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ORIGINS OF THE NATIONAL COLLEGE FOR DUI DEFENSE |
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In the 1980s, drunk driving was an offense commonly handled by the general practitioner, and whose technical complexities were poorly understood if at all. There existed no professional organizations dedicated to DUI defense, and the rare training seminar addressing the subject was local in nature and necessarily superficial. In most cases, it was “the blind leading the blind”, with the focus on legal issues and trial skills; there was little appreciation or comprehension of alcohol metabolism, breathalyzers, blood analysis, field sobriety tests, etc.
This lack of focus and expertise began to change as MADD’s political and public relations activities and the resultant increase in penalties, technical advances and growing constitutional issues began to raise the stakes – the defense attorney was, in effect, without resources, expert witnesses or access to more experienced attorneys. He was isolated.
The first major change occurred in 1983. One of the pioneering attorneys in the field, Don Nichols of Minneapolis, was instrumental in convincing the American Bar Association to sponsor a national seminar devoted exclusively to drunk driving defense. The result was the “ABA First National Seminar on Defending the Drunk Driver”, held in Washington, D.C. The presenters included Nichols, Taylor and Reese Joye, as well as scientific experts in the fields of blood and breath-alcohol analysis and radio frequency interference.
The success of this seminar, and the clear need of defense attorneys across the country, resulted in a novel and ground-breaking series of seminars. Nichols, Taylor, Joye and Erwin created a national tour, with themselves and three experts presenting one-day seminars in 15 major cities. Overcoming daunting logistics, the team presented seminars in five cities in five days, Monday through Friday, then repeat the schedule a month later in five new cities. The 15-city tour proved a resounding success.
The national seminar tour exposed the widespread need for information in this growing specialization, and triggered a flood of local seminars throughout the country. Over the next ten years, the field of drunk driving litigation expanded exponentially, along with the need for further education and communication among practitioners. Although DUI seminars were now more prevalent, the practitioner was again on his own once the seminar ended.
This was about to change.
In 1994, William C. Head contacted Taylor, Nichols and Joye to discuss the idea of creating a national association of drunk driving defense attorneys. The four met twice in Atlanta to “brainstorm” the concept, and finally decided to contact the most-respected practitioners in the country. An agreement was reached to meet for a long weekend in Chicago.
The attorneys met at the at the Chicago O’Hare Hilton in August of 1994. Over the next two days of meetings in a hotel conference room, the attorneys hammered out the purposes and structure of the new organization – to be named “The National College for DUI Defense”.
The original 10 founders at that round-table conference were:
William C. Head (Atlanta, GA)
Douglas Cowan (Seattle, WA)
Lawrence Taylor (Los Angeles, CA)
John Henry Hingson (Portland, OR)
Reese Joye (Charleston, SC)
Phil Price (Huntsville, AL)
James Farragher Campbell (San Francisco, CA)
Gary Trichter (Houston, TX)
Flem Whited (Daytona Beach, FL)
James Tarantino (Providence, RI) (attended via telephone conference)
The purposes of the College were to be essentially twofold. First and foremost, improving the education and skills of the practitioner. Second, providing a venue for communication and fraternity among practitioners nationwide. Later, a third goal was set of increasing and recognizing the quality of the practitioners by obtaining ABA approval for specialization in the field.
In pursuance of the educational objective, the Founders planned an annual national seminar. The focus would be on an intense educational experience with the highest quality faculty possible – while limiting enrollment and achieving an unheard-of faculty-to-student ratio of 6:1. In keeping with these objectives, it was decided to hold a three-day seminar at a highly respected law school. As a former law professor, Taylor was appointed to approach the administration at Harvard Law School with the proposal.
The second objective, increasing communication and fraternity among isolated defense attorneys, was addressed through the seminars, the establishment of a website and, of critical importance, the creation of an email listserve with which members could instantly discuss issues and share ideas and experiences with fellow members across the country.
In October of 1994, the Founders voted to create a Board of Regents to administer the College; an Executive Director, Karen Nagy, was retained for administrative duties. Essentially, the Board consisted of the original founders, with minor changes. Hingson withdrew, citing a potential conflict of interest with his position at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, as did Tarantino due to time constraints. Victor Carmody (Mississippi) and Francis X. Moore (New Jersey) were added. By this time, Nichols’ law practice had shifted to employment law, and he withdrew from an active role with the College. In honor of his historic leadership, however, he was elected “Honorary Dean” for the first year.
Original Board of Regents (11):
Don Nichols – Honorary Dean
Lawrence Taylor – Assistant Dean
Phil Price – Secretary
Reese Joye - Treasurer
William Head
Doug Cowan
Flem Whited
Victor Carmody
Francis X. Moore
James Campbell
Gary Trichter
The facilities for the College’s first office were graciously provided by Head in his own Atlanta law offices. Initial funding for the non-profit College came from $10,000 donations from each Founder, later supplemented with membership dues and seminar income.
The College’s First Summer Session at Harvard Law School was held in July of 1995 – and proved a resounding success. An annual Winter Session was soon added, to be held in different locales, and the College partnered with NACDL to jointly sponsor an annual national seminar in Las Vegas as well.
Membership quickly grew; as of 2009, there were over 900 members. The internet listserve has proven an invaluable resource, and a newsletter updating members as to DUI legal developments was created. In 2006, through the extensive efforts of Fellows James Campbell (San Francisco) and Jess Paul (Indianapolis), the American Bar Association approved certification of drunk driving defense as a specialty, with the College as the sole authorized certifying body.
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