden rests squarely with the government to prove the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In proving this, the prosecution must demonstrate that proper legal and evidentiary procedures were followed. The defense, rightfully, has an opportunity to challenge this. Attorney Essen should be commended for being a visionary in the area of OUI defense.
Leave a Comment