DWI Hit Parade!

To The Editor:
Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, LLP is pleased to announce that U.S. News Media Group and Best Lawyers®, publishers of Best Law Firms, has named our firm the national “Law Firm of the Year” for First Amendment Litigation.
We are honored by this recognition, most especially as a reflection of the trust and commitment that our clients have placed in us. We have always judged our success, not by awards, but by the longevity and depth of our client relationships.
We are extremely grateful to our clients for providing us with the opportunity to advise and represent them in some of their most significant content-related matters over the past 15 years. And, so, to all our clients, we simply say, “Thank you.”  

                Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz LLP

               Practice Areas
Defamation, Privacy & Publicity
Copyright, Trademark & Intellectual Property
Newsgathering Liability
Content Regulation & Censorship
Subpoena Matters
Access & FOIA
(Editor’s Note: Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz represented me in the successful civil rights action Rossignol v Voorhaar which was a landmark First Amendment case. )

Grand Forks Herald
MINOT — About 20 years ago, a drunken individual crossed the center line north of Jamestown, N.D., and killed two of the passengers and severely injured one of the other occupants in the car that was hit. The driver had no valid driver’s license or insurance and was driving his mother’s car.
The problem was, “how can society prevent such an incident?” I believed, and still do, that the only way to prevent this from happening is to restrict the availability of a drunken person from getting a car. My proposal was to confiscate and sell the car involved at the time of the third DUI offense…MORE

To the Editor:
“Toxicology reports indicated both Michael Korenchuk and his wife Rachel were legally intoxicated when an alleged drunk driver rear-ended them at Glen and Sheridan in Peoria.
Both had alcohol levels twice the legal limit, and both had cocaine in their systems.”
http://www.cinewsnow.com/news/local/Motorcycle-Crash-Victims-Death-Ruled-Homicide–129926068.html
I understand that the Korenchuk’s paid the ultimate price but if you’re going to report the story, then report the all of the facts. Someone with your website felt it was important to state that the third driver involved was intoxicated, so you might as well also report the fact that both of the Korenchuk’s were legally intoxicated (twice the legal limit) and under the influence of cocaine at the time of the accident.
Kelly Gaffney
(Editor’s Note: thank you for providing the above information.  On that night, at that intersection, it appears that all those on the road
were intoxicated.)

To the Editor:
I am writing just to voice my opinion on why people like Derek Manwarren should receive a life sentence after what he did to an innocent young man trying to help a friend. People like him make me want to be on a jury just to be sure he never, ever sees the freedom that Brian Cook will never be allowed to enjoy again. My sympathies go out to his family and friends and I can only hope that this poor excuse of a human being gets his just due. He should be able to face Brian Cooks parents and explain to them why they will never see their son again.
Rocky Fiala
Rochester, NY

Derek Manwarren should be held accountable for killing Brian Cook
To the Editor:
This is pure tragedy. It is unfortunate that two young people and two sets of families are hurting.  My heart goes out to Brian Cook and his family as many memories will help us all heal.
Let this be a lesson to all of us that life is precious and fragile.
It is hard to say this because a situation like this shouldn’t have to occur.
Driving while intoxicated should not be taken lightly. Derek should be held accountable for his actions. No amount of money will bring Brian back, so why can a certain amount get someone out of jail? Brian, you’re a wonderful athlete, brother, son,  grandson, and cousin. I love you!
“We must become the change we want to see in the world.”-Gandhi
Julie Rawson,
 Long Beach, CA

To the Editor:
Good morning. I just wanted to let the person in charge of this rediculous cite know how ignorant they truly are. Get a life douche. Feel free to forward this on. Thanks! And have a wonderful day.
Amber Robison
aajjddrr@gmail.com

To the Editor:
Would just like to inform you that your site has been the first thing that employers have seen when they google my name. No background check or anything. Keep up the good work, I hope you get hit… scratch that. I hope you get killed by a drunk driver. Then raped and eaten.
newcastleand99s@hotmail.com

From Detroit Free Press
Prosecutors in Will County say a man who killed a woman when he crashed his truck into a horse she was riding has pleaded guilty to aggravated drunken driving.
The office said Monday that 42-year-old Michigan resident Angus Lake faces a sentence of up to 14 years in prison when he returns to court for sentencing in March.
Prosecutors say Lake and two women were drinking one night in April 2011 at Balmoral Park Racetrack in Crete when they left to go horseback riding.
Officials say Lake later got into his truck to look for the women. A short time later, his truck struck a horse, killing 25-year-old Michelle Eustis, and….MORE

Letter to the Editor
Last I checked investigators still do not know for sure who was driving the car that fatally hit and killed young Alix. 
There are too many variables in this case and I feel your cartoon was ridiculous and disrespectful to all parties involved.
A young girl riding a skateboard on a dark street in the middle of the night is a recipe for disaster.
 Unfortunately for Alix it proved to be fatal and very sad, but we still do not have any proof that the doctor was even driving or in that car the night of the accident.
You should consider retracting your article until you have all the facts.
Kimberly Grace
(Editor’s Note: your desire to have the articles retracted will require a withdrawal of the criminal charges against Dr. Corasanti.  At such time the updated news will be presented, along with appropriate commentary.
It is unfortunate that he decided to refuse the breath test, but as a medical professional, he knew without a doubt that the measure of blood alcohol in his system would prove he was intoxicated and he undoubtedly had the presence of mind to call his attorney on his cell phone prior to being found by police.
How you can blame this tragedy on the skateboarder shows the mentality involved in the mindset to rationalize continued driving after drinking.  This death shows that even drinking an amount less than needed to pass the legal limit can still impair one’s reaction times to challenges presented ahead on the roadway.
Pedestrians and others on non-motorized wheels need to understand they have a shared obligation to avoid collisions and not to veer out in front of traffic.
Too bad the Doc didn’t blow, then you could really be his champion. It was a ridiculous choice on his part if he was innocent….and regardless of who’s fault it was, maybe the doctor could have stopped at the scene and attempted to render aid to save her life instead of leaving her like a dead animal.)
Your views are invited: send to staff@dwihitparade.com

Police still seeking info on timeline of deadly crash…who was in the vehicle with Dr. Corasanti? 

Dear DWI Hit Parade,
I am emailing you regarding a recent post about a young man which can be found at this link  
I am in no way a supporter of drinking and driving and I strongly believe in raising awareness on the topic. However, as a close friend to Cameron and ”his 17-year-old friend” who was driving, I kindly ask you to remove the post from your website. Not only me, but Cameron’s other friends and family, are still in a tender time of mourning, where seeing a post such as this one can harm the grieving process. And in addition, to see our young inexperienced friend labeled as a criminal. I personally was on a very important trip, where the Internet was one of my main sources of finding information on the accident.  The second link available to me was yours. Where I saw my dear friend’s death exclaimed, and his face expressed as a bad kid asking for “a ticket to his own funeral!”
I ask you, how could an organization with such intentions on preventing drunk driving be so cold and inconsiderate to Cameron’s friends and family who don’t deserve to see their loved one billboarded in such a harsh way. I also ask you to please remove the post in respect to us still grieving on Cameron’s death.
Thank you for your time. 
Yours in Service,
Nicole Jones
(Editor’s Note: Don’t get in a car with a drunk driver unless you want a ticket to your own funeral. This is a simple but important message and will continue to be told here over and over again in the hope that ONE PERSON might get the message…starting with you.)

To the Editor
I have been exonerated. All charges associated with this arrest have been Nolle Prosequi due to lack of evidence, i.e. my low BAC of .03. Obviously, since the State of Maryland has a no drop policy for these charges, there must of been something deeply wrong with my case for them to do so.
I understand that Driving Impaired is dangerous, illegal and harms many people’s lives and my heart goes out to those victims and their families. But for you to be so quick to judge me on my “decisions” is harmful to your mission and your decision to automatically trust the competency and integrity of every arrest and police officer is misguided. It is not up to your site, or your readers, to determine innocence or guilt based on empty accusations. I trust that you will be more conscious when automatically accusing people before their trial. As I said before, I feel your site will have more success if you are responsible when selecting names and reputations to tarnish.
Shawn DeLaVergne
“A wrongly accused man is always vilified by the ignorant masses. Such a man should fire at will, he is bound to hit something.”
(Editor’s Note: A BAC level of .03 while below the legal limit still indicates that the driver had been drinking prior to driving.  While not illegal to do so, based solely on the BAC level, any alcohol can slow response times to challenges in operating a vehicle and lead to injury or death.  Thus all of us should rely upon someone not drinking to drive or wait until the alcohol leaves the system.  Having charges dropped by a prosecutor who finds that a case has been ill-prepared by police, witnesses not available or other decisions based on the information available to a prosecutor does not indicate that the charges are “empty accusations”.  The public relies upon the police, prosecutors and judges to fairly enforce the law and the courts have ruled that the media has the right under the First Amendment to report actions taken by those entrusted with our system of justice.  Since Shawn DelaVergne admits that he was drinking and driving, although under the legal limit, and according to the court records the case was dropped by the Carroll County States Attorney; he should draw the conclusion that he was lucky that he did not cause injury or death to another and that expensive repercussions to his actions were avoided.
The Maryland State Police are extremely competent and well trained; it is up to the decisions of prosecutors as to proceed with a case and does nothing to impugn the validity of the arrest. Anyone who can point to an illegal arrest can provide the proof. As our system of laws allows the readers to have access to all arrests and for the press to report on the actions of our publicly paid law officers, the reader can draw their own conclusions about what all this means. It is a shame that DeLaVergne believes he has been “vilified” by being one of 438 persons listed in the DWIHitParade report of those arrested by the Maryland State Police in April of 2011.  It is also a shame he believes that our readers are “ignorant masses”.  Everyone needs to make good decisions about driving after drinking.)