Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney Blog

In last Sunday's New York Times, writer Ryan Gabrielson reported that Southern California DUI checkpoints often spell serious trouble for unlicensed motorists. In 2009, nearly 24,000 cars were seized at Southern California DUI checkpoints -- netting around $40 million for the state in fines, towing fees, and other costs. Each impounding can run up to $4,000 or more -- usually much more than many motorists can afford to pay.

Times readers reacted passionately to the story. Some readers argued that the impounding is useful and fair. Others argued that the practice victimizes the poorest people in Southern California and constitutes what's in essence an extra tax on unlicensed drivers.

Those in favor of the police actions argued that uninsured motorists/unlicensed drivers often cause havoc on Southern California roadways. If one of these drivers hits another vehicle and then flees the scene, the driver who got hit (and possibly injured) must foot the bill for repairs and medical costs, if his or her insurance company won't help.

On the other hand, the draconian punishments for non-DUI checkpoint offenders may distract police from their primary mission of stopping driving under the influence in Burbank (and elsewhere). The practice also seriously hurts people who are just scraping by on the margins of society. Take away these people's vehicles, argues the other side, and they may no longer be able to hold down jobs. Some may even turn to crime to pay the bills.

Obviously, this blog can't resolve such a complex and multifaceted issue. But we can provide some basic information to educate Southern California drivers.

For instance, did you know that if you're pulled over for suspected DUI in Southern California, the police will look for so-called objective symptoms of DUI? These symptoms can include, but are not necessarily limited to:

• Fumbling and stumbling
• Slurred or incoherent speech
• Contradictory stories of where you have been, or what you are doing on the road
• Slow or belligerent responses to officer questions
• Inappropriate emotional reactions to being pulled over
• Smell of alcohol on you
• Blurry, bloodshot, or unusually dilated eyes
• Shifty or slovenly appearance
• Poorly maintained vehicle
• Terrible driving

If you or loved one has been pulled over for driving under the influence in Burbank, it may feel like your world is collapsing around you. Who should you talk to? What might happen to you? What steps should you take to defend yourselves against the charges?

Continue reading " Southern California DUI Checkpoints Used to Nab Unlicensed Drivers: Is This Practice Fair? " »

Celebrity Beverly Hills DUI arrests regularly grace the pages of our tabloid newspapers (see, for instance, DUIs involving Lindsay Lohan, Mel Gibson, Nick Nolte and, most recently, Adrian Pasdar). But the non-celebrities among us do not seem to be faring much better when it comes to avoiding the long arm of the law.

A recent Men’s Health Survey (due to be published in March) finds that 3 of the top 10 “drunkest” cities in United States belong to the Golden State; Riverside, Bakersfield, and Fresno all rank among the “most drunk” cities.

The survey took into account an array of factors. The magazine investigated CDC data re: alcohol liver disease, Southern California DUI fatal car crashes (viz the Fatality Analysis Reporting System), and the total number of DUI arrests (viz the FBI). The magazine even cross-compared DUI punishments to assess the relative drunkenness of metropolises.

Fresno ranked as the worst city; Riverside as the fourth worst city; and Bakersfield as the tenth worst city. Curiously, Boston, Massachusetts was the least drunk city. This may come as a surprise to many people, given that Boston is home to Samuel Adams beer as well as to a plethora of colleges, including Harvard, MIT, Boston University and many, many others.

New York City also got off relatively easy in the survey. Perhaps Boston and NYC fared better because the two East Coast cities have lots of public transportation; thus, maybe there were simply fewer opportunities for DUI driving.

Nevertheless, the Men’s Health Survey serves as a sobering reminder of the perils of Southern California DUI -- for both individuals and for our community.

Practically everyone -- from law enforcement officials to criminal defense attorneys representing Hollywood DUI clients -- agrees that driving and alcohol consumption don’t mix and that we need to better fixes for roadway safety. To move in this direction, we must understand when and how to tell whether a driver is intoxicated.

Beverly Hills DUI officers look for an array of symptoms whenever they pull over a suspected driver. These include but are not limited to:

• Disheveled appearance
• Bizarre or dangerous driving
• Poor motor coordination
• Fumbling with driver’s license and registration
• Incoherent or paradoxical stories of where the person has been
• Slow or inappropriate responses to police questions
• Watery eyes
• Smell of alcohol in the car or on the person
• Other inappropriate demeanor or actions

Crafting an intelligent defense to charges of driving under the influence in Beverly Hills means first and foremost understanding what the law stipulates and how the trial process for DUI typically proceeds.

Continue reading " Concerned about Southern California DUI? You’re not alone: Men’s Health Survey rates three CA cities as “drunkest” in the US. " »

Dr. Conrad Murray plead not guilty today when he was arraigned at the LAX courthouse in Los Angeles. The doctor to pop star Michael Jackson was charged with Manslaughter in the singer's death.

There are two types of manslaughter. The first in voluntary and the second is involuntary. Dr. Murray was charged with involuntary manslaughter. The doctor surrendered at the court hearing. It is reported that members of the Jackson family attended the hearing and were very angry at the charges filed. They believe that his top notch Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney was able to convince the District Attorney to file the simple lower level homicide charges rather then murder charges.

It is evident that the pre-filing criminal defense attorney was able to raise legal issues that made the DA's Office only file involuntary manslaughter charges. The pressure had been mounting from the Jackson clan to file murder charges. Had Dr. Conrad Murray been charged with the more serious charges, and convicted, then he could have spent the rest of his life behind bars.

Dr, Murray was released on $25,000 bail and he is free to return to his home in Houston, Texas until the next court date.

Continue reading " Dr. Conrad Murray Charged in Los Angeles with Manslaugter in Michael Jackson's Death " »

Would the public and people suspected of driving under the influence in Burbank, Long Beach, and elsewhere in Southern California be better served if police use more accurate methods to test for blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels?

The Breathalyzer device has been a law enforcement staple for decades. Most people -- including most police officers and drivers -- assume that Breathalyzer tests used at DUI checkpoints are pretty accurate.

We take it on faith that these tests work at least well enough to determine guilt or innocence for driving under the influence in Southern California. However, unrefuted analyses show that Breathalyzer readings can be riddled with errors. Let’s examine some of the most common sources of error:

1. Calibration problems

Silicone oxide sensors can be contaminated and influenced by chemicals other than ethyl alcohol (the “active ingredient” in most cocktails and drinks). Both the so-called wet bath method and the dry gas method of calibration have flaws. A failure to recalibrate -- or interference with recalibration -- can lead tests to be widely off the mark.

2. Certain chemical compounds can interfere with readings

Diabetics, most famously, can have acetone levels in their blood that can throw off BAC readings (and thus yield a false positive). A scientific study out of Europe recently found that certain asthma medications can also lead to false positives. Environmental compounds, such as MTBE -- an additive in gasoline -- can also interfere with breathalyzer mechanisms and lead to false positives… as can paint remover, other kinds of alcohols, lacquers, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

3. Variations among people

Variations in human physiology abound, and these can play a not insignificant role. One person’s breath may be “more alcoholic seeming” than another person’s breath -- even though the two subjects may have identical BACs. In other words, someone well above California’s legal limit of 0.08% could test below the legal limit because he has what's known as a high partition ratio. Conversely, a driver who has a low partition ratio (e.g. 1400:1) could have a de-facto BAC level of 0.06% and still test above the legal limit for Long Beach DUI.

4. Officer bias and other issues

Police officers are people too, and they can make mistakes -- both in terms of recording BAC levels and in terms of conveying relevant information up the chain of command.

Also, variations between men and women, variations due to temperature, and variations due to cell volume of the blood of suspects (known as hematocrit) can also lead to skewed results and false positives.

So what should you do if you or a loved one has been slapped with a misdemeanor charge of driving under the influence in Long Beach, and you believe that the Breathalyzer test gave a false positive? Even if the facts are on your side, you still likely need a competent and trial-proven lawyer to help you plead your case.

Continue reading " Should Breathalyzer Tests Be Used on Long Beach DUI Suspects? " »

Dr. Conrad Murray, the doctor to Michael Jackson is rumored to be arraigned on Friday to face involuntary manslaughter charges for the death of Michael Jackson. Sources close to the Jackson family indicate that they furious that the doctor is not facing murder charges.

While most high profile cases are filed at the downtown courthouse, this case is set to be filed at the LAX courthouse. This is a change form the history of failed high profile cases in which downtown juries buck the charges and acquit celebrities charged with serious crimes.

Dr. Conrad Murry's top notch Los Angeles Defense Attorney will surrender his client to the Los Angeles Police Department if he is charged.

Continue reading " Conrad Murray to Face Involuntary Manslaughter Charges in the Death of Michael Jackson in Los Angeles " »

From Burbank DUI drivers to debris in lanes to ferocious traffic snarls, Southern California's freeways present a gallery of challenges to drivers. Here's a quick guide to the obstacles we frequently encounter thanks to our tangled freeway system.

Rush-hour gridlock from 6 AM through 9 PM... and often on weekends.

The massive, never-abating congestion on freeways like the 10, the 405, and the 101 (but not the 90!) causes much consternation to newbie drivers. Whether you join the queue at six in the morning on the way to work; or you encounter a surprise snarl at 9 PM on a Sunday, be forewarned that stop-and-go traffic can be quite treacherous. Obviously, it's hard to get into a serious injury accident going 5 mph. But when traffic thaws - after an obstacle is removed from the road, for instance - conditions can become quickly fluid, and accidents can easily occur. Just like a melting glacier presents challenges to hikers walking on top of it, so can a flowing traffic jam be extra dangerous to cars caught in the middle of it. So when the traffic breaks up, be on extra alert.

Freeways at night can turn into grand prix racing grounds.

The 405 is not always packed with cars, contrary to the impressions of daily commuters. At night, Southern California's capacious freeways empty out. This attracts a different kind of hazard -- the speedster. As reported on our Southern California DUI blog, a local television actor (Adrian Pasdar) was arrested just last week for driving 94 mph on the 405 near Santa Monica Blvd. DUI drivers, careless drivers, bad lighting, and highway maintenance projects can turn freeways into veritable obstacle courses.

Distractible drivers.

Southern Californians have an ongoing (and unfortunate... for many reasons) love affair with the cell phone/personal digital assistant. Driving while texting or talking on a cell phone can be hugely problematic -- perhaps even more dangerous than driving under the influence in Southern California. A recent study found that California's anti-cellphone-while-driving law has not resolved the problem -- perhaps because the law required only that drivers speak on headsets instead of requiring that they refrain from talking on the phone altogether while driving.

In any event, by paying extra attention to the road -- and not yapping on the cell phone, getting distracted by billboards or local celebrity sightings, or sightings of paparazzi spotting local celebrities -- you can hopefully mitigate some of the risks posed by other distracted drivers.

Understand the penalties for driving under the influence in Burbank and elsewhere in Southern California.

Many people think that getting a first-time DUI is akin to getting a speeding ticket. But a DUI is no mere infraction. According to the law, even a first-time DUI offender can be charged with a misdemeanor -- or even a felony, depending on the circumstances. If you're convicted of even a misdemeanor Burbank DUI, the court can impose a crushing array of penalties including but not limited to:

* minimum of 48 hours in jail (two full days)
* court costs and fines of potentially thousands of dollars
* mandatory alcohol school in probation
* suspension of license for a full year
* pursuant to a law that went into effect on January 1, first time DUI offenders must install an interlock ignition device (IID) in their vehicles. This means that you must blow into a Breathalyzer-like device every time you want to start your car.

Obviously, the punishments for driving DUI in Burbank are unpleasant, to say the least. But what can you do if you or a loved one has been arrested and charged?

There are many wrong paths to take. If you lack knowledge of how the court system processes Southern California DUIs, you could easily take one of these inferior paths and compromise your future. Fortunately, good help is available.

Continue reading " Burbank DUI Drivers and Other Hazards: How to Handle Southern California's Wild Freeways " »