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Walk-And-Turn Test in DUI prosecution in Los Angeles
Voluntary Walk-and-Turn Test often used by Police agencies in Los Angeles county during the field sobriety drunk driving investigation to determine if a driver is impaired. It is rarely a good idea to submit to this test because the results of the tests are extremely subjective and more often then not are used as circumstantial evidence of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol in DUI prosecutions. The Walk-and-Turn Test is significant because the courts believe that many of the same skills used on this test are needed for driving, such as small muscle control, information processing, reaction, balance, coordination, and short-term memory (U.S. v. Stanton 501 F.3d 1093, 1100). The Walk-And-Turn Test involves “walking hill-to-toe for nine steps, […]
How the Court Calculates DUI Fines in Los Angeles
The statutory miniminal DUI fine in Los Angeles is $390.00 plus penalties and assessments. The legislature made the penalties and assessments the majority of the fine. There are 12 different additional types of penalties and assessments ranging from $1 for every $10 fine to $100 for every misdemeanor conviction. Those additions increase fines for a DUI conviction in Los Angeles to at least $1,790, a huge increase from the $390 base fine. The fine structure is not unique to Driving Under the Influence conviction. A conviction for running a red light, a $50 base fine, will be at least $225. Here is the breakdown of the fines by statutes. PC 1464 adds $10 for every $10 of a base fine […]
BODY ALCOHOL EFFECTS
BODY ALCOHOL EFFECTS are be different from person to person. Some people are effected by alcohol very quickly and some are not. Some people are affected by alcohol slightly and some are impaired after only one drink. The difference in alcohol effects can be attributed to variation in human physiology. In a DUI case you need an expert DUI attorney who will help you determine how your body is affected by alcohol because your Los Angeles DUI defense might depend on it. Here we discuss one enzyme that affects alcohol metabolism in a human body. An enzyme that is commonly present in stomach and liver, Alcohol Dehydrogenase (ADH), is responsible for alcohol metabolism. ADH body alcohol effects are such that […]
Should I Use An Attorney When I Am Guilty Of Drunk Driving?
Alcohol is probably the most abused substance in the world. Millions of Americans are dealing with this problem with up to 10% of alcohol users being alcohol-dependent. Some research indicate there are 3 times as many males as females who are alcohol depended. A lot more users are under 45 years of age, apparently a critical age, with most of the death from alcohol abuse falling below 45 years mark. More people in the 15-45 age group die from alcohol misuse then from any other cause, with an estimated yearly figure for all age groups in the 200,000 range. A third of suicide and half of traffic death are connected to alcohol use by people in this age category. Also, the […]
Helmandollar plea or How to Keep Driver’s License after DUI
Typically, any DUI conviction or an adverse finding by the DMV at an APS hearing will result in a loss of driver’s license. Short of pleading to a reduced charge (a wet reckless or a dry reckless) and getting a set aside at the Admin Per Se hearing, the driver’s license will be lost for a period depending on number of priors. An attorney can negotiate a DUI plea that will result in no loss of license. Under a 1992 decision from the Court of Appeals, a plea to a VC 23152(a) and an explicit finding of not guilty on VC 23152(b) will result in set aside from the DMV and a no-loss of license to the driver. Around 1992, Mark […]
DUI DEFENSE: No Driving Defense
“No driving defense” is One of common defenses for driving under the influences. It is typically used in cases where the police did not not observe driving (such is a common case in DUI prosecutions that involve an accident). A recent case in my practice involve an arrest of an extremely intoxicated Spanish speaking gentleman who was found next to his crashed car. No one observed the accident, however, there is an apparent confession by the client (who incidentally does not remember confessing). Eventhough client denied driving, his story was somewhat improbable and I knew that Los Angeles City Attorney could not be convinced by my client’s statement. To convince the prosecutor that my client was not the […]
Reliability of DUI Breathalyzer in DUI Prosecution
A history of DUI Breathalyzer device, commonly used by law enforcement to prosecute DUI cases in Los Angeles, can be traced to early 1900s, when it was first noted that alcohol level on breath of impaired individuals is correlated to the alcohol level in blood. The ratio of correlation is now assumed to be a constant and equivalent to 2,100. However, the science development in recent years put into question the reliability of DUI breathalyzer because the correlation of blood alcohol level to breath alcohol level is not constant between different individuals and it also can vary in same person from day to day or hour to hour. Since the first DUI breathalyzer was used by law enforcement in 1938 in […]
Legal Coercion In Drunk Driving Cases in Los Angeles
When a police officer influences a person to consent to a search, the consent is not valid. Such influence can be called “implied coercion”, and if it does, the court will throw out the results of a search. Search in DUI cases usually means obtaining blood or breath results after Los Angeles DUI arrest. If the court throws out the results of a blood test, the prosecutor will likely dismiss the DUI case because it is very hard to prosecute a DUI without blood alcohol results. In a federal case called Bumper v. North Carolina (391 US 543), police officers came inside a house by holding some papers in front of a defendant’s mother and telling her that they have […]
How To Defend Marijuana DUI In Los Angeles
MARIJUANA DUI Traditionally, when someone is accused of an alcohol DUI in Los Angeles, the prosecution file charges with 2 accusations, a violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152(a) and (b). If the level of alcohol is not known, such is the case with a “refusal DUI Los Angeles”, the prosecution will file only a violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152(a) with a refusal special allegation. For Marijuana DUI, the prosecutions file different criminal law violations, such as a violation of the California Vehicle Code section 23152(f). Driving while smoking marijuana is illegal (whether you are a driver or a passenger). Possession of more than 28.5 grams of Marijuana in a car is also illegal. Possession of marijuana is […]
DUI DEFENSE: HIGH BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL
The most important piece of evidence in a DUI is the blood alcohol level of the arrested person. Most DUI will be prosecuted when the blood alcohol level is above .08% BAC. High blood alcohol level DUI cases are harder to defend because not only the prosecutors are less willing to reduce a DUI to a lesser charge or dismiss it altogether, but also because high blood alcohol level DUI can involve harsher punishments if there is a conviction. Los Angeles DUI lawyer have many years of experience defending high blood alcohol level DUI in Los Angeles and will fight your case no matter how terrible you think your case is. Often, Los Angeles DUI attorneys can defeat a DUI […]