BRIGHT DAY, DIM IDEA SUNLIT STUPIDITY FOILS A THIEF
Santa Claus isn’t real. The world doesn’t disappear when you close your eyes. You can be arrested for burglary regardless of the time of day you commit the crime. Most reasonable people accept the above facts as undeniable truths long before they reach 22. Unfortunately (or humorously, depending on your point of view), James Blankenship of Willoughby, Ohio, was unaware of that last fact despite being a legal adult for four years. One day during the summer of 2013, he broke into his mother’s house in the neighboring city of Eastlake by removing a window screen. Already on shaky ground with his parent for reasons not specified in media coverage of the incident, he had been banned from the Eastlake premises for at least three months before attempting to enter it without permission. According to statements his mother later gave to the police, her son had no possessions in the home at the time of the incident.
Because Blankenship chose to commit his crime in broad daylight, his mother spotted him and alerted the police. Rather than fleeing the neighborhood when he was discovered, he hid in a crawl space near his mother’s home. A witness reported seeing him run behind a nearby house, which allowed police to locate him easily. According to an official statement on the Eastlake Police’s Facebook page, Blankenship told the arresting officers, “I thought you could only be charged with burglary if you break in during the nighttime.” After pleading guilty to a lesser charge of breaking and entering, Blankenship served 60 days in prison (with 120 days out of his original 180-day sentence suspended) and was fined $100. Perhaps most significantly, he also learned a valuable lesson on how the sun helps people see things during the day.
DON’T LET AN UNDERAGE DUI RUIN YOUR FUTURE Zero Tolerance
For teenagers, the consequences of drinking while driving can be dire. Under New Jersey’s zero-tolerance policy, even the smallest amount of alcohol in the bloodstream — such as 0.01%, the equivalent of just one beer — of an underage driver warrants a DUI charge. If a minor driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) surpasses the adult limit of 0.08% or higher, they are charged as an adult. All 50 states have stricter DUI prohibitions for minors than adults, with BAC limits ranging from 0.00% to 0.02%. Yet peer pressure, a yen for excitement, and immature brain development still lead many teens who are drunk or high to slide behind the wheel.
The strict penalties for teens make sense. Teenage drivers are less likely than adults to drive drunk, but they are at much higher risk of crashing when they do, even at low blood alcohol levels. They also tend not to wear seatbelts, leading to a higher fatality rate. For underage drivers in New Jersey, a DUI conviction can bring a 30- to 90-day license suspension, 15–30 hours of community service, and court- ordered enrollment in an alcohol education course. But the life consequences can tarnish a teen’s long-term future. Students charged with DUI may lose academic scholarships or financial aid. They may be disqualified from certain major fields of study. In extreme cases, they may be expelled from school or college. A DUI conviction also can be an obstacle when a young adult applies for a job. Employers conducting background checks on applicants may disqualify these minors for certain jobs, or any job at all. Also, if these young adults have aspirations to study abroad, travel overseas, or work in a globe-trotting career, they may be denied entry to some countries. Working with an experienced DUI lawyer can prevent these charges from ruining a young adult’s future. If you or someone you love is facing potentially life-changing DUI charges, do not hesitate to contact us. We welcome the chance to mount a strong defense on your behalf!
2 | StevenEllmanLaw.com
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