Mimi Coffey | Attorney at Law

We have the same blood test issues in Texas. http://www.azcentral.com/community/scottsdale/articles/20130822judge-throws-out-blood-tests-scottsdale-dui-cases.html?nclick_check=1

Mass hysteria is a form of groupthink, in which several people with something in common begin to think in the same way. In mass hysteria, the group members all develop a common fear that often spirals into a panic. The group members feed off each other's emotional reactions, causing the panic to escalate.Some riots, witch hunts and other events can be linked to mass hysteria. (about.com)  DWI has turned into a sociological mass hysteria. Our highways blare out Drink.Drive.Go to Jail. and  other similar campaigns, our radios and tv networks broadcast DWI commercials, nationwide many companies have policies that terminate an employee or refuses to hire one based on a DWI, apartment and housing complexes are turning away tenants for a DWI, families are becoming divorced over DWI. Thus the ever present need for a Good Lawyer . The public is scared of DWI only second to terrorism.  This groupthink  people with something in common that started this hysteria was MADD. ...

Mimi Coffey Words to Those Accused of DWI: If you get arrested for DWI please do yourself a favor: 1.        Write out a 10 page autobiography of yourself (a recent Harvard grad told me his high school forced him to do it and it helped him fill out a successful application to Harvard). Focus on your achievements, what makes you shine above and beyond others, your contributions to society. 2.        Pick out ten pictures that define your life (kids, being a little league coach, a wedding pic) and buy a mini photo album and make a pictorial storybook that highlights your life(or go to shutterfly.com and make a photo book with your explanations and narrations or places like Walmart do this too).   3.        Write out on paper the two biggest challenges in your life and what you did to get over them. Detail how long it’s been since then and how you now look back at those challenges and ta...

Now that the verdict is in, a few thoughts: 1. Trayvon Martin was a 17 year old kid who purchased his iced tea and Skittles from a neighborhood convenience outlet and was walking home in his own neighborhood. THIS IS NOT A CRIME NOR IS IT ILLEGAL OR SUSPICIOUS. 2. Zimmerman was told by 911 to stop following Trayvon. 911 operators are trained on what actions to take and recommend. Zimmerman articulated NO reasonable suspicion for police intervention much less his own. Zimmerman showed total disregard for law enforcement by taking matters into his own hands. 3. A NOT GUILTY verdict does NOT mean Zimmerman is innocent. As it is not uncommon in murder trials with no direct eyewitnesses, Zimmerman benefitted because his was the ONLY side of the story presented. 4. Zimmerman lied about very basic stuff: the streets involved (maybe he was trying to throw off cops from neighborhood witnesses), the screams being his (when he first heard the screams played by the detective he said that i...

Catchy title, right ? Deliberately chosen for two reasons: 1) if the public becomes aware then changes may actually occur and 2) most people who need a self defense lawyer NEED to know this. The two major points are:  the way lawyers practice and become licensed needs drastic improvement and the old stereotype of lawyers is wrong. First, a fact: there are TOO many lawyers. Another fact: people don't like lawyers. They generally rate them next to car salesmen in most untrusted professions. The problem: why are there too many lawyers ? The old stereotype of parents wanting their kids to be successful so they encourage them to be doctors or lawyers has come and gone. Doctors maybe still (mainly because there is a shortage of them, they come at a premium), but most lawyers are lucky to find jobs coming out of law school (it's amazing how many resumes I get every time I have an associate position open) and very few out of law school start at 85k. The average criminal defense ...

Want to take the time to relate inspiring thoughts on  the nobleness of 2 judges. The first is Tarrant County District Court #4 Judge Mike Thomas. He played on the Baylor Bear football team years ago when many hotels did not allow blacks to stay in them. He was on the first Baylor football team that allowed blacks to play.  When they played the University of Arkansas they could not find a hotel in Fayetteville that would allow their black team member to stay so the whole team stayed in neighboring Ft. Smith,Arkansas because they refused to tolerate such inequality.  Tarrant County residents as well as Dallas attorneys should know that Mike Thomas has a deep sense of fairness innately and has had it for many years of his life. Dallas's delinquent court judge Joseph Miller understands that you can change a young person's life early on and prevent a life of serious crime if you get them the right help. In his court that addresses kids missing school he requires the par...

The Great Debate: Today’s Bad Economy & a Presidential Election The Oct.3, 2012 Presidential Debate: What Matters, Who Won ? Over 70 million Americans watched the Denver debate between President Obama and his contender Mitt Romney. Who won ? First- ground rules. Debates should be judged on substance. Personal feelings about candidates should be set aside. Respect for both candidates is necessary in order to properly assess both the strengths and weaknesses. Why is this debate particularly important? Because we are still suffering from a horrible economy that crashed in 2009 and hasn't recovered. So here goes as divided by candidates: salient points either pro or con according to the contender. Romney: “Trickle down government”, the most powerful phrase mentioned in the debate. We all know subconsciously that government is getting bigger but Romney asked a key question, how big does it need to be ? 42% of spending in our US economy is on the government. This is the s...

(This blog was spurred on by my conversation today with a Texas DPS lab analyst in Austin that agreed to talk to me after my dissatisfaction with the noncompliance of 2 subpoena duces tecums. Specifically, "I need the mathematical analysis worksheet to verify the numbers.." Response: "We don't have that." Then: "I need the calibration curve report so that I can do my own mathematical verification..." Response: "We use single point calibration." The most concerning statement was that they just have "the machine do the numbers." To the analyst's credit he does not write the regulations, he is responsive and direct in telling me what the lab can and can't provide but my job is not to make nice nice, my job is to get the data, analyze the data and render a professional opinion to my client as to its validity. Clearly it is time for all us Americans to demand better in our labs. It is time to educate the judges so they don...

The Boiling Coffey Pot: last night I find out a sweet, bright young new lawyer (I mentored her by letting her sit second chair for experience) got arrested for DWI by Keller PD cop Hicks (badge # 154) after she got pulled over for not using a turn signal and telling him she only had one drink. Naturally, she refused all the tests (as he wasn't believing her) and he got a warrant for her blood. Result ? No ethanol. The DA refused to file her case. The ALR judge suspended her license even with evidence of the ZERO ethanol toxicology report ! Bullshit. Here is what is wrong with this picture: the fact that the cop arrested her for probable cause in the first place. Saying NO to everything because the cop has NOTHING is NOT probable cause to arrest and it is high time cops, da(s), and judges start holding them to this and throwing out total refusal bullshit arrests. You either have evidence or you don't ! This is not the middle east, we as free American citizens DON"T HAVE TO ...

In my 6 year quest of reading books on Founding Fathers decided to read a book on Baron Von Steuben, the amazing Prussian/German military genius who proved a godsend to George Washington by introducing order, discipline & rules into the American Army (even wrote the army's first blue book). It turns out he is gay. It's a shame we don't teach this in schools & in our history books. It would make this whole ridiculous controversy over gay policies in the military moot. I recommend the book "The Drillmaster of Valley Forge" by Paul Lockhart. From Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/nicholas-ferroni/american-military-history_b_1606530.html

Man proposes on Fort Worth billboard : A North Texas defense attorney who is an expert at keeping tabs on things was caught off guard this past weekend. She got a big surprise when her boyfriend proposed in a pretty unique way.

DWI Common Courtroom Mistruths Jurors don’t realize that most police officers and prosecutors have no idea what they are really talking about when it comes to HGN and breath testing in the courtroom. Cops take a 24 hour NHTSA course and walk away thinking if the government sponsors this it must be right. The truth is there is very little science to the HGN (don’t get me started on the rest of the circus acts). I will address two very common mistruths. 1. Can caffeine and fatigue cause HGN ? Cops always answer no. They are wrong . There are 38 cited causes for HGN they have been recognized by the courts: “They include: (1) problems with the inner ear labyrinth; (2) irrigating the ears with warm or cold water under peculiar weather conditions; (3) influenza; (4) streptococcus infection; (5) vertigo; (6) measles; (7) syphilis; (8) arteriosclerosis; (9) muscular dystrophy; (10) multiple sclerosis; (11) Kerchiefs syndrome; (12) brain hemorrhage; (13) epilepsy; (14) hypertens...

I ask you. Two recent fact scenarios. Had a guy on a 10 year DWI felony probation who had 2 interlock violations (the machine in your car) in one month 2 years after he started probation. Both blows were well below the legal limit. One of these blows involved him just attempting to start the car for nondriving purposes. While waiting for the Motion to Revoke hearing he was on SCRAM (ankle monitor that measures your sweat for alcohol via satellite) for over 100 days with NO alcohol violations and he started an intense rehab program (at his own expense) where he was progressing well. His options with the judge who oversees the SAFP program (conflict of interest ? I ask you !) for all courts (SAFP is a “treatment” program in prison that costs taxpayers $30k a prisoner where they will spend close to a year in prison with over a 75% recidivism rate) : SAFP (wow, what a surprise !) or prison. He took the 2 years prison rather than suffer the humiliation of SAFP (described as a...

"Profiteers" and "Privateers" close in semantics and in meaning. The former meaning a person in today's society who capitalizes on a profit making opportunity. The latter a term dubbed on pirates who sailed the seas in search of loot. I am currently reading a biography (in my Founding Father quest) on the father of the US Navy: John Paul Jones. His character was impeccable. His mariner skills keen. His spirit to fight injustice unparalleled. As a Scotch sailor, he quickly joined the American bandwagon for "equality for all" versus a society of the privileged based on monarchy. Everything he did (his raiding of the English coasts in retaliation for the British raiding & burning of American eastern seacoasts), his sea battles, his diplomatic overtures in France were made on principle: to secure democracy for everyone. Yet his detractors claimed he was a "Privateer", a pirate. He had many opportunities to profit as a privateer but did not....

In the hustle and bustle of life often great deeds go unmentioned, particularly at the courthouse. It is uplifting and inspiring to hear and share stories of heroic deeds that all too often go unnoticed and deserve mention. Two Fridays ago on March 2, 2012 I popped into Dallas County Criminal Court no.2 to say Hi to the judge & report on the status of an upcoming trial when I witnessed her in the middle of busting a plea. A skinny 17 year old African American high school kid in his orange jail jumpersuit handcuffed behind his back was addressing the judge from behind the counsel table. With her quick wit, she quickly sized up the kid and asked him when he was going to graduate. He meekly stated “in the summer.” She asked him what his criminal trespass case was. He replied that he got caught playing basketball after allowed hours and was warned before not to play past dark (per the apt rules). She asked why he had a theft charge. He explained that he took the school drum home (th...

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As a criminal defense lawyer I am in the middle of the muddy judicial system which is broken and in need of repair. Moral crusading politicians get on their high horses pandering to the ignorant masses (as in not informed & educated on issues) that respond well to catchy tag lines, commercials & speeches. The next thing you know we have more harsh laws, more people arrested and we are building more prisons. The prosecutors try to justify to themselves that their punishments stop property crimes and other offenses related to drug use. Me & other defense lawyers are spinning around so fast on the merry go round of fighting the DAs' approach of harshly convicting or unreasonably probating everyone (probation conditions so onerous they might as well be in jail) that everyone including the judges lose sight of the big picture . What solves people's drug issues ? Is throwing a kid in prison for years over crack possession gonna change him when he gets out (he is worse)...

Yes, I'm pretty liberal on social issues, often vote Democratic but believe in small government (less is more) and being fiscally conservative. Most people don't liven up to the Presidential politics till the year before but now is the time where wild cards succeed and there is unexpected entertainment. The Tuesday debate proved that early on candidates often shoot wild & loose in desperate attempts to fight to be forerunner. In the spirit of George Washington I am a believer in one party: the country. I care not for party acrimony, mud slinging and yellow journalism that seems to pervade our 2 party system. Although I may not agree or sometimes even like certain politicians I respect them all and am deeply grateful for their sacrifices and drive to make our country better. With that being said, my candid insight on the debate and the Republican candidates. 10/18 Mimi Coffey Republican Debate Analysis: 1. Bachman: right about not wise to create another tax (Herman Cain...