In Part One of this series, we discussed how former New York Yankees catcher Jim Leyritz was granted a continuance in his DUI manslaughter trial after the discovery of a sought-after videotape which may show that the crash happened ten minutes earlier than prosecutors and police had previously thought, notes Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer William Moore. Here we will examine some of the conclusions toxicology experts have made about the absorption of alcohol into the blood and the history of the Leyritz case up to this point.
Toxicology experts generally estimate that the highest blood alcohol content a person achieves after social drinking usually occurs within 30 minutes to an hour of his or her last drink, says Broward DUI Lawyer William Moore. After two hours from the time a person consumes the last drink, blood alcohol content will start to decline as the rate of elimination of alcohol exceeds the rate of absorption of alcohol into the blood. Therefore, according to these principles, if Leyritz had consumed his last drink within 30 minutes to an hour of the crash it is likely that he was still in the absorption phase and his blood alcohol content was rising. He would have had a lower blood alcohol concentration if the crash occurred at 3:08 A.M. than at 3:19 A.M., as state prosecutors have argued. Even if Leyritz ‘s BAC is still calculated at over the legal limit of .08, a lower level of intoxication would be a relevant fact in this case since the victim, Freida Veitch, was determined to have a BAC of .18 at the time of the crash. Veitch was returning home from work as a bartender at the time of the crash and had allegedly consumed several shots immediately prior to leaving work. Unfortunately, Veitch was not wearing a seatbelt at the time the accident occurred, according to Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney William Moore.
The late disclosure of this videotaped information in this case, nearly two years after the crash, shocked Broward Circuit Judge Marc Gold, who granted Leyritz’s request for a continuance. The case has dragged out since December 2007 for several reasons, with Judge Gold revoking Leyritz’s bond in this case following a domestic violence arrest involving his wife. Leyritz has been given a new bond and was ordered to have absolutely no contact with his wife for the remainder of the proceedings in this case. Additionally, the State Attorney’s Office had attempted to revoke Leyritz’s bond prior to his domestic violence arrest for making several attempts to drive his vehicle with a higher blood alcohol content than allowed by his ignition interlock device. Leyritz defended himself by stating that his interlock device had malfunctioned and he provided a urine sample to police officials which did not show the presence of alcohol.
Fort Lauderdale DUI Lawyer William Moore provides outstanding DUI defense in the Broward County area. If you have been arrested for DUI, contact Fort Lauderdale drunk driving attorney William Moore.
This article should be used for information only and should not be used as advice in legal matters nor as implied representation of any person.