Category: General Blog
The New York State Assembly passed a bill yesterday that would make it a felony DWI to drive while intoxicated with a child in the vehicle. The bill would also require first time convicted offenders to install an ignition interlock device (IID) in their vehicles. This bill is quickly moving through the New York legislature as it could be passed by the New York Senate and sent to the governor for signature this week. Many sources are saying that if this bill goes into law, New York will have the toughtest DUI / Drunk Driving laws in the nation. To… Read More
As a result of a northern California man having numerous lifetime DUI / Drunk Driving convictions prior to his most recent arrest, a northen California State Senator is proposing legislation to have the driver’s license revoked after a person is convicted of multiple DUI / Drunk Driving convictions. In California, the law used to consider prior DUI / Drunk Driving convictions within 5 years of a current offense to be considered a prior. Subsequently, the law was changed to 7 years. A few years ago, there was a movement to change the law to consider all prior DUI / Drunk… Read More
Recently, the US Supreme Court declined to review a DUI / Drunk Driving Virginia case where the police stopped a suspected drunk driver based on a tipster call to police but the Virginia Supreme Court threw out the driver’s conviction.The reason why the conviction was tossed was because after receiving the tip,the police followed the car and observed no traffic violations but stopped the driver anyway and arrested the driver for drunk driving. The Virginia courts held there was no reasonable suspicion (probable cause)of criminal activity to justify the stop.Some people argue that this is a good decision because the… Read More
Many states are cracking down and charging people with DUI / Drunk Driving who are riding on non-conventional motorized things after they have been drinking. Recently, a Minnesota Man pled guilty to drunk driving after crashing a motorized La-Z-Boy. The chair was powered by a lawnmower engine. Lawnmower engines sometimes have 1 1/2 horsepower. The chair had a stereo and cup holders. After leaving a bar, the rider crashed the chair into a parked vehicle but was not seriously injured. Apparently, the rider had a blood alcohol level of .29. While we have seen a number of cases in California… Read More
California passed a new tough pilot ingnition interlock device law that would require DUI / Drunk Driving offenders (including first time offenders) to install an ignition interlock device on all vehicles owned or operated by the offender. This pilot project law is limited to Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Tulare counties. The law is to take effect July 1, 2010 and is set to expire January 1, 2016. There are certain requirements before the law actually takes effect such as the California Department of Motor Vehicles will be required to obtain, by January 31, 2010, non-California funding for the costs… Read More
There have been some major changes in California DUI / Drunk Driving laws in 2009. The California DMV is now responsible for administering mandatory ignition interlock devices (IID) that are to be installed in vehicles owned or operated by a driver convicted of driving with a suspended license due to a prior DUI / Drunk Driving conviction. Also, Courts may require first time offenders convicted of DUI / Drunk Driving to install ignition interlock devices (IID) who reportedly have a blood/breath alcohol level of 0. 15% at the time of the arrest. Finally, police may impound a vehicle of a… Read More
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, in 2007 there were 192,213 administrative per se actions. An administrative per se action is a suspension or revocation proceeding which is triggered after a driver is arrested for DUI / Drunk Driving. Of the total number stated, 76% were for first offender actions which also included zero tolerance as well. In fiscal year 2007/2008, there was an increase of 5.1% from the previous fiscal year in admin per se actions. Chemical test refusals increased by 2.9% in 2007. However, the number of DMV admin per se refusal actions had decreased by… Read More
According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, 5.3% of all California drivers have one or more DUI / Drunk Driving convictions on their record from the period of 1997-2006. This statistical conclusion is based on the requirement that DUI / Drunk Driving convictions stays on a driver’s record for 10 years. Up until a few years ago, 7 years was the length of time a DUI / Drunk Driving conviction stayed on a driver’s record. However, there was a movement to maintain for life on a driver’s record all DUI / Drunk driving convictions. A compromise was reached in… Read More
Since the United States Supreme Court held in 1966 that forced blood draws are constitutional, forced blood draws have been common. According to a recent article in the Washington Times, police officers are being trained in both Idaho and Texas by Arizona’s law enforcement phlebotomy coordinator in drawing blood from motorists who are arrested for DUI / Drunk Driving. The purpose of the training program is an attempt to decrease the number of DUI / Drunk Driving trials. While the forced blood draw procedure by police officers will reduce the number of motorists who refuse a breath, blood or urine… Read More
In a recent medical board discipline case against a Northern California doctor, a California Appellate Court held that a DUI / Drunk Driving conviction is not needed to impose professional discipline on medical doctors. Merely being arrested for DUI / Drunk Driving can form the basis for medical discipline. It is important to note that in the Northern California case, the disciplined doctor had multiple DUI / Drunk Driving arrests that did not result in convictions. While the medical discipline case applies to doctors, this may set a precedent for other professionals licensed by the State of California as well.