DUI in Los Angeles

Published on: October 19, 2016

The Denver Post: Colorado Needs Tougher DUI Laws

Many state legislators hope that the new DUI law in California, which mandates ignition interlock devices for anyone convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles or any other part of the state, will help reduce the number of repeat offenders. California Vehicle Code 23152 already requires tougher penalties for anyone with multiple DUI convictions on their record.

In some states, however, new laws have failed to discourage repeat DUI offenders. On September 14, the Denver Post published an editorial entitled. “Colorado’s new felony DUI law needs another look.”

The editorial pointed out that “long-overdue” legislation passed in 2015 brought Colorado in line with 45 states that already had felony DUI laws. But it said that the new law “too often results in letting repeated drunk-driving offenders get away from serving any real time—and away from the roads and the lives they put at risk.”

Published on: October 10, 2016

More Scrutiny for DUI Repeaters

by Michael Kraut

Would closer monitoring of drivers convicted of repeated Los Angeles DUIs make the roads any safer? It probably couldn’t hurt. The National Highway Safety Traffic Administration says that “Drivers with prior DWI convictions are also overrepresented in fatal crashes and have a greater relative risk of fatal crash involvement…Intoxicated drivers with prior DWI convictions had 4.1 times the risk of being in a fatal crash as intoxicated drivers without prior DWIs. Another study showed that fatal crash risk increases with the number of prior DWI arrests.”

California’s Tulare County is going to monitor drivers with multiple DUI convictions more closely in an attempt to avoid DUI and drug-related crashes, according to an online article in the Porterville Recorder. In 2015, DUI-related crashes in the County killed 20 people and injured 298.

The California Office of Traffic Safety has given the County $168,301 as part of its Intensive Probation Supervision for High-Risk Felony and DUI Probation program. With these funds, the county is launching a DUI Probation Supervision Program to “quickly and aggressively” respond to felony DUI offenders. Probation officers will monitor their assignees by:

Published on: September 28, 2016

Free Rides Home Yields Fewer DUI Arrests

by Michael Kraut

Drivers who want to party on New Year’s Eve but don’t want to risk an arrest on a charge of DUI in Los Angeles usually have some options: free rides on public transit, or a “Tipsy Tow” offered by a local AAA driving club.

But what if drivers who had a few too many beers or too many glasses of wine at their local bars always had the option of getting a no-cost ride home? Would it make a difference in the number of drivers arrested for DUI? Two towns in New Jersey tried that experiment and the results have been promising.

According to an article on NJ.com, the Evesham Saving Lives program has provided over 2,000 free rides home for residents of Evesham Township and the neighboring Voorhees Township. Introduced more than a year ago as a 30-day pilot, the program has reduced the number of residents arrested for DUI driving by 50 percent. The townships have also seen a 16 percent decrease in alcohol-related car accidents.

Only residents of the two townships are eligible for the free rides. They can request a ride seven days a week, between the hours of 9 p.m. and 2 a.m., from any establishment that sells liquor. Uber and the driving service BeMYDD provide the rides. Funding for the program comes from various local donors.

Published on: September 14, 2016

Minnesota Releases Study Of DUI Drivers

by Michael Kraut

Police officers may have the best chance of stopping DUIs in Los Angeles and other areas when they understand who is at the greatest risk of driving under the influence and when and where such incidents are most likely to occur. Minnesota’s Office of Traffic Safety has compiled that information for their state and released it for public review in its report, “Minnesota Impaired Driving Facts 2015.”

The report revealed that:

•   One out of every seven licensed Minnesota drivers has at least one DWI.
•   There were 25,027 DWI arrests in Minnesota in 2015. That averages out to 69 DUIs per day.
•   The average blood alcohol content for drivers convicted of DWI was 0.16 percent. The average for DUI drivers involved in a fatal crash was 0.19 percent.

Published on: September 5, 2016

Short Sentences For Convicted DUI Drivers

by Michael Kraut

Drivers found guilty of a DUI in Los Angeles often avoid jail time if it’s their first offense. But some motorists in California and other states also get off lightly even when it’s their second or third offense or when they’ve caused someone’s death.

Drake Bell, former star of the Drake and Josh show on Nickelodeon, served only one day of a mandatory four-day jail term for his second DUI offense. Police officers in Glendale, California, stopped the 30-year-old actor last December after they saw his vehicle swerving and then abruptly speeding up. Bell failed a field sobriety test but refused to take a chemical test.

Bell’s previous DUI conviction stems from a May 2010 incident in San Diego. Since this was his second DUI offense, Bell could have faced up to one year in county jail under California Vehicle Code 23512. But the judge accepted a plea deal, sentencing Bell to 96 hours in jail. Bell apparently served a reduced sentence because of his good behavior, but he will still have to complete an alcohol treatment program and remain on probation for four years.

Published on: August 17, 2016

Judge Sentences DUI Doctor to Jail

by Michael Kraut

Although judges may try to be impartial when hearing cases of DUI in Los Angeles or any other locale, in reality, the occupation of the defendant can impact the way that the justice system treats them. But sometimes the accused driver presses his luck too far.

In Illinois, Cook County Judge James Karahalios sent Dr. William Malik, an orthopedic surgeon, to prison for six years for aggravated DUI and criminal damage to property. The court had given Malik many opportunities to change his ways; the physician had six previous DUI arrests dating from 2005 in several different jurisdictions in Illinois and in Wisconsin, according to a Chicago Tribune news report.

In the latest incident, which took place earlier this year, Malik was driving his Lincoln LS when he sideswiped a parked car, drove onto a lawn and then hit a garage and two fences. The arresting officer reported that Malik said “At least I didn’t hit anybody.”

Malik has undergone treatment for alcoholism several times, but he reportedly has not been successful in controlling his addiction. During the sentencing hearing, several character witnesses spoke of his struggle as well as his skill as a physician and his commitment to his family. But the prosecutor argued that Malik had gotten off too many times with the “good doctor” excuse and that he didn’t deserve any more chances.

Published on: August 10, 2016

Sister Passes the Buck on DUI Charge

by Michael Kraut

Drivers pulled over for a Los Angeles DUI try many different ways to avoid getting a DUI charge on their records. Some plead with the arresting officers asking for a break; others may hire experienced attorneys who will look for flaws in the government’s case. Some people will even lie about their identities to the arresting officers, although that ruse does not work well over the long term.

Shannon Whack, age 31, said she had been attending a party on March 17th at her (now-ex) boyfriend’s home when he became abusive. Grabbing her two young kids, she got into her car at 2:30 in the morning and left, despite the fact that she allegedly had been drinking much of the evening.

Police officers in Graham, North Carolina, caught up with Whack and determined that she had been DUI, according to the Times News of Burlington, North Carolina. They took her to jail, but Whack probably knew that admitting her real identity would get her in even more trouble, because she reportedly had been driving on a suspended license (not for a DUI, however). Her workaround was to give the booking officers her sister’s name and birth date.

Published on: July 13, 2016

Boating Under the Influence: As Dangerous As DUI

by Michael Kraut

The Port of Los Angeles has a total of 16 marinas with 3,795 recreational boat slips. Since a day on a boat often involves enjoyment of adult beverages, there are plenty of opportunities for boaters to face arrest on a water-related DUI in Los Angeles (technically a BUI–boating under the influence). The results of this behavior can be deadly; according to a U.S. Coast Guard Boating report, 16 percent of the boating-related fatalities in the Pacific region of the U.S. involved boating while intoxicated.

Other parts of the country have even worse records. In the Western region, which includes Oklahoma, 18 percent of the boating deaths were alcohol-related. Fortunately, the boating accident caused by Aaron Christopher Hux on July 6th didn’t cause any fatalities. But when the 39-year old Hux struck a concrete wall just north of a marina on Keystone Lake, the impact did plunge three of the four teenagers onboard into the water and sent them to the hospital for treatment.
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Published on: July 11, 2016

Illinois DUI Driver Plays Bumper Cars

by Michael Kraut

DUIs in Los Angeles often involve collisions between vehicles, between a vehicle and a pedestrian or between a vehicle and some building. But the DUI driver rarely hits the same object more than once–at least not on purpose.

In Naperville, Illinois, however, John Chiampas was apparently determined to get the vehicle that blocked his route out of the way. According to the Chicago Tribune, Chiampas was driving his 2011 BMW when he struck a Volvo that was stopped by the side of a road. Chiampas hit the Volvo once, and it rolled forward. He proceeded to strike the car from behind several times, at one point backing up and then moving forward again to slam into it.

Fortunately, the family inside the Volvo—a man, a woman and their three children—were not injured.

Published on: June 15, 2016

Even Worse Than Jail? Places DUI Drivers Really Don’t Want to End Up

by Michael Kraut

A conviction for DUI in Los Angeles can land you behind bars. While that isn’t a pleasant experience, some DUI drivers end up in even worse locations.

The Times-Union in Jacksonville, Florida, reports that St. Mary’s City and Camden County emergency responders found 52-year-old Charles Edward Fields, Jr., sitting in his pickup truck in the St. Mary’s River. Fields said that while traveling home, he became confused and apparently turned onto a boat ramp instead of a side street.

Fortunately, the water at that point wasn’t too deep. Although the truck became partially submerged in the river, police officers assisted Fields out of the vehicle without incident. He agreed to go the police station, where officers measured his BAC above the legal limit and charged him with DUI.

In Denver, meanwhile, police arrested Randolph Blazon for DUI after the 25-year-old’s vehicle ended up inside the Colorado Convention Center. What?? Here’s how it happened. His truck allegedly sped through an intersection, jumped the curb and crashed through the facility’s glass entrance doors, running over a woman’s foot. Flying glass caused minor injuries to several other people. Police reported that Blazon was mumbling, slurring his speech and swaying when they got to the scene.
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