A recent DUI case in San Diego was declared a mistrial after a single juror held off from deciding whether the defendant was behind the wheel when a car struck another vehicle and killed four people, according to 10 News.

Deanna Fridley was on trial in the case in which the four were killed in Pala Casino, California. Fridley claimed that she was not the driver of the car that got into the deadly December 14, 2007, accident, and one of the jurors in the case would not conclude that it was her, leading to the mistrial.

The jurors in the case informed the judge that they had reached an 11-1 deadlock. They had been apart for a holiday break, and on their return they announced that they could not come to a unanimous agreement on the charges.

Fridley was also accused of DUI causing injury and misdemeanor driving on a suspended license.

Judge Runston Maino, serving in the case, declined to enact a motion by the prosecution to replace the juror with an alternate juror. “You haven’t failed as jurors; you haven’t failed as individuals,” he told the jurors in light of their lack of unanimity.

Fridley, 26, faced four 15-years-to-life sentences if she had been convicted in the case. Her defense attorney, James Boyd, addressed the media after the mistrial was declared, saying that he was “really happy” with the result. “My question,” he said, “is how is it that 11 of them actually thought she was driving? It’s a real who-done-it. Was she driving or not?”

A retrial of the case could come in six to eight months, and there will be a status update in July.

According to prosecutors, Fridley was driving over 85 miles per hour and swerved over the lane divider before crashing into and killing Luis De Santiago, his wife Lina, and Luis Baez and his wife Rubi. They also claimed that Fridely had spent the day smoking meth and drinking with a friend. Fridley was allegedly driving a GMC Yukon, while the victims were in a Toyota Camry.

Fridley testified that she had switched seats with her friend before the crash. The friend, Anthony Boles, denies this claim.

Fridley will remain in custody, and her bail is set at $1 million.

In South Dakota, there is a legal loophole in DUI court cases that may be enabling those arrested for DUI to get off the hook for offenses that might otherwise be punishable, according to an article in the Rapid City Journal.

The situations are somewhat exceptional, dealing with those arrested for DUI multiple times within a very short period of time. In these so-called DUI clusters, one case might still be left open and without a conviction entered on the record when another DUI arrest occurs with the same person.

Because of constitutional presumption of an innocence, a person may be facing two charges of a first DUI at the same time, and not have to deal with the escalated consequences of multiple offenses.

Take the case of 53-year-old Barbara Van Ekeren. She was arrested for DUI for the first time on May 1, 2009. She pled guilty, and was given a suspended imposition of sentence that July. Her file remained open, and the conviction did not appear on her record.

She got arrested for DUI again soon after that, in November. She was charged with first offense DUI for that arrest as well. Then, in February, she was arrested again. She was able to plead guilty to second offense DUI for both of these arrests, rather than pleading guilty to third offense DUI.

She served 15 days in jail, as per the judge’s order, for these second offense pleas. The loophole occurred because the DUI arrests were so close together. These clustered DUIs enable some of the worst DUI offenders to avoid felony convictions.

According to the president of the local chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Lila Doud, Van Ekeren is getting a freebie for one of the DUIs by avoiding the third offense conviction. She has publically voiced her frustration about the law, and told the Rapid City Journal that this sort of freebie DUI situation occurs frequently.

Doud blames the law’s systematic treatment of DUI for their ability to leave with the lesser sentence in the cases.

“When they’re not sentenced on their first one and end up getting the second, they’ve got a freebie,” she said.

According to prosecutors, they are limited by the constitutional presumption of innocence. MADD officials as well as state leaders agree that there should be something done to be tougher on these repeat offenders, but that it’s not a simple fix. The legal system’s methodical nature make change slow to come and difficult to finalize.

Currently causing the loophole is the law that DUI offenses can’t be escalated to the next level until the defendant has pleaded guilty or has been found guilty, the Pennington County State’s Attorney Glenn Brenner said. “But in order to get a third offense, you have to have two prior convictions and in order to get a fourth offense, it’s not good enough to have three prior convictions. You have to have a third offense felony DUI before you can enhance to a fourth offense.”

At the root of the issue is the presumption of innocence. Cases can’t be escalated without a conviction, and these can take months, even while repeat offenders with alcohol addictions pile up DUI arrests.

“We need to get them through the system faster,” said Doud.

South Dakota extensively combats DUI with billboard campaigns and police presence, and Rapid City police chief Steve Allender believes that there are fewer drunk drivers on the road now. “Every day and night, we are looking for the drunk driver,” he said.

Nichole Santos celebrated her twenty-first birthday just six months ago. Taking her newfound drinking privilege to new extremes, between then and now, she has been arrested for DUI four times.

That’s a rate of one DUI per month since February.

The most recent DUI ended with a dramatic accident. The car that Santos was driving left the road and came to rest 285 feet later. On the way there, it knocked down three light poles.

Santos was driving home from the bar at the time of the accident, and she was driving drunk.

This marked her fourth DUI in as many months, according to Clarksville police. Her first DUI arrest was on February 2, her second was on April 10 and the third was on May 21. The latest arrest came on June 27.

This was not Santos’ first trouble with DUI. In 2007, when Santos was just 18, she was convicted of her first DUI.

Citizens in Clarksville are concerned about how Santos’ has been able to repeatedly offend. “It really shows we need to tighten our laws,” said Mothers Against Drunk Driving Tennessee executive director Laura Dial. “A system that allows that to happen is flawed.”

Dial continued by saying that the Santos case highlights the need for a mandatory interlock law in Tennessee. Such laws would force repeat offenders to have ignition locking devices on their cars that test a driver’s blood-alcohol content before turning the car on.

Tennessee recently passed a version of an ignition interlock law that made them optional.

Another DUI law lets judges in DUI cases label repeat DUI offenders as “dangerous.” In these cases, the judge can set no bond, or set the bond as extraordinarily high, to keep those repeat offenders behind bars. This is not a mandatory law and is applied at the judges’ discretion.

Speaking about the current legal situation, Dial said “You get arrested for a DUI, you do a little time in jail, you get told not to drive. That doesn’t work with a DUI offender.”

In Santos’ case, she was able to make her $5,000 bond hours after she was arrested, and was back home by the next Monday.

Santos hasn’t been convicted in any of her DUI arrests, as she awaits hearings in each one.

With the extended run of poor play and shabby team management the Detroit Lions have subjected their fans to, one might think that the executives responsible would do their best to avoid any more negative press.

But Detroit Lions team president Tom Lewand finds himself in hot water after a DUI arrest after failing a field sobriety test and registering a blood-alcohol content that was more than twice the legal limit.

Lewand was pulled over by police after they saw that he was driving erratically. Lewand told the deputies that pulled him over that he was the designated driver, and that he had not had a drink in a year and a half. Lewand’s story was that he had driven to a bar to pick up a friend.

The deputies smelled alcohol coming from the driver’s side of the vehicle, despite the story that Lewand provided.

The police report described Lewand’s eyes as “glossy and bloodshot.” When Lewand was subjected to field sobriety tests, he could not, according to reports, walk heel to toe, balance on one leg, or touch his finger to his nose.

Lewand then took several breath tests, on which he registered a .21 and a .20 blood-alcohol content.

Lewand apologized for his behavior in a statement that he released over the weekend.

According to the Detroit Free-Press, Lewand had been participating in alcohol abuse treatment for several months preceding the arrest.

Roger Goodell, the commissioner of the National Football League, said that he plans on talking to Lewand about the arrest. Goodell has played a major role in disciplinary negotiations in more notorious cases like that of Michael Vick and his dog fighting conviction.

“Our policies apply to everyone,” said Goodell. “Yours truly, club presidents, players, coaches, everybody involved in the NFL. I think Tom recognizes that and, of course, I will speak to him in the near future, and we’ll be gathering the facts. Everybody’s accountable, and everyone’s responsible.”

Lewand had been in the area around Houghton Lake for a charity golf tournament, along with several members of the Lions football team.

Some people assume if they’re not driving a car they can’t get arrested for DUI. That’s simply not the case, as the following folks found out during some unusual DUI arrests.

If you are driving any motorized vehicle drunk you could face DUI penalties. That’s what happened in these separate strange DUI stories involving a basketball player and a golf car, a moped and a wheelchair on the highway.

• J.J. Hones will not be returning to the Stanford Cardinals for a fifth season after she found driving a golf cart in a “wreckless manner,” according to the NCAA’s website. After leading the police on a chase around the Stanford campus, she was arrested after failing a field sobriety test, and was released on bond.

• An Australia man is giving new meaning to “asleep at the wheel.” The AP reports a man making a nine-mile trip from his home to a friend’s house was arrested after he was found sleeping on the highway exit ramp - in a motorized wheelchair. He was arrested and charged with DUI after registering a blood alcohol reading of 0.301. The man was found about 10 a.m. on a Friday morning.

• Preferring a more conventional form of transportation , a 37-year-old Maryland man led police on a chase before crashing his moped. WGMD reports the moped driver was not injured. He was committed to Sussex County Correctional and charged with resisting arrest, a third DUI and other minor charges.

• Some food might taste better after a few beers, but that doesn’t mean you should drive to go get it. A Tennessee woman learned that the hard way after they decided to go to Taco Bell for a late night snack and passed out behind the wheel while in the drive through lane. The vehicle apparently contained “several open beer cases” and pills that were not prescribed to any of the passengers, reports the AP. The police arrested the occupants of the vehicle.

So be careful this summer, and don’t let someone talk you into riding, oh say, a motorized couch to the bar for a couple cold ones.

Celebrity DUI arrests made headlines again this week, both involving actors known for their work in the early 2000s.

Actor Chris Klein, best known for his role in the hit “American Pie” movie checked into rehab after he was arrested for DUI for the second time, according to People.com.

Klein was arrested on suspicion of DUI on June 16 by the California Highway Patrol, after he was seen swerving across lanes on the Hollywood Freeway in Los Angeles.

He measured, according to police, a blood-alcohol content nearly three times the legal limit. The 31-year-old actor had faced DUI charges in the past in San Diego County, when he was pulled over in 2005.

According to People.com, his decision to enter rehab was a decision he made as a way to bring others in to help him with an alcohol problem that he’d been dealing with by himself for years.

“[Klein] understands now that he can not beat this disease alone,” said his representative. “He thanks everyone for their support as he takes all the necessary steps to deal with his addiction and asks for privacy while doing so.”

Klein will seek treatment at a center in Utah called the Cirque Lodge. Lindsay Lohan, Kirsten Dunst, Melanie Griffith and other celebrities received treatment at the same facility.

Klein was once engaged to starlet Katie Holmes. He will enter a 30-day program, with a plan to stay longer if he needs to.

Soproanos Star Arrested for DUI in Florida

Joseph Gannascoli, who played Vito Spatafore on the successful HBO drama “The Sopranos,” faces DUI charges in Tampa, Florida. The 51-year-old Gannascoli was pulled over just before 3 a.m. by a police officer dedicated to DUI stops when he made a wide turn, drifted in his lane and drove over a lane marker.

The officer smelled alcohol and noted Gannascoli’s slurred speech, so he administered a field sobriety test. The actor failed the test, and blew a .111 on a Breathalyzer test. He was arrested for suspicion of DUI.

Gannascoli’s website noted that he was in town to promote his brand of cigars.

This week’s round-up of strange DUI tales features one man who seems to lack the sense to quit while he’s behind, cracking a fresh brew while trapped in his crashed car.

Another woman let the people testing her blood know that they would find a veritable cocktail of pharmaceuticals.

In Wellington, New Zealand, Paul Sneddon hadn’t merely crashed his car. He flipped his vehicle over after running into a wooden barrier along the highway. Already drunk, he found himself flipped around, trapped behind doors that were wedged shut in the crash.

What did he do to pass the time as police made their way to the scene? He cracked open another beer and had himself a drink.

Sneddon plead guilty to driving drunk recently, and his lawyer told the court that “he had nothing else to do at that point,” being trapped in the car, “so he had another beer.”

When the police finally arrived at the vehicle and helped Sneddon break out, his blood-alcohol content was measured at 1,191 micrograms, which is almost three times the 400 micrograms legal limit for driving.

Sneddon had gone on a bender after he was fired from his job at a bakery. When asked how much he’d had to drink, he told police that he’d been drinking for four days straight.

In Kingsport, Tennessee, a woman who had been charged with DUI decided to let the police and her blood testers know what they were going to find when they completed those tests.

Bobbie K. Cato said that the drug test would fine only a few drugs. At the scene of the crime she had claimed innocence from taking any drugs or alcohol, but at the hospital she admitted to taking an array of drugs, including Xanax, Lortab and Phenergan.

According to police, the over-sharing Cato was arrested when her car was found blocking a convenience store entrance. She was lying across the passenger seat, her legs dangling out of the car.

She posted bond and will be due back in court soon, where authorities will learn whether her predictions about her own drug test are accurate.

DUI checkpoints are a hot topic as to whether random vehicle checks are constitutional solely because they can keep drivers safe. Rarely, however, are DUI checkpoints debated as to whether or not they can keep animals safe.

A recent DUI checkpoint in Bedford County, Virginia surveyed nearly 15,000 cars, resulting in three DUI arrests, a drug bust and the rescue of one goat, reports the News Advance in Lynchburg.

Bedford County authorities pulled over 32-year-old Fiona Ann Enderdy and asked about the strange noises coming from her trunk.

Fearing a human might be trapped inside, officers were startled to find a goat, bound at the feet and thrashing around inside the trunk.

This is not the first time an animal has been found at a DUI checkpoint. Sign on San Diego reports that just one month ago, police found a “dog-napped” shih tzu in a car that had been stopped for routine reasons. That animal was returned to its proper owners who were excited to have their family pet returned.

When the goat was discovered he wasn’t the only oddity earning the police’s attention. No loving family Officers in that case were far more interested in the other passengers — suspected illegal immigrants from Africa.

WSLS reports that while Ms. Enderdy is a resident of the Washington, D.C. area, she is actually a transport from Great Britain. Apparently, when asked why the goat was in her trunk, Ms. Enderdy replied that in Great Britain, it is perfectly acceptable to transport a goat in the trunk of a car.

The goat was bought from a local farmer, and was a gift to the Kenyan immigrants who were traveling with her.

Luckily, an animal control expert was also at the checkpoint. He measured the heat in the trunk of the car and found it to be at a steamy and none-too-comfortable 94 degrees.

The goat, who was panting heavily, was given water, a check-up, and sent to the pound. The Roanoke news reports that since being sent to the pound, the goat has been recovering.

He is “just chilling and as happy as can be,” says Lt. Darryl Saunders.

The goat wasn’t the only one in the car who was sent to the clink. Enderdy was arrested and released after being charged with animal cruelty. She is to attend an advisement hearing on July eighth, where her fate as to the charge will be determined.

The goat’s fate will be determined at a separate hearing in the Bedford County General District Court.

Teresa Collett, the law professor who is running for a congressional seat in the state, recently revealed previous run-ins with the law included DUI arrests.

The St. Paul resident was arrested for driving while under the influence of alcohol, according to the Star Tribune. The article also goes on to say that it is rare for a congressional candidate in Minnesota that has been endorsed by a political party. Collett has been endorsed by the Republican party.

Police records indicate that Collett was arrested for drunken driving, and she received a citation for careless driving. She acknowledged in an interview that she had been drinking alcohol, but also said that she had been taking an antidepressant for the symptoms of migraines. That drug, she claimed, made the effects of the alcohol more dramatic.

Collett said that she told her GOP endorsers about her DUI record before they officially lodged their endorsement. State Republican Party chair Tony Sutton was one of the people who learned about the DUI.

“I said, ‘Look, you make mistakes, you make amends for those mistakes and you move on,’” said Sutton. “She’s a human being. And I don’t think this detracts one bit from her ability to serve in the Congress and to do a great job for the people of the Fourth District.”

The arrest for DUI came in 2006, when a fellow motorist saw her weaving back and forth on the road and called the police near Minnetonka. A police officer later saw the same thing as Collett’s car swerved into an oncoming lane.

Her blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.17 percent, and the officer discontinued the field sobriety test because Collett kept losing her balance. She told the police that she had been to a wine bar after a meeting with the dean of the school where she is a professor, and that she had at least three glasses of wine before she got behind the wheel to drive home.

“Ms. Collett told me that she was supposed to have a talk with her husband tonight about her drinking,” the officer included in his report.

Collett would plead guilty to the DUI charge, and accepted the 30-day workhouse sentence, which was converted to two days of community service and two years of probation.

The State of Wisconsin is working hard to overcome its perceived culture of intoxication by imposing tougher DUI penalties.

Wisconsin leads the nation in binge drinking and drunk driving crashes, according to numbers cited in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

But a new push has led to a new series of DUI laws that take effect on July 1, 2010. The new laws include stiffer penalties for drunk drivers found with young passengers, a high blood alcohol content and multiple offenses on record.

The new Wisconsin DUI laws include additional penalties for the following offenses:

• First DUI Offense: A person convicted of a first or second DUI offense who has a passenger under the age of sixteen in the car faces a fine of $350-$1100 or jail time ranging from five days to six months. If a first time offender DUI offender has a blood alcohol level of greater than 0.15 then an interlock ignition device will be installed.
• Third DUI Offense: A person convicted of a third DUI offense will receive at least 45 days in prison. The sentence used to be 30 days.
• Fourth DUI Offense: If an offender is convicted a fourth time within five years, it will be considered a felony. There will also be a fine will between $600 and $10,000, and possible jail time will range between six months to six years.
• Seventh, Eighth, or Ninth Offense: A person convicted of this many DUIs will serve at least three years in jail for each offense.
• Tenth Offense: A person committing a tenth offense would receive at least four years of jail time.
• Repeat DUI offenders: Repeat DUI offenders convicted of DUI causing injury would receive up to six years in jail or would be required to pay up to $2,000 in fines. This punishment would be doubled if there was a minor in the car at the time of the offense.
• Offenders with a lower BAC will face the same penalties: Under the old regulations, offenders with a blood alcohol level below .10 but still above the legal limit were subject to lighter penalties, but that is no longer the case.

The bill is expected to cost Wisconsin an extra $12.8 million per year, largely due to the costs required to house inmates. This cost is expected to be offset by the introduction of higher fees to reinstate revoked or suspended licenses, as well as by a program that would allow judges to decrease jail time in return for offenders completing a drug or alcohol abuse course.

Supporters of the bill say that this will not only drive the cost of the bill down, but decrease the rate of repeat offenders, saving Wisconsin money in the long-term.

Polls indicate that the Wisconsin public is firmly behind the change in the drunk driving laws.

Wisconsin Public Radio and St. Norbert College conducted a survey of 400 people, 85 percent of whom support the bill. Fifty-five percent also support using a higher liquor tax to help finance the bill, though that idea was struck down by Wisconsin Assembly Democrats before the bill was passed.