The speaker at our regular club meeting on November 30, 2022, was the current President of Rotary Club of Bakersfield West, Richard Middlebrook. Richard has been an attorney for decades specializing in DUI defenses. He gave a very entertaining and informative talk to us about our rights as citizens and how inaccurate the science behind alcohol testing and DUI cases can be. He also reminded us that under our great Constitution, we do not have to answer questions from law enforcement just because they ask us questions. He strongly suggested that we stay quite and not say anything. He told us that he has seen so many innocent people get into serious problems because they kept talking to law enforcement thinking that they can't say anything wrong since they are innocent after all. He suggested that we do not agree to take the field-sobriety test since it is up to the officer's subjective interpretation if we pass or fail it. He also suggested that we refuse to do the breathalyzer test since the science behind that test is not flawless. Instead, he suggested that we offer law enforcement officers to give them a sample of our blood that can be tested for blood-alcohol level. Thank you Richard for a very entertaining and informative program.
