Although it is heartening to be able to expose the reality that there are bad cops who have made a career of “embellishing” evidence against those they seek to prosecute for drunk driving; it is most disheartening to come to grips with the fact that there are untold numbers of Americans who have been victimized by such police misconduct each year.

While the lack of credibility of many bad cops can be undermined by the retention of experienced dui defense counsel, many of these wayward individuals populating law enforcement are permitted to slip through the cracks. Such individuals are often permitted to abuse the rights of good people undetected, often as the result of inadequate defense representation either through a general practice attorney or public defender.

The most recent example of such police misconduct has been reported out of Utah where a class action lawsuit has been initiated against a state trooper accused of swearing to the impairment of motorists she stopped without sufficient evidence.

The state trooper in question followed an all too familiar pattern. Honored by organizations applauding the volume of dui arrests she was making, this particular cop was encouraged to continue her malfeasance. Only in the wake of overturned convictions was this cop first reprimanded and then formally fired from her position.

Hundreds of motorists are said to have been potentially victimized within the case. As the civil lawsuit moves forward, it is my hope that a trial is permitted to proceed to a conclusion so as to shine light on the true nature of what transpired to innocent motorists within Utah. Unfortunately, too frequently the public never learns the true scope of abuse as confidential civil settlements will almost always preclude dissemination of information as a condition of financial compensation to victims affected.

In my capacity as an Indiana defense lawyer, I am not versed in the procedural process of dui prosecutions within the state of Utah. However, I am especially concerned with how such a misguided state policewoman could have inflicted such pain among so many members of the driving public based upon her testimony alone for so long.

As the facts come forward, cases such as these can serve as an important learning lesson to potential citizens who may someday be called as a juror within a dui case prosecution. Knowledge can ensure that no longer are potential citizens naive as to the reality that those given great power to judge the actions of others must also be held to account. Although many have been pre conditioned to believe that there are procedural safeguards in place within our court systems to guard against fabricated evidence, it is usually only the quality and experience of defense lawyers nationwide that are left to utilize the mechanisms of the judicial system, often against great odds, to ensure that true justice becomes a reality to as many people as possible.