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What Are The Immediate Consequences Of A DUI Arrest In California? After a DUI arrest in California, there are several potential consequences you can expect to face depending on the circumstances of your particular situation. If you’re 21 or older and your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.08% or higher, the arresting officer will most likely confiscate your driver’s license. For a first-time DUI arrest, you’re typically facing a four-month license suspension. You could face additional suspension time for other factors, like a repeat offense or refusing the field tests. There are also additional penalties to consider after a DUI… Read More

It is important to remember that Driving Under the Influence (DUI) also includes being under the influence of drugs, not just alcohol. Prescription drugs and illicit drugs, as well as cannabis, can interfere with your driving enough to make you a danger and land you in jail for DUI. This article dives into drug-related DUI prosecution in California and covers the following: How the legalization of cannabis in California is impacting DUI prosecution. How a drug-related DUI will impact your driver’s license. What your DUI defense lawyer can do to contest drug-related charges. How Has The Legalization Of Cannabis Impacted… Read More

Drunk driving laws, and especially their enforcement, are not set in stone. Both legal statutes and police behavior vary with political movements, pressures, and changes. The election of President Donald Trump to a second term is one such moment that could cause DUI practices to shift in California. This article explains some of what can be expected, and how it might impact you if you get pulled over or arrested, including:  How Trump’s election will affect DUI enforcement behavior in California.  How new immigration policies increase the stakes of a DUI arrest or conviction.  The impact that changing policies may… Read More

Are Golf Carts Considered Vehicles In California? Some might argue that a golf cart isn’t a motor vehicle but merely a battery-operated conveyance easing movement around the greens. Therefore, it shouldn’t be treated the same as a car. I understand the logic of this argument. However, the conclusion is problematic for several reasons. For one, California law applies DUI laws to any self-propelled transportation or conveyance. Moreover, many cars are becoming battery-operated, like electric vehicles, for instance. Can You Drive A Golf Cart On The Road In California? It’s worth noting that golf carts aren’t only driven on golf courses.… Read More

What To Do If Your License Is Suspended In California When a person has a license suspension for a DUI, or other matter, the first thing the person tries to do is minimize the impact of the suspension on his life. In other words, he searches for alternative means of transportation. Sometimes the person is left to rely on third parties. Other times, especially due to scheduling and geographic inconveniences, the person looks for different vehicles that he can operate. When looking for a different type of vehicle the person many times assumes that the license suspension only applies to automobiles.… Read More

What Happens If A Social Worker Gets A DUI? In past blogs I have discussed certain so called white collar professions that are vulnerable to the consequences of a DUI / Drunk Driving conviction or license suspension. There are other professions which can be negatively impacted by a DUI conviction or license suspension. Many professions that no one would ever consider would be impacted by a DUI. DUI convictions can have a completely adverse consequence on people who work with children. For example, social workers can lose their jobs if they have a DUI on their record. This is due… Read More

Accurate and reliable portable alcohol monitoring devices are an invaluable tool these days. They are supposed to provide peace of mind, accountability, and knowledge that your loved ones are in a safe environment. Continuous transdermal alcohol monitoring is used to monitor alcohol consumption among alcoholic criminal offenders and is also used as a common sanction applied to drunk drivers. The device generally employed is an ankle bracelet that monitors and measures alcohol consumption 24 hours a day, seven days per week allowing the court or other authorities to determine whether the offenders have been compliant with orders of abstaining from… Read More

ARE PORTABLE DRUG TESTING SYSTEMS NEW? California law enforcement officials have begun using a preliminary drug screening device (mouth swab) to aid in determining the presence of an intoxicating drug, including, marijuana, cocaine, opiates, methamphetamine, methadone and benzodiazepines. The San Diego Police Foundation recently donated two $5,000 Dräger Drug Test 5000 mobile drug screening systems to the San Diego Police Department for use at DUI Checkpoints and in DUI drug or DUID enforcement throughout San Diego. These preliminary presumptive drug tests have been widely used throughout Europe and recently in more than a dozen states, including California. ARE THEY MANTADORY?… Read More

PROBATION CONTRACT Probation is a contract between a person convicted of a criminal offense and the court by which the court agrees not to impose the maximum sentence allowable for a crime in exchange for the convicted individual’s promise not to violate rules imposed by the court over a certain period of time. For DUI’s the law provides that if probation is imposed it must not be shorter than three years and not longer than five years. SUMMARY PROBATION “Summary Probation” is a very informal way of monitoring a person who is on probation. The court usually requires a person… Read More

DUI SCIENCE BASED Much of driving under the influence law is science driven. It is very different from other criminal law which is predominately based on making certain conduct illegal without the use of science. For instance, whether a theft is committed is not based upon science. Instead, it is based upon mere observation as to whether a certain object was taken from the owner without the owner’s consent. It is based upon common sense. DUI laws, however, are purely science based. For instance, Field Sobriety Tests were designed on the science of impairment as shown by decreased motor skills… Read More