For $79, those of you with iPhones and iPods can purchase a breathalyzer that will, within five seconds, deliver a number said to be your blood alcohol content.

Proponents call it a device that could save lives. Opponents see it as a false sense of security (photo by coolmaterial.com).

The Newport Beach, Calif.-based company’s CEO had this to say about the device:

“We don’t want people to think that this makes it all OK,” said Don Bassler, CEO and founder of David Steele Enterprises, to The Los Angeles Times. “But it’s a safety device that we hope people will use, and it may save lives.”

Here’s the view of Marsha Masters, head of the Kitsap chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Drivers:

“What a crazy idea, and who will be held accountable when the machine says they’re under the limit, but they are still really impaired, then crash, injure or kill someone?”

She lives with this simple mantra: “If you drink, don’t drive, if you drive, don’t drink!”

Where do you fall? Is this device useful or dangerous?

* Take a look around the outside of your house to make sure all doors and windows are locked and shut tight. Also, make sure no ladders — or other things a thief could climb on to get to upper levels of your house — are around. Often times thieves will be deterred simply if they’re unable to get inside your home easily.

* Don’t leave an emergency key outside your home, anywhere, anytime.

* Close blinds enough that those on the outside can’t see in, but don’t close them all the way. Think about moving TVs and other valuables away from “prying eyes,” the insurance company said.

* Make your home look “lived in” if you go away for the holidays. Install timers on lights and a radio. Outside motion detecting lights work well too, and don’t forget to see if someone can get your mail and to stop delivery of newspapers.

* An alarm system is a great idea — and you don’t necessarily need a major pay-per-month system. Here’s a small device you can get that has a motion sensor and can give you a little piece of mind.

* Take an inventory of your valuables and possessions, and capture them on film and on video. In the event of a burglary, you’ll be able to see what’s missing and what’s not, and if you have insurance, you’ll have proof of what you own.

* Most importantly, I think, is to always lock up when you go somewhere. All it takes is a few “carefully planned moments,” the insurance company said, for a burglar to get in and get out.

In the 1970s, Gaylen Luther Gulbranson was North Mason’s “go to” deputy. He went on to be a detective and ultimately the Mason County jail’s superintendent until 1995, when he left the office.

Gulbranson, 64, died in his home Friday in Peoria, Arizona, where he’d worked as a fingerprint analyst for the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office.

Here’s how Dean Byrd, Mason County’s Chief Deputy, recalled Gulbranson:

“I worked with Gail for many years.  I met him when I came to work for the Sheriff’s Office in 1973.  He had a way of getting the job done with quiet and gentle kindness.  The bad guys never wanted to challenge him.  He was highly regarded by his colleagues and the citizens he served.  Gail was a great presence in the community.  I also remember his photographic memory for license numbers and his ability to drive at high speed with smoothness and grace.”

Gulbranson and his wife Pam enjoyed Arizona life and were members of the Desert Renegades, a classic Pontiac car club (he owned a 1967 GTO as well as a Harley Davidson). They were also involved with the House of Destiny Church in Phoenix where he served as a Deacon.

Gulbranson is survived by his wife Pam; his daughter Melissa Ventura, Glendale, Arizona; his brother, Orville Gulbranson, Rochester, Washington; along with extended family members, Marilee Joyce, Covington, Washington; Tim Yeager, Phoenix, Arizona; Mark Yeager, Tumwater, Washington; and four grandchildren.

“Gaylen Gulbranson will be remembered by his friends, colleagues and community as a person who stood tall and faced crime head on to make Mason County a safe place to live,” said Mason County Sheriff Casey Salisbury.

If you were on a jury, would you be more likely to find someone guilty if you knew he or she had already been convicted before for criminal acts?

Just how “prejudicial” such information would be to a jury was the subject of a state supreme court decision issued last week on a case that originated in Kitsap County.

Here’s the long story short: Johnathon Roswell, who had previous convictions for third-degree rape and third-degree child molestation, was charged in 2005 with new sex offenses, including “Communication with a minor for immoral purposes,” after police alleged he’d propositioned some 16-year-old girls at a park, the supreme court said.

Here’s why the state supreme court took issue: If a defendant has been convicted of a prior sex crime, a conviction for the gross misdemeanor of “communication with a minor for immoral purposes,” becomes a felony.

That means the jury must find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant has the criminal history, meaning they need to know at least what said history is. And normally, juries must stick to the facts of the current case out of our courts’ fear they’ll be prejudiced into convicting by virtue of the fact the defendant has done it before.

There are other crimes where juries must consider a defendant’s previous criminal history. Any guesses of what they are?

Here’s two:

Violation of a no-contact order

A defendant who has violated such an order on two previous occassions (which would each be a gross misdemeanor) is elligible for a felony on the third such conviction.

The felony DUI law

A defendant who’s had four DUI convictions in a decade long span can get a felony for the fifth, or, anyone with a conviction for vehicular assault or vehicular homicide can get a felony for any DUI thereafter.

So, this issue was bound to come up. Thomas Weaver, Roswell’s attorney, argued before the judges that the jury had been prejudiced against his client due to the past convictions, and that the fairer way to have tried him would have been to have the judge decide whether the criminal history is there, and have the jury do the rest.

There were other arguments (namely that the jury was confused about whether the prior conviction was an element of the crime or an aggravating factor that could result in a lengthier prison sentence), but the central theme was this issue of prejudice.

In another appeals case, a man who’d been charged with a felony violation of a no contact order had his trial effectively “bifurcated,” and jurors decided first that he’d been guilty of the misdemeanor offense, and then later, got a chance to look at the history and decide if it could be elevated to a felony. Weaver argued that this would’ve been fair to do in Roswell’s case as well.

But the state supreme court declined to do such a thing, stating there are many options for trial judges to “mitigate” such prejudice as a previous conviction. They can limit details the jury hears about the previous conviction, or they can, in fact, “bifurcate” the trial to have the previous conviction element decided separately.

In affirming the appeals court’s decision, the supreme court effectively told the parties that judges — the trial court ones, and not themselves — would make the call on how to “mitigate” the prejudice of previous convictions.

(Photo Credit)

Clem (pictured on far right, with the photo from cbp.gov), the longtime Kitsap County elected prosecutor until 1995, and other agents had become suspicious of one man who’d come over on the ferry. After a search, the agents found the ingredients for a massive bomb that the man had planned to drive into the Los Angeles International Airport during the millennium celebration.

Now nine years later, Ahmed Ressam, who federal prosecutors believe had been recruited by al Qaida in Montreal, was given this week a 22 year sentence — for a second time — in U.S. District Court in Seattle.

Federal prosecutors said that means Ressam will be out in 2018, when he is 51 years old.

Ressam, who helped investigators find and convict other terrorists until 2003, when he did an about-face, had his sentence overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court. His conviction stood, however, and prosecutors had asked for a life sentence before federal Judge John Coughenour Wednesday morning.

According to a Seattle Times’ story, U.S. Attorney Jeff Sullivan is quoted as saying that “What (Ressam) told us today is that he’s a terrorist, a trained killer … who is going to do this again.”

You might remember watching the legal thriller “12 Angry Men,” in civics or social studies class way-back-when (or, perhaps, because it is a classic of cinema, at least in my opinion).

But have you ever wondered why it isn’t “8 Angry Men?” Or maybe “14 Angry Men?”

Turns out it was a “historical accident.” And here’s the story of how such a mishap occurred.  (See the photo credit for the poster here.)

Twelve person juries date back to pre-industrial England (the reason for which, I must admit, I can’t find). Apparently, one thing our American founders weren’t rebelling against the redcoats about was the number of peers to decide the fate of defendants, because we seem to have inherited 12 from them.

The U.S. Supreme Court had long held that 12-person juries were covered under the Sixth Amendment. But in 1970, the court changed its tune in Williams v. Florida, saying the jury size had been the product of a “historical accident.”

Twelve, however, seems to still be the norm, but there are certainly exceptions. Here in Kitsap, 12 jurors (with an alternate or two) are used in Kitsap County Superior Court. In Kitsap County’s district court (for misdemeanor level cases), only 6 jurors decide.

And, as you might have seen in a story in the Kitsap Sun’s Dec. 4 edition, a federal jury of eight peers ruled to clear Kitsap County from a discrimination lawsuit.

The story gave me pause, especially given the recent coordinated attacks in Mumbai. And I don’t normally post anything but local news here, but this is a report that could, quite obviously, affect all of us.

Here in Kitsap, our local authorities seem to believe such an attack would most likely be carried out on a Washington State ferry. Anyone remember that episode of Gray’s Anatomy? (pictured). And, we were reminded of the possibility last month with a threat to bomb the Hyak.

CNN’s story quoted former Senator Bob Graham in talking about just what form such an attack would come. Biological is more likely than nuclear, he’s quoted as saying. Here’s more:

“The consequences of a biological attack are almost beyond comprehension. It would be 9/11 times 10 or a hundred in terms of the number of people who would be killed,” former Sen. Bob Graham said.

He cited the flu virus that killed millions of people in 1918 as an example.

“Today it is still in the laboratory, but if it should get out and into the hands of scientists who knew how to use it for a violent purpose, we could have multiple times the 40 million people who were killed 100 years ago,” he said.

The U.S. government “needs to move more aggressively to limit” the spread of biological weapons, the commission said in its report.

Graham warned that such measures would be costly, but were necessary.

“The leadership of this country and the world will have to decide how much of a priority … they place on avoiding the worst weapons in the world getting in the hands of the worst people in the world,” he said.

“It is not going to be cheap. It is not going to be accomplished without some sacrifices. It won’t be accomplished without putting this issue ahead of some other competing national and international goals. But I think our safety and security depend upon doing so,” he added.

Washington State Patrol troopers on the road won’t be the only ones seeking to arrest impaired drivers — they’ll have help from overhead in what they’re calling the DUI Aerial Response Team.

The state patrol’s fleet of planes will pan out over the state, and, somewhat divergent from their duties catching speeders, they’ll scour the roadways — in daylight and at night-time thanks to one high tech camera — looking for cars winding and weaving where the roadways are straight. They’ll also have local dispatchers tell them where residents have called in to report drunken drivers.

I got a chance earlier this year to take to the skies with the state patrol’s air troopers; to see a video of their plane and how they conduct speed enforcement using them, click here.

Troopers said there were 31 alcohol-related traffic deaths in Washington during the 2007 holiday season; that’s 31 too many according to their “Tie One On” campaign.

Here’s what State Trooper Sergeant Freddy Williams sent me about it:

“The effort is led by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), the Washington State Traffic Safety Commission, the Washington State Patrol, and law enforcement officers throughout the state. They’ll be tying red ribbons on their antennas as a reminder to not drink and drive.

This holiday season, WSP has a new way to save lives. Troopers in fixed-wing aircraft will be using Forward Looking Infra-Red (FLIR) cameras to help locate impaired drivers and direct ground troopers to them.

MADD, Washington State Traffic Safety Commission, and the WSP want you to make this season a time of joy and gladness not mourning. The choice is yours.”

And, he adds this point later:

“So far, as can be determined, WSP is the first police agency to use FLIR technology in this way.”

The center, opening in an undisclosed location to protect the victims, will house adults, children and small pets. It can take up to 60 people at any given time.

The center will be run by the organization “Turning Pointe Domestic Violence Services,” and they’ll hold a grand opening at 3 p.m. Dec. 5 at the Choice High School Auditorium, at 807 W. Pine Street, Shelton.

Here in Kitsap, we have the YWCA’s shelters in Bremerton and on Bainbridge. Also on the domestic violence front, the prosecutor’s office recently reorganized an office that provides a one-stop location for domestic violence victims of all kinds.

Running from the police? Well, if you’re in Bremerton, they’ll now be able to chase you by car, on foot and … on a Segway.

Westsound Bank is donating the facncy wheels to the department, who bought it in 2007 for company functions but no longer has a need for it, according to a press release.

And, to be fair, its use in apprehension of an eluding suspect is probably unlikely. But Bremerton Police Capt. Tom Wolfe sees a few areas of policing that it can aid.

“We had just completed a training and evaluation period with a Segway and found out that it had worked well in both an enforcement capacity and in increasing the amount of positive police community interaction,” Wolfe said in a statement. “Prior to Westsound Bank’s donation we were struggling with a way to provide this tool to our community and our officers,” Wolfe continued.

So, if you live in Bremerton, don’t be surprised if you see a Segway equipped with lights and sirens running around.