Los Angeles DUI Attorney

Zero Tolerance Driving

Posted on April 4, 2011 by admin

Starting tomorrow the state of California will begin its zero tolerance program whereby they will be looking for and going after driving who text, talk or use their cellphone while driving. Studies have shown the drivers are more likely to get into a car accident while they are using their cellphones while driving. The police department, highway patrol and all enforcement officer will be looking hard to give tickets out so drive safely and stop texting or playing with your phone while driving.

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Accident & DUI

Posted on March 2, 2011 by admin

If you get in a accident and charge with a DUI then you will suffer an extra 1 point penalty on your record. The accident can be in the form of you crashing into a tree to actually hitting someone. That is very significant because the DUI will give you a 2 point penalty. That is a total of three points if you are counting. Anyone with a total of 4 points during a one year period will automatically lose their driving privilege.

Therefore if you already have three points against you and you get another ticket for speeding, running a red light or whatever, you will need to go to court and request the court to go to traffic school so that the one point doesn’t count against you. Most likely you will have to request for a 12 hour traffic school. This will only be granted by the judge. Its not your normal 8 hour traffic school that you can request online or with the clerk. This one will have to be granted by the court.

If you are at the four point limit, there will also be an administrative hearing with the dmv. Make sure you ask them to continue that hearing until after you have completed traffic school so that the one point violation will not count against you. At the hearing you will show them the certificate of completion and they will not take your license away from you.

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Check Point Notices

Posted on February 11, 2011 by admin

The State of California was once required by courts to publicize notices of sobriety checkpoints, law enforcement agencies continue to do so as a public service today.

A 1987 California Supreme Court ruling had made advance publication of the checkpoints a requirement. In 1993, the court ruled that police were no longer required to provide advance notice when scheduling sobriety checkpoints. The court said publicity announcing the location is not constitutionally required, but makes the checkpoints more effective.

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Jan 28 Checkpoints

Posted on January 28, 2011 by admin

The Police will conduct a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint from 7:30 tonight to 3:30 a.m. Saturday in the eastbound lanes of El Segundo Boulevard at Halldale Avenue in the Gardena area.

Deputies will also be conducting a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint from 7pm to 3 am this Saturday at an undisclosed location in the city of Carson.

The goal is to take drunk drivers off the road and make our streets safer.

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Right to appear through counsel

Posted on January 18, 2011 by admin

A misdemeanor defendant may appear by counsel “unless the circumstances of an individual case justify the ordering of their appearance. Recently an amendment to PC Section 977 read, in pertinent parts,

“If the accused is charged with a misdemeanor offense invovling driving under the influence, in a appropriate case, the court may order a defendant to be present for arraignment, at the time of plea, or at sentencing.”

So to order a defendant to personally be present remains discretionary a blanket policy to require defendants to personally appear will violation the statutory right to appear through counsel.

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Jaime Pressly DUI?

Posted on January 6, 2011 by admin

Jamie Pressly, the star of “My Name is Earl” was alleged stopped for a traffic violation and booked on suspicion of DUI after a field sobriety test was performed according to TMZ. Pressly was taken into custody by Santa Monica police 11:30 pm last night and was release on $15,000 bail this morning, according to the sheriff department/

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Govt Code 6253.9

Posted on January 5, 2011 by admin

Govt. Code 6253.9.

(a) Unless otherwise prohibited by law, any agency that has information that constitutes an identifiable public record not exempt from disclosure pursuant to this chapter that is in an electronic format shall make that information available in an electronic format when requested by any person and, when applicable, shall comply with the following:

(1) The agency shall make the information available in any electronic format in which it holds the information.

(2) Each agency shall provide a copy of an electronic record in the format requested if the requested format is one that has been used by the agency to create copies for its own use or for provision to other agencies. The cost of duplication shall be limited to the direct cost of producing a copy of a record in an electronic format.

(b) Notwithstanding paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), the requester shall bear the cost of producing a copy of the record, including the cost to construct a record, and the cost of programming and computer services necessary to produce a copy of the record when either of the following applies:

(1) In order to comply with the provisions of subdivision (a), the public agency would be required to produce a copy of an electronic record and the record is one that is produced only at otherwise regularly scheduled intervals.

(2) The request would require data compilation, extraction, or programming to produce the record.

(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the public agency to reconstruct a record in an electronic format if the agency no longer has the record available in an electronic format.

(d) If the request is for information in other than electronic format, and the information also is in electronic format, the agency may inform the requester that the information is available in electronic format.

(e) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit an agency to make information available only in an electronic format.

(f) Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the public agency to release an electronic record in the electronic form in which it is held by the agency if its release would jeopardize or compromise the security or integrity of the original record or of any proprietary software in which it is maintained.

(g) Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit public access to records held by any agency to which access is otherwise restricted by statute.

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Avoid the 100

Posted on December 31, 2010 by admin

Los Angeles law enforcement’s avoid the 100 driving under the influence task force announce that its anti dui crackdown has netted a significant number of arrests.

From December 17 to December 26, 1,260 people were arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. last year, 1,599 people were arrested during the same period.

During next few days law enforcement will be heightening their efforts so drive safely and use a designated driver.

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Drunk Driver gets 51 years

Posted on December 23, 2010 by admin

The drunk driver who killed Angels pitcher, Nick Adenhart gets 51 years to life in prison after he was convicted of murder in the drunk driving crash. Andrew Thomas Gallo, 23, will be eligible for parole after serving 49 years.

The judge gave the prosecutors what they wanted sentencing consecutive sentences on three second-degree murder charges and other felonies stemming from the April 2009 crash

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What constitute driving

Posted on December 19, 2010 by admin

Both of the drunk driving offense statutes (CVC §§23152 and 23153), require that the defendant “drive” a motor vehicle. But what acts constitute driving? Where the defendant was seen operating a moving automobile on a highway there is almost never any controversy about whether or not he was driving the vehicle.

But occasionally the arresting officer hasn’t seen any such acts which are indisputably driving. Instead, he has perhaps found the defendant asleep on the front seat of a vehicle which is legally parked, with the transmission in neutral, the headlights and wipers on, and the engine running.

Based on case law, “drive” for the purpose of the drunk driving statutes, requires volitional movement of the vehicle. But the proof of volitional movement can be established at trial through circumstantial evidence.