Push a button on the checkbook-sized "talking document case" and a recording
plays for police that says something like, "I don't wish to complete a field
sobriety test."
What it doesn't say, but implies loudly and clearly, is: "I don't want to
breathe on you. That might also give you cause to charge me with driving
drunk."
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| Wheaton DUI defense lawyer Don Ramsell advertises his services on the license plate of his Chevrolet Corvette.
Daily Herald Photo/Rob Hart
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Is attorney Donald J. Ramsell, a.k.a. "DUI Don," helping drunken drivers beat
the system? In a manner of speaking, absolutely yes.
"Any assertion of your rights has the effect of helping assist you in
defending yourself," Wheaton-based Ramsell said. "Yes, it might have a
tendency to help people who've had too much to drink and it also might help
protect people from overzealous law enforcement."
Ramsell said he is not the owner or creator of the talking document case
advertised on an Internet Web site, though the site says he is the creator
of "roadside rights." He said he does not know the name of the company that
created and sells it.
But he sponsors it.
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DUI protection for sale on the Web
From Roadside Rights Web site:
"For $99.95, plus postage and handling of $5.95, you'll receive:
One roadside rights talking document case, which will level the playing field, by eliminating accusations of: misleading speech, odor and sway that could otherwise lead to a misdetermined DUI arrest or a DUI conviction.
Instructions and batteries included with a 30-day money back gaurentee or your full purchase price refunded.
Police offiers are trained to intimidate you into being a witness against yourself.
With Ramsell's roadside rights, you'll know better.
Stored in your glove box or clipped on your sun-visor, Ramsell's roadside rights can be used to immediately secure your rights, or as a ready reference guide.
You choose how or when to use roadside rights."
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He is paid an unspecified cut of the $112.65 total, with tax and shipping,
for lending his legal advice and name to it.
How can he do it?
With a clear conscience.
Ramsell said he is not violating any rules for lawyers because he is not
assisting people in committing a crime. Rather, he said, the product is
"nothing more than a law book that speaks for you."
But Jeffrey M. Shaman, a DePaul University law professor who teaches ethics
and constitutional law, said he believes Ramsell is acting unethically.
"I don't think lawyers should be involved in encouraging people to escape
detection while they are driving while intoxicated," he said "And it could
lead to people feeling more confident they can drive drunk."
Shaman said he could not say whether the product Ramsell endorses violates
lawyers' conduct code.
But, he said: "I think it's a very untoward thing to be doing. It's another
example of capitalism run amok and another example of lawyers going too
far."
Ramsell said the simple truth is that drunken driving is a money-making
venture for almost all involved: police departments, lawyers, judges,
insurance companies, counselors.
"The guy who's selling it would love it to be a product that helps people
beat a DUI," he said. "Clearly, it's your doing a story that's going to help
sell the product.
"It pleases me to the degree that I'm being paid for advice I normally give
for free," he continued. "If it never sold a thing, it wouldn't bother me
either."
Ramsell might be as qualified to endorse the roadside rights document case
as anyone. He figures he has defended clients in 7,000 DUI cases.
And with vanity license plates that read "DIAL DUI," Ramsell may be a roving
target for police. He twice has been charged with driving drunk.
"I beat them both," he said. "I'm not only a proud owner, I've been a
client."
