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“Lawful coercion” – when not explained consequences of refusal
In Bumper v. North Carolina 391 U.S 542 (1968), the Supreme Court ruled that consent is not valid (i.e. no consent) when official conducting the search informed the owner of house that he possesses a warrant and then asked for consent. The argument of USSC based on claim of coercion – they called it “lawful coercion“. In determining whether a criminal defendant was convicted “according to law,” the test is not and cannot be simply whether this Court finds credible the evidence against him. Crediting or discrediting evidence is the function of the trier of fact, in this case a jury. The jury’s verdict is a lawful verdict, however, only if it is based upon evidence constitutionally admissible. When it is […]
Dismiss Los Angles DUI – Lack of Arrest (People v. Hawkins)
On June 21, 1970, Allan Hawkins ran a stop-sign and hit another car, killing his passenger and injuring a person in that other car. (People v. Superior Court (Hawkins) 6 Cal 3d 757 (1972). CHP took a vial of Hawkins’ blood from the hospital (to which he was taken to by an ambulance). But CHP never arrested Allan Hawkins. Once authorities obtained results of the blood test, Hawkins was charged with felony drunk driving and felony vehicular manslaughter. Hawkins’ lawyer filed a motion to suppress his blood test results based on (1) Hawkins’ consent was not given freely and voluntarily and (2) no exception to warrantless search of Hawkins. The second argument needs a little explaining: The government […]
DUI DEFENSE: DUI ABSORPTION RATE
In the United States, a DUI is considered a very serious offense. In 1980th, approximately 25,000 people died in DUI accidents per year. Since then, the states put a lot of effort into prosecuting DUI drivers. By 2014, the number of death from DUI-related accidents dropped to just below 10,000 people per year. While this is still a large number, the tough stance on DUI offenses appears to be paying off. The total number of people arrested for drunk driving in the United States is over 1 million arrests per year. The prosecution all over the United States and California is extremely tough on DUI cases, often prosecuting borderline cases – that is, cases that if not a DUI, would […]
Relationship between amount of alcohol in blood and breath for DUI investigation in Los Angeles.
A true measure of alcohol in a person’s body is done by analyzing the blood. However, most Los Angeles DUI cases do not involve blood analysis. Insead, most persons arrested for DUI in Los Angeles provide a breath sample. To convert breath sample to a blood alcohol level, a machine (such as EC/IR, or a DamaMaster DMT) will determine number of alcohol particles in a person’s breath sample and multiply it by 2100. Thus, it is assumed that 2100 cubic centimeters of breath will contain the same amount of alcohol as 1 cubic centimer of blood. This is based on legal assumption that all person have the same conversion ration between breath and blood concentration of alcohol regardless of age, […]
One Leg Stand Test Unreliability During DUI Investigations
NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) over thirty years ago researched and determined that out of numerous filed sobriety tests used by law enforcement, the most reliable are the One Leg Stand Test, the Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test, and the Walk and Turn Tests. Here, I will discuss One Leg Stand Test (OLS) and its reliability (or rather unreliability), during a DUI stop in Los Angeles. NHTSA determined that 83% of people who exhibit two more “clues” during poor performance on One Leg Stand Test will have a blood alcohol content of .08% or higher. First off, that means that 17% of people who fail this test are not under the influence. But more importantly, other factors that intoxication can affect […]
DUI Arrest and SR-22 requirements
After a DUI arrest in Los Angeles the arrested driver is likely not only to face a criminal case in Los Angeles Superior Court, but also is likely to face an administrative prosecution by the DMV to suspend or revoke the driver’s license. These two procedures are independent of each other and even if the DMV is dismissed (such as with a plea to a reduced charge), the driver’s license can be suspended by the DMV based on administrative hearing after a DUI arrest. Our skilled Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys will defend you in DMV hearing and in Criminal Court. If administrative hearing is lost and suspension is ordered by the DMV against the driver, after period […]
A DUI trial: winning a DUI case in Los Angeles
In this article, Los Angeles DUI Defense Lawyer discusses A DUI trial. Click on the links below to go directly to your topic of interest. Can a Judge Punish A Defendant For Taking His DUI Case To a Trial? DUI Trial: Scientific Argument Expert Witnesses at a DUI trial in Los Angeles Can a DUI Case be dismissed when the courts are congested with other cases? Can a Judge Punish A Defendant For Taking His DUI Case To a Trial? One of the reasons many defendants accept a plea bargain is to avoid harsher punishment. Often people worry that a judge will punish a defendant going to trial. That can happen because some judges will see a defendant going to trial […]
How The DUI Punishment Changed Over The Years
Over the past 30 years the DUI law changed significantly – more so recently. Recently I came across old cases that discuss driver’s license suspensions in California in 1969. Clearly less onerous: In Walker v. DMV 274 Cal. App 2d 793, Walker refused a chemical test and faced a two person board – to decide if his license should be suspended for 6 month. Nowadays, there is a hearing in front of a one DMV hearing officer who’s adverse decision will suspend the driver’s license for one year after first offense within ten years. In the 1980th, the National Highway Safety Board recommended that states lower the blood alcohol level to .08 percent. It took many years for all the […]
Categorical Approach for Immigration Law
Categorical Approach – is a concept of the immigration law to determine if someone is deportable or not. Because immigration law constantly changes, it is very important to consult a Los Angeles post-conviction attorney prior to pleading guilty to any crime. For example, recently, the Supreme Court held that “obstruction of justice” is an aggravated felony and includes Penal Code 32 (accessory after the fact) and Penal Code 136 (dissuading a witness). Prior to this decision, dissuading a witness was not an aggravated felony because in California no legal process was required to be accused of this law. This Supreme court decision changed consequences for pleadign guilty in California to either of the 2 crimes making both deportable if the […]
Criminal Defense Los Angeles: Penal Code 654 and the prohibition against double jeopardy (Kellet)
Often a situation arises when a driver is pulled over and is cited or arrested for a crime. Later, law enforcement realized that the driver was guilty of another crime. At that point, law enforcement will attempt to make sure that all crimes the driver (defendant) is guilty of are on the same complaint. Sometimes, by the time the prosecution realizes that the defendant is guilty of additional crimes, he or she has already pleaded guilty to that first charged crime. In an event like that, the prosecution should be prohibited because of a due process violation. The Supreme Court in People v. Kellett ruled just the same barring prosecution for a “felon in possession of a gun” after Elmer […]