Willard Hall

This week's member in the spotlight is Willard Hall from Beaumont, TX. He graduated with his B.S. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and immediately set out writing for two of his hometown newspapers back in Beaumont: the Port Arthur News and the Beaumont Enterprise. After being assigned to the courthouse beat, Willard realized that was where he truly belonged. (How is that for having the perfect perspective when dealing with the media?) On a mission, Willard went back to law school graduating with his J.D. from St. Mary's University School of Law. With the spotlight always attracting him, he secured a job with Beaumont's illustrious criminal defense lawyer Joe Goodwin, who couldn't be bothered handling the minor DWIs that walked in the door. Like the perfect storm, it was at this very time in 1983 that Texas changed DWI from a traffic offense into a criminal act. Willard ran with it, fighting his "traffic offenses" like hell and earned a reputation of being a DWI trailblazer, way ahead of his time-never letting up. Willard's professional efforts mirror the no holds barred daredevil adventurer in him. Growing up at the local airport gassing up planes, he flew his first solo flight at the age of 16. After obtaining his pilot license, but became a F.A.A. licensed certified flight instructor at the age of 19, teaching flying lessons to put himself through college.

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Stephen Paul Barnard

This week's Member in the Spotlight is Stephen Paul Barnard of Tucson, Arizona. Stephen received his J.D. from the University Of Arizona College Of Law, and his B.S. from Arizona State University. He has practiced law for 42 years. Quite mind boggling, and perhaps holding the record for the most DUI jury trials in the country as a defense lawyer, Stephen has tried over 900 DUI jury trials. His expertise does not end at the trial level. He is responsible for more than twenty precedent setting cases before the Court of Appeals and Supreme Court of Arizona including: the right to change judges in lower courts, the right to counsel during a DUI investigation, and the right to obtain independent evidence. Sharing his successful passion with others, Stephen co-founded the AACJ Aggressive Defense of the Accused Impaired Driver bi-annual seminar 27 years ago, recognized as one of the best blood test seminars in the country. Sharing tips from his vast litigation experience, he is also a very impressive and effective presenter. Interesting to note, Stephen's interest in becoming an actor blossomed into his decision to settle on a career in law.

Stephen is a sustaining member of the National College for DUI Defense since 2001, member of National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, America Trial Lawyers Association, and American Bar Association. He also serves on the board of governors for Arizona Attorneys for Criminal Justice where he heads the DUI committee. He was named one of The Best Lawyers in America for 2010, and one of the Best Lawyers in Tucson by Tucson Lifestyle Magazine, with a superb attorney rating by AVVO.

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Rhidian Orr

This week's Member in the Spotlight is Rhidian Orr of Denver, Colorado. Rhidian received his J.D. from the University Of Denver College Of Law in 2000, his B.A. from the University of Denver in 1994, and his MBA in 2002. He is co-author of the Colorado DUI Survival Guide (2013) and authored a chapter in the Inside the Minds: Navigating DUI Drug Cases (2012). Alongside with Tim Bussey, Rhidian helped create a DUI training program for the public defenders of Colorado.

Inheriting his entrepreneurial spirit from his family of doctors, Rhidian was an owner of an Internet company by age 27. When the dot com bubble burst, he went back to law school with an eye towards corporate mergers and acquisitions. With this in mind, after graduating law school he decided to get his MBA. After passing the bar and finishing his MBA, a dear friend of his got arrested for DUI. A conviction meant his friend would lose his career. Rhidian reluctantly agreed to handle his DUI immersing himself in every DUI book and legal reference he could find. He prevailed and to use his inspiring words, "I helped a good person overcome a mistake and it didn't cost him his career in the process. But I also realized how many people were not as fortunate as my friend, so it was at that moment that I decided to fight for those accused of DUI. This is how I became a DUI attorney."

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David S. Katz

This week’s member in the spotlight is David S. Katz of Orlando, Florida. David was raised in New Jersey and has spent his entire adult life in central Florida. David has an Associates of Occupational Sciences in Culinary Arts – Summa Cum Laude, a Bachelors of Science in Food Service Management, Summa Cum Laude, both from Johnson & Wales University and a Juris Doctorate – Summa Cum Laude from Barry University, School of Law.

Interesting to note, after graduating college, David became a chef and successfully owned and operated two restaurants in Gainesville and Altamonte. So it is no surprise his hobby is cooking and trying new restaurants.

David, as a former prosecutor set a high ethical bar. He was instrumental in reopening closed Florida cases when problems came to light on the Intoxilyzer 8000. A short time after 9/11, while selecting a jury, he was successful in convincing a judge to strike the entire jury panel because it became clear the defendant, a young man of Arabic descent, would not get a fair trial.

David and his partner James Phillips have seven associates at their firm. With the exception of only one associate leaving to work with a father in law, all trained associates remain. His excellent management and legal skills has earned his firm the Client’s Choice award four years in a row as well as the Martindale Hubbel’s Client Distinction award the last two years.

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Cole Casey

This week’s member in the spotlight is Cole Casey of San Diego, California. He is a Sustaining Member of the NCDD and a past State Delegate. He graduated from San Diego State University with a degree in economics and from the Thomas Jefferson School of Law. He is co-author of California Drunk Driving Defense Manual, with Larry Taylor. He is certified as both a practitioner and instructor in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration standardized field sobriety tests. Cole Casey is a well-respected national speaker on DUI/DWI topics around the country, a Specialist Member of the California DUI Lawyers Association, and founder of the San Diego DUI Defense Associates. He is also a member of the California Attorneys for Criminal Justice, as well as local and state bar associations.

Cole’s firm has been A+ rated by the California Better Business Bureau for more than ten years and has been awarded the AVVO Client’s Choice Award for the last four straight years. He is consistently named one of San Diego’s Top Attorneys in criminal law and/or DUI Law by the San Diego Daily Transcript and San Diego Metro Magazine. His genius at business is no coincidence. His firm consists of four lawyers and two case managers who both have Master’s degrees in criminal justice.

Cole is a prolific trial attorney who attempts to try at least 20 DUI jury trials a year. His favorite wins are the ones like his last DUI trial- a .17 BAC, Not Guilty on all counts. The judge in chambers had asked,”Counsel, why isn’t your client just pleading guilty?”

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Bob Murray

This week’s member in the spotlight is Robert Murray of Columbia, Missouri. Bob graduated from the University of Missouri School of Law in 1985, after earning his bachelors degree in Political Science at MU. He has practiced Criminal Law for 29 years, specializing in DWI Defense the past 12 years. After the police improperly conducted the investigation of a head-on motorcycle accident that resulted in the death of his best friend, Bob decided to become a defense attorney, in order to hold officers accountable. Now that accountability is ensuring truth in the forensic sciences brought to the courtroom. Among his favorite wins were the acquittal of a law student who was arrested on his graduation day on charges of DWI, Resisting Arrest, and Chemical Test Refusal, and having the speeding law in his home county declared invalid by the Circuit Court, resulting in the dismissal of over 400 speeding citations. Bob has passed on his immense talent through training 4 associates and over a dozen law clerks to practice Criminal Law, lecturing at 16 seminars on DWI Law for the Missouri Bar, and teaching DWI law to the Trial Practice class at the University of Missouri Law School. True to his big heart, he especially enjoys winning pro bono cases.

Bob has 3 sons and a daughter. He has logged in hours with the Boy Scouts of America, sponsored countless high school special events and activities, and has coached many of his kids’ baseball and soccer teams. It is no surprise his hobby is camping and hiking in National Parks (Yosemite, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain NP were particular favorites); snorkeling (Jamaica, St. Johns USVI and Maui); and exploring islands. Bob says, “So many beaches and so little time.”

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Fred Slone

Fred Slone, DUI defense attorney, has been practicing law in Alaska since 1983.

Fred grew up in the North Dakota, and attended law school in Albany, New York. Between his last two years of law school he took a summer intern job in Anchorage, fell in love with the area, and returned to Alaska as soon as he graduated law school.

Started practicing both civil and criminal law, but focused on DUI defense the past 20 years. It is a field in which people from all walks find themselves in need of help.

The law firm, Kasmar and Slone, was started in 1987. Fred’s partner practices business and real estate law. Fred has one associate who works DUI defense. Dawn, Fred’s principal legal assistant, has worked with Fred since the firm started more than 25 years ago.

One of his more interesting cases is State v. Campbell, 198 P.3d 1170 (Alaska App. 2008). In that case an officer attempted to conduct a stop of a client, for failure to have headlights activated. The officer mistakenly thought that headlights were required, but the law did not require headlights for another 15 minutes. The client did not stop; instead driving across a department store parking lot, with the officer pursuing with overhead lights and siren on. The client then drove over a curb, across four lanes of traffic, and over the curb on the other side of the street where his van came to a stop on the sidewalk. The client then jumped out, pulled some boards off a fence and ran through the fence to the yard of a resident, who tackled the client until the police arrived in pursuit. The client was charged with felony eluding, DUI, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest. The court ultimately held that the client’s illegal actions in attempting to elude would be suppressed, since the client’s actions stemmed from the officer’s illegal attempt to stop the client. All charges were dismissed. The decision necessarily rested on the search and seizure clause of the Alaska Constitution

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Patrick Mahaney

NCDD DUI/DWI Warrior

Member in the Spotlight: Patrick Mahaney

Our member in the spotlight this week is Patrick Mahaney of Montgomery, Alabama. Patrick graduated from the Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina. He worked as a trooper for the Alabama Department of Public Safety. As a DUI trooper who testified frequently, he learned cross examination firsthand from one of the country’s best: notably, cross examination from Tommy Kirk, former Dean of NCDD! The assistant district attorneys he worked with gave him the Code of Alabama and McElroy’s Alabama Evidence to read which spurred him on to law school. After passing the bar, Patrick was appointed as an assistant attorney general and the assistant legal counsel for the Alabama DPS. He retired from the Alabama DPS in 2000. He then worked for the U.S. State Department in Kosovo, Jordan, and Iraq. He served 18 months as the executive officer of the U.S. Civilian Police Mission to Iraq. His military service extends over 28 years – Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserve. He achieved the rank of lieutenant colonel, was twice awarded the Meritorious Service Medal; was airborne and ranger qualified (with over 100 parachute jumps) and served six and a half years in the Special Forces.

In his 25 years of practicing law, he published, Alabama DUI, Traffic and Driver License Law Handbook (now in its 3rd edition), conducts CLE training year round for the Montgomery County Bar Association, and the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He has received the Alabama Criminal Defense Lawyers Association President’s Award for outstanding achievement in 2009, 2010, 2012, and 2014. As for victories, Patrick particularly relishes his “trapped alcohol” defense in getting breath test acquittals by bringing science to the courtroom through explanatory power point.

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Bruce Edge

No distinction is made between members and regents in our Member in the Spotlight. We thank all members for their great contributions to justice, regents included.

Our featured member in the spotlight is Bruce Edge. He was raised by a country preacher who clearly passed his oratorical and storytelling gifts on. After graduating with an accounting degree, Bruce worked for the IRS for ten years before trying his own hand at business. He opened a retail business that grew into a small manufacturing plant and 25 stores. He balanced being a successful business mogul with community service by serving three terms on the school board, serving as both President and Director of the Chamber of Commerce and coaching t-ball, baseball, basketball, soccer and golf while raising his two sons.

Clamoring for a new challenge in a different arena, he went back to law school and became inspired with criminal defense after witnessing first hand two family members go through bad experiences with law enforcement. In this light, he went on to graduate from the Tulsa Citizen’s Police Academy, teach Oklahoma police officers in the Cleet Academy- and obtained training in the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s (NHTSA) standardized field sobriety tests as both a practitioner and instructor, Intoxilyzer 5000, Intoxilyzer 8000 and owns the largest private collection of breath test machines and alcohol simulators in Oklahoma. He has served as past president of the Tulsa County Defense Lawyers Association and is a director of the Oklahoma Criminal Defense Lawyers Association. He is the co-author of Oklahoma DUI Survival Guide (first and second editions) and Oklahoma DUI Defense: The Law and Practice.

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