Defense of the Oh Crap App

GRL Law’s Oh Crap App has received quite a bit of media attention over the past few months.  Stories were run across the entire United States by local and national media outlets alike. Understandably, different media outlets spun the story of the app to best fit their political and philosophical viewpoints. The two sides of the argument really boil down to: the app is an effective education and prevention tool vs. it promotes drunk driving.  

The public's reaction was similarly divided.  We received numerous messages and phone calls thanking us for making the information in the app available to the public for free.  We also received phone calls and messages from individuals voicing their passionate displeasure with the app.  In fact, some members of law enforcement were so displeased with the app that they publicly wished injury and/or death upon Oh Crap App's founders in an online forum for police officers.

To start, let's get one thing clear - neither GRL Law nor the Oh Crap App condone or encourage drunk driving.  Drunk driving is bad, it is dangerous, it kills innocent people and there is nothing more that really needs to be said on that issue.

That being said, GRL Law is passionate about defending citizens charged with all types of criminal accusations, including drunk driving offenses.  We refuse to stand idly by while people are arrested, prosecuted, and at times, convicted of crimes based upon faulty "evidence" concocted by illegitimate "police science" without any basis in accepted medicine or science.  Just as important, we refuse to allow evidence obtained in violation of citizen's constitutional and statutory rights to be used illegally against them in a legal proceeding.  The Constitution of the State of Iowa and of the United States of America require us as attorneys to honor our oath and stand as the final defenders of the Constitution when the government attempts to infringe upon its' guarantees in order to secure convictions the easy, instead of the right way.

As Justice Bradley declared back in 1886:  “It may be that it is the obnoxious thing in its mildest and least repulsive form; but illegitimate and unconstitutional practices get their first footing in that way, namely, by silent approaches and slight deviations from legal modes of procedure. This can only be obviated by adhering to the rule that constitutional provisions for the security of person and property should be liberally construed. A close and literal construction deprives then of half their efficacy, and leads to gradual depreciation of the right, as if it consisted more in sound than in substance.” Boyd v. United States, 116 U.S. 616, 635 (1886).

GRL Law and the Oh Crap App are similarly passionate about educating citizens about their legal rights and equipping them with the information and knowledge necessary to avoid being accused of a criminal offense which may come about due to ignorance of the law, a violation of their legal rights, or faulty science.  Educating citizens on how the offense is committed, the legal process, as well as their rights if they happen to find themselves in an investigation, is one small step in the right direction.  The information and knowledge passed on through this process will similarly serve to deter and prevent citizens from committing the offense in the future.  Practical prevention and education through services such GRLLaw's business presentations, the Oh Crap App or other programs such as DUIstopped.us, is much more effective than over-criminalization and penalization.

Our Founding Fathers recognized and understood that for basic rights to serve as adequate protections against an overreaching government, the public must know, understand and be able to effectively exercise those rights.  Benjamin Franklin is credited with the following quote that best sums up GRL Law and the Oh Crap App's approach: "This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties. A nation of well-informed men, who have been taught to know and prize the rights which God has given them, cannot be enslaved."  There is no time like the present to ensure that the general public is adequately educated regarding their rights.  If informing and educating people of their legal rights makes us the bad guys then that is a role we will happily accept.  Sometimes it takes a rebel to start the waves of positive change.

Courts across the nation have for centuries been declaring that the exercise of a constitutional right cannot be converted to a crime.  We don't plan on letting that happen any time soon.  Know your rights; Exercise your rights; Preserve your freedom!

The Ultimate DUI Defense App

Drunk driving defense - yeah we have an app for that. 

In June, 2013, GRL Law launched its trademark pending, Oh Crap App - a mobile application specifically developed to assist in defending drunk driving accusations and invoking a motorist's legal rights.  The app is the brainchild of the attorneys at GRL Law who specialized in defending drunk driving and drug charges.  Throughout the years of representing clients on these charges, the GRL Law lawyers became increasingly frustrated with clients not knowing or understanding their legal rights at the time it mattered most - their initial contact with law enforcement.  To compound the problem, often times clients who did invoke their rights had difficulty proving that fact in court when law enforcement claimed no such statements were made.  In those situations, courts routinely sided with law enforcement finding that the individual consented to a search or failed to legally invoke their rights.

The GRL Law attorneys did not take this problem lightly.  They refused to let courts take law enforcement at their word and initially developed the Iowa Driver's Rights Card.  With advances in technology and mobile phones came the next logical step - a mobile application - The Oh Crap App.  So what exactly is the Oh Crap App and how does it work to protect peoples rights?

The Oh Crap App is designed to serve two primary purposes:

1.   Assist individuals with exercising and documenting their exercise of their rights; and

2.  Educate the public regarding their legal rights.

Oh Crap Button - Rights function.

The “Oh Crap Button” is used for that “oh crap moment” when a person is suddenly confronted with law enforcement either pulling them over or approaching them in some other manner.  When pressed, the “Oh Crap Button” triggers the audio recording function on the person’s phone to record the ensuing interaction between the individual and law enforcement.

After the recorder is activated, the app then gives the person a friendly reminder of their “emergency rights” and provides an easy to use link to contact an on-call attorney in their geographic region.  When the “contact attorney” function is activated, an email is automatically sent to the attorney as well as a bondsman and the user’s designated emergency contact.  This function is most effective when the “My Info” section of the app is completed.

Educate Me - Education function.

The “Educate Me” function provides information regarding a person’s constitutional rights when being investigated by law enforcement for a criminal offense.  The rights are broken down into Basic Legal Rights applicable to all types of criminal investigations; DUI Rights that are specifically tailored for a DUI Investigation and Emergency Rights which are a quick reminder of the basics.  This function also has an informational BAC calculator and tips on how to avoid getting a DUI.

With 3,000 downloads and counting, the app is catching on and will soon be offering a nation wide network of qualified attorneys to assist a person who is arrested in any part of the United States.  The app is absolutely free and does not store or forward your personal information to anyone unless you select the function to contact the on call attorney.  Download your free rights reminder today.

Know your rights; Exercise your rights; Preserve your freedom!

Celebrating Independence - Maintaining Your Freedom

The 4th of July certainly gives Americans something to celebrate.  It is that day where we celebrate the adoption of the Declaration of Independence and the ultimate birth of our great country.  The freedoms and rights that were born out of our nations rise to independence were a bold experiment, the success of which has completely altered how governments interact with their citizenry worldwide.  Our nation is founded on the concept that the government is equally bound by the rule of law and that its citizens have particular rights that the government cannot and will not be permitted to infringe upon.  These core principles were revolutionary, innovative and radical in their time but have proven themselves through the emergence and maintenance of our country as a world leader.

Our success as a nation and the fundamental rights and concepts of government that have made it a success are certainly worthy of celebration.  To quote Founding Father, John Adams: "The second day of July, 1776, will be the most memorable epoch in the history of America.  I am apt to believe that it will be celebrated by succeeding generations as the great anniversary festival.  It ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance, by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty.  it ought to be solemnized with pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, bells, bonfires, and illuminations, from one end of this continent to the other, from this time forward forever more."

With every form of celebration comes efforts by the government to ensure the safety and well-being of its citizenry.  In recent years this has meant a greater police presence and a significant increase in enforcement efforts.  The Iowa Department of Natural Resources has announced targeted efforts on increasing boating regulation enforcement on Iowa's lakes and rivers during the Fourth of July weekend. At the same time the Governor's Traffic Safety Bureau has announced that it will be conducting "high visibility enforcement" and will be "cracking down on traffic violators."  Finally, many cities have instituted complete bans on fireworks promising "zero tolerance on illegal fireworks."


The greater police presence and enforcement means every citizen's chances of coming into contact with law enforcement is greatly increased as well.  While much of law enforcement's efforts are well-meaning and designed to promote public safety, many of the officers working these programs are doing so on an overtime basis in addition to their normal shifts.  Fatigue and the stress of these additional shifts can take a toll on even the best of officers causing them to be shorter on patience and common sense as the night wears on.  Impatient and intolerant officers are significantly more likely to be over-aggressive with their enforcement efforts which can result in the infringement of individual liberties.

Because of concerns that have arisen in the past with overzealous law enforcement, the attorneys at GRL Law have developed the Iowa Driver's Rights Card and the Oh Crap App, to educate the public on their legal rights and assist citizens of this State in invoking and protecting their rights when confronted with law enforcement.  The Oh Crap App even goes so far as to contact an on-call attorney and record the initial contact with law enforcement when the "help" button is activated to ensure that what transpires during the interaction is truthfully and properly documented.  These tools are free to the public.  Don't leave home without them.

You can log onto GRL Law's website to learn your legal rights; e-mail the law firm at info@grllaw.com for your free copies of the Iowa Driver's Rights Card or get on iTunes or Android Market to download your free copy of the Oh Crap App.


Remember, regardless of the reason you may come into contact with law enforcement, learning and understanding your legal rights is something every American should do.  We celebrate the freedoms and rights that millions of our fellow citizens have fought and died for, you should at least take the time to educate yourself on what your rights truly are.  As Founding Father, Benjamin Franklin said: "This will be the best security for maintaining our liberties.  A nation of well-informed men, who have been taught to know and price the rights which God has given them, cannot be enslaved."





Know your rights; Exercise your rights; Preserve your freedom!