DUI Defense Lawyers Association (DUIDLA)

DUIDLA conferences bring in hundreds of the most active DUI defense attorneys in the United States and Canada.

The 2022 Fall Seminar was scheduled for September 8 - 10, 2022, in Austin, TX. Participants could attend either In-Person or through Live Stream.

The presentations included:

• Blood Testing: What Lawyers Must Know (Justin McShane, JD – PA & Josh Lee, JD, MS, NREMT – OK)
• DWI Tool Kit (AnneMarie Rizzo, JD, GC, MS – FL)
• Nullifying SFSTs Without an Expert (Mark Thiessen, JD) 3:15 pm – 3:45 pm Winning the Unwinnable Case (Michael Kessler, JD – FL)
• Unforgettable War Stories & Trial Tactics (Rusty Hardin, JD – TX) 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm DUIDLA Welcome Reception
• Medical Defenses for DWI Cases (Andy Alpert, JD – MD)
• Spotting Common Breath & Blood Errors (Amanda Culbertson, JD – TX) 10:30 am – 10:45 am BREAK (snacks!)
• Canadian Travel After a DWI (Marisa Feil, JD – Canada)
• Top 10 Trial Analogies for Every Trial (Thomas Grajek, JD – FL)
• DUIDLA Talks – Dealer’s Choice (Douglas Huff, JD – TX, Paul Doroshenko, QC, LLB – British Columbia, Sanjay Biswas, JD – TX)
• A Systemized Firm is an Ethical Firm (Jay Ruane, JD – CT)

The 2023 Spring Seminar is scheduled on April 20 - 22, 2023 in Nashville, TN, at The Westin Nashville, 807 Clark Pl., Nashville, Tennessee 37203. The organization offers two ways to register for the seminar - either In-Person and Live Stream. 

Topics for the seminar include:

• Back to Basics: Outline for a DUI Trial (Matt Brock, JD – TN)
• Marijuana, CBD, Delta 8 & Delta 9 (Jimmie Valentine, PhD)
• Speaking Truth and Earning Sympathy with a Jury (Marcos Garza, JD – TN)
• Effective Opening Statements (Greg Willis, JD – GA)
• Effective Closing Arguments (Christine Koehler, JD – GA)
• SFST’s Primer (John Bateman, JD – SC)
• “Media Trials” & Other Difficult Cases (Shyanne Riddle, JD – TN & Rob McKinney, JD – TN)
• Marijuana & SFST’s (Carrie Valentine, PhD)
• Trial Tips: What I’d Tell My Newly-Licensed Self About Trying Cases (Patrick McLaughlin, JD – SC & Drew Carroll, JD – SC)
• Challenging the Lack of Uncertainty Reporting in Breath Testing (Brian Manchester, JD – PA)
• A Primer on Direct & Cross of Experts (Tim Huey, JD – OH)
• Breath Testing Made Easy (Jan Semenoff)
• DUIDLA Young Guns (“Preparing Your Client for Trial” – Chloe Spencer, JD – OH & “Evaluating Your Client’s Case” – Sorsha Huff, JD – OH)
• What Really Happens in the Lab (Janine Arvizu)
• Science in Bite-Sized Chunks: Images, Analogies and Stories that Will Click (Mark Thiessen, JD – TX)

The past DUIDLA seminars included:

• the Summer Seminar of 2015 in Chicago, IL
• the Winter 2015 Seminar in Santa Monica, CA
• the Summer 2016 Seminar in Denver, CO - Mile High Seminar - Defending Marijuana DUID Cases;
• the Winter 2016 Seminar - Second Annual on January 15-17 in The Saguaro Scottsdale in Scottsdale, AZ;
• the Spring Seminar in 2017 in Austin, TX;
• the 2017 Seminar in Atlanta; GA;
• the 2017 Seminar in Charleston, SC;
• the Fall seminar on September 13-15, 2018, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• the Spring Seminar of 2019 in Nashville, TN
• the Fall Seminar of 2019 in San Diego, CA
• Spring Seminar of 2020 in Washington, D.C.
• Fall Seminar of 2020 in Austin, TX

The DUIDLA Justice Foundation is the charitable arm of the organization which supports the education of lawyers throughout the United States and Canada.

One function of the DUIDLA Justice Foundation is to provide scholarships to younger attorneys and public defenders. The tuition scholarships allow younger attorneys and public defenders to attend advanced training sessions and seminars on DUI defense.

Attorneys who are actively engaged in the defense of DUI-related cases are eligible for membership in the organization. Members are generally required to complete one DUI-dedicated continuing legal education (CLE) seminar per year.

The DUIDLA does not accept members who are employed as prosecutors by any city, state, or federal government or anyone who works in any capacity that is in conflict with the objectives and purposes of the Association.

Charter members include 27 individuals who paid the Charter Membership dues and are not required to pay annual dues. Charter members serve as the initial officers, initial directors, and the DUIDLAJF initial board.

Other membership levels include:

• Sustaining Membership;
• Founding Membership;
• Law Student Membership;
• Affiliate Membership;
• Public Defender Membership; and
• Paralegal Membership.

The standing committees on DUIDLA include:

• Budget Committee;
• Affiliate Organization Committee;
• Board Certification Committee;
• Technology Committee;
• Outreach Committee; and
• Seminar Committee.

DUIDLA Bad Ass Awards

Over the years, the DUIDLA Awards Committee has designated recipients for the DUIDLA Bad Ass, the highest honor bestowed by the DUI Defense Lawyers Association. Award presented during the Spring or Fall Seminar.

Past recipients include:

• Greg Willis, 2019
• Kyla "Boxcar" Lee, 2019
• Sarah Schielke, 2021
• Tim Huey, 2021

The DUIDLA provides a path to becoming a Board Certified Specialist in the area of DUI Defense. To earn your status as a specialist, you must meet the education and experience requirements to sit for the DUIDLA Board Certification Exam and score a passing grade on the exam.

The Board Certification is issued by the DUIDLA Board Certification Committee. DUIDLA has tailored the experience requirements to allow members from across the United States to be eligible for this important distinction. Attorneys who earn Board Certification from DUIDLA must still follow the rules in their home state for advertising this designation.

The suggested resources to study for the board certification exam include:

• all versions of the NHTSA SFST manuals
• validation studies
• DRE manuals
• Garriott’s Medicolegal Aspects of Alcohol (5th and 6th editions)
• Past and current issues of Counterpoint: The Journal of Science and the Law
• "Basic Gas Chromatography" by Harold McNair

Questions on the exam require knowledge of the significant US Supreme Court decisions that impacted DUI and DWI cases.

The board certification exam administered by DUIDLA also explores ethical considerations involved in DUI/DWI defense practice. Applicants should also possess a working knowledge of:

• Alcohol and drug pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics
• Retrograde extrapolation
• Breath testing theory and science

The requirements for earning board certification include:

• Being an attorney admitted to practice and a member in good standing in one or more states or territories of the United States, the District of Columbia or in
  Canada
• The application must conduct business for an average of at least 3 days per week with at least 50% of the attorney's practice being devoted to DUI/DWI defense for the five year period preceding the application.
• Meeting the education and CLE requirements
• Meeting the experience and task requirements
• Paying the $500 application fee and submitting the completed application
• Providing the required peer review references
• Obtaining a passing score on the Board Certification Exam
• Obtaining approval from the DUIDLA Board Certification Committee