Criminal Law

Timberwolves? Center Al Jefferson Arrested for DUI

Posted on March 02, 2010
The Timberwolves? center Al Jefferson was arrested this weekend on suspicion of DUI. Cops pulled him over after they allegedly saw him speeding and changing lanes without signaling. Jefferson then reportedly ?failed? his field sobriety tests and submitted to a blood test before being arrested for driving under the influence...

Why You Should Always Challenge DUI Breath Test Results

Posted on March 01, 2010
Late last week, reporters learned that 8 out of the 10 DUI breath testing instruments that were being used in Washington D.C. were not in proper working order. And it?s not as though we?re talking about these machines being broken for a day or two, but dating back to October 2008...

California DUI Sobriety Checkpoint Schedule: February 26-28

Posted on February 26, 2010
Here?s a list of the California DUI sobriety checkpoints that are scheduled for this weekend. Unfortunately, some aren?t too specific, but if you check with the police/sheriff stations a couple of hours before the checkpoints are set to begin, you can usually find out more information about their specific locations...

California DUI Sobriety Checkpoints - A Serious Misnomer

Posted on February 25, 2010
California law enforcement officers have called 2010 the ?year of the checkpoint?. What they really should have called it is ?year of the cash cow?. A recent report from the University of California at Berkeley found that in 2009, DUI checkpoints generated approximately $40 million in revenue?money which is split between local law enforcement agencies and their local towing companies...

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DUI Alternative Sentencing

Posted on February 23, 2010
Although many people think that a DUI conviction necessarily means a jail sentence, that?s not always the case. In fact, there are a variety of penalties?penalties called ?alternative sentencing??that the judge can impose in lieu of jail. One of the less well-known types of DUI alternative sentencing is the SCRAM device (Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor)...

Bad Driving? Must be DUI...

Posted on February 22, 2010
As absurd as this sounds, it?s still a philosophy to which cops nationwide wholeheartedly subscribe. This is due in large part to the list that the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration published which matches common driving patterns with the likelihood as to whether the driver committing the violation is DUI...

Why Even Call it a Test?

Posted on February 18, 2010
Typically when you take a test, you at least have the opportunity to pass. DUI field sobriety ?tests?, however, automatically set you up for failure. Take, for example, the finger count DUI field sobriety test. This ?test? supposedly tells a cop whether you?re too drunk to drive...

The Finger to Nose FST - Another "Made Up" DUI Field Sobriety Test

Posted on February 17, 2010
We recently explained that the Romberg balance DUI field sobriety test was not an FST at all, but rather a neurological test used by doctors to detect disorders. Well the same goes for the ?finger to nose? DUI field sobriety test as well. The ?finger to nose? test is a neurological test, not an original FST...

The Romberg Balance Field Sobriety Test -- Not Intended for DUIs...

Posted on February 16, 2010
Many law enforcement agencies routinely include the Romberg balance DUI field sobriety test in their FST arsenal. The problem is that it was never intended to be used as a field sobriety test. As a result, it provides little if any indication as to whether an individual was, in fact, driving under the influence...

The Hand Pat DUI Field Sobriety Test - An Actual FST or Glorified Patty Cake?

Posted on February 15, 2010
Let?s first address the fact that the hand-pat DUI field sobriety test is not scientifically validated. Neither the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (the national agency that issues police protocols for field sobriety testing), nor any other reputable agency has concluded that the hand-pat DUI field sobriety test is a good indicator of alcohol and/or drug impairment...

...And with the One Leg Stand DUI Field Sobriety Test as Well

Posted on February 12, 2010
Just consider this a follow-up to yesterday?s blog ?The Problems with the So-Called ?Reliable? DUI Walk-and-Turn Field Sobriety Test? as we turn to the even less reliable one leg stand. Just like the walk-and-turn FST, the one leg stand DUI field sobriety test has its fair share of problems...

The Problems with the So-Called "Reliable" DUI Walk-and-Turn Field Sobriety Test

Posted on February 11, 2010
The walk-and-turn test is one of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration?s ?standardized? DUI field sobriety tests. This means that it is deemed ?reliable? as an accurate measure of one?s alcohol and/or drug impairment. There are two problems with this...

The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus DUI Field Sobriety Test -- Pseudo Science

Posted on February 10, 2010
The horizontal gaze nystagmus test is one of the three ?standardized? DUI field sobriety tests. This test (otherwise known as the HGN test) is actually an eye exam. Since most (if not all) police, sheriff, and other local law enforcement officers typically aren?t ophthalmologists?or, for that matter, any type of doctor?they really have no business administering this type of test...

Super Bowl Sunday Yields an Increase in DUI Arrests

Posted on February 09, 2010
No doubt, Sunday?s Super Bowl yielded more DUI arrests than an ordinary Sunday would have. Even though California didn?t have a team playing in the big game, police were still on the lookout for people returning home from watching the game at parties and bars who appeared to be driving under the influence...

Attention Drivers: You are not Required to Take DUI Field Sobriety Tests

Posted on February 08, 2010
Despite common misperception?due in large part to the fact that cops don?t often share this information?neither California nor Nevada DUI field sobriety tests or ?FSTs? are mandatory tests. You have the absolute right to refuse to take these tests and most DUI defense attorneys will advise you to do just that...

California Heads List of America's "Drunkest" Cities

Posted on February 05, 2010
In the March 2010 issue of Men?s Health, the magazine posted a list of America?s ?drunkest? cities. Fresno leads the pack, and four other California cities (Riverside, Bakersfield, Modesto, and Sacramento) round out the top 20. The poll was based on a number of factors: the number of alcohol-related liver disease deaths, the number of binge drinkers in each city, each city?s DUI arrest rates, the number of fatal alcohol-related accidents, and how Mothers Against Drunk Driving rates each city...

Attention Officers - Bad Driving is not Synonymous with DUI

Posted on February 04, 2010
During a recent interview, an anonymous 20-year police veteran disclosed some ?secrets? on catching drunk drivers. One of these related to observations about driving. ?Some people hang on the white lines on the road in an attempt to drive straight. Others drive too aggressively, and many drive too cautiously or slowly...

DUI or Just UI?

Posted on February 03, 2010
Early Sunday morning, a Rochester woman allegedly rolled her car, hit a mailbox, and then drove away. Police later arrested her back at her apartment for leaving the scene of an accident and DUI. The police wouldn?t say why they suspected that the woman was guilty of drunk driving...

California's DUI Murder Charges

Posted on February 02, 2010
Last month authorities arrested a Philadelphia man for his eighth DUI after he killed a man and seriously injured the man?s wife and daughter while driving his car on the wrong side of the highway. He reportedly had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of ...

Bengals Linebacker Rey Maualuga Arrested for DUI

Posted on February 01, 2010
Former USC linebacker Rey Maualuga was arrested over the weekend for DUI. He reportedly blew a .157 on the breathalyzer, over twice the legal limit. He was stopped after allegedly hitting a parking meter and two parked cars. While there?s nothing particularly noteworthy about these facts, it brings up an important point...

"Heroes" Star Arrested for DUI

Posted on January 28, 2010
Adrian Pasdar, one of the stars of the show ?Heroes? was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion of DUI. Although he refused to submit to a chemical blood or breath test, he allegedly smelled of alcohol, ?failed? his field sobriety tests (FSTs), and was driving erratically...

Really Not Getting the Point...

Posted on January 27, 2010
Late last week, police arrested a Tennessee man for his third DUI. While there?s nothing particularly noteworthy about that, what is interesting is that he was driving home from DUI school at the time. DUI school (otherwise referred to as alcohol and drug education programs) are required when an individual is convicted of DUI charges...

To Refuse or Not to Refuse...

Posted on January 26, 2010
As a Los Angeles DUI defense attorney, people frequently ask me the following question: If I?m stopped for DUI, should I take a blood/breath test or refuse to do so? And here?s how I respond: It depends. If you can live without your driver?s license for a year, then politely refusing to submit to a chemical blood or breath test is a good choice...

Remember To Request Your DMV DUI Hearing

Posted on January 25, 2010
Since California has designated 2010 the ?year of the DUI checkpoint?, California DUI arrests will undoubtedly be on the rise. And with DUI arrests come DMV driver?s license suspensions. This is a friendly reminder that you only have ten days to request a DMV DUI hearing in order to keep your driver?s license...

California DUI Sobriety Checkpoint Schedule: 1/22-1/24

Posted on January 22, 2010
Here are a few of this weekend?s upcoming California DUI sobriety checkpoints that have already been publicized: The Los Angeles Police Department will operate a DUI checkpoint on Saturday, January 23rd between 6:00pm and 1:00am on Manchester Avenue between Hoover and Figueroa Streets...

The Outrageous Hypocrisy behind DUI Sobriety Checkpoints

Posted on January 20, 2010
California DUI sobriety checkpoints aren?t ?criminal investigations?, they?re simply tools to help deter drunk drivers?at least that?s what the California Supreme Court said when it held that sobriety checkpoints are legal despite the fact that people are being stopped without probable cause...

State Agencies Step Up Underage DUI Enforcement

Posted on January 19, 2010
In an effort to combat underage drinking and DUI, Arizona will set up DUI sobriety checkpoints to target underage drinkers returning from Mexico. If successful, other states will no doubt quickly follow suit. The legal drinking age is 18 in Mexico, although local establishments rarely, if ever, ask for anyone?s ID...

Cop Busted for DUI

Posted on January 18, 2010
And we?re not talking about any ordinary cop?we?re talking a DUI / sobriety checkpoint officer and a trained drug recognition expert. And to top it off, he had an open container of alcohol in his car. Does the old adage ?do as I say, not as I do? come to mind? Officers discovered Officer John Quigg (a 24-year veteran with the Pennsylvania Police Department) slumped over and unresponsive after he crashed his car into a pole last month...

Mariah Carey - Drunk in Public or Just Publically Drunk?

Posted on January 15, 2010
Last week, Mariah Carey accepted an award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival while she was visibly under the influence. Carey was giddy, her behavior was a bit erratic and her speech was slurred. But here?s the question ? was Mariah Carey ?drunk in public?? And the answer is no?at least not according to Penal Code 647(f) California?s ?drunk in public? law...

Don't Let the Numbers Fool You...

Posted on January 12, 2010
Having declared 2010 ?the year of the checkpoint?, California law enforcement agencies will no doubt be on the lookout for DUIs. Coming off of a holiday DUI crackdown that included over 300 DUI sobriety checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols, California drunk driving arrests are up...

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