DUI Blogger

Here’s the latest information on this weekend’s California DUI sobriety / driver’s license checkpoints. For the more “general” announcements, you can call the corresponding law enforcement agency a couple of hours before the scheduled DUI roadblock to find out more specific details.

Friday 8/27

The California Highway Patrol King City area office will be conducting a sobriety checkpoint today on Jolon Road from 2:30 to 7:30 p.m. in South Monterey County.

The LAPD will be operating its sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Florence Avenue between Broadway and Main Street.

The Riverside Police Department will be conducting a DUI / drivers license checkpoint from 6:00 p.m. until 12:00 a.m., in the city of Riverside.

The Rancho Cucamonga Police Department will be conducting a D.U.I. and drivers license checkpoint in the city of Rancho Cucamonga between the hours of 6 p.m. and 2 a.m.

The City of Berkeley Police Department will be holding a sobriety checkpoint at Adeline between Harmon and Fairview Streets in South Berkeley from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m.

The Moreno Valley Police Department will be conducting a DUI / driver’s license checkpoint from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. at an unannounced location within the city limits.

The Redlands Police Department will conduct a sobriety and driver’s license checkpoint beginning at 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. in the northbound lane of Orange Street, south of Pearl Avenue.

The Rancho Cordova Police Department will be hosting a DUI roadblock in the city of Rancho Cordova from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m.

The Oxnard Police Department will be on DUI saturation patrol from 8 p.m. until 3 a.m. Friday and Saturday nights. Additionally, there will be multiple sobriety and driver’s license checkpoints on Saturday night from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m.

Saturday 8/28

The Escondido Police Department will be conducting a DUI / drivers license checkpoint at an undisclosed location in the city.

The Coachella Police Department will be conducting a sobriety / license checkpoint between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 2:00 a.m.

The Cypress Police Department will be running its DUI sobriety checkpoint from 8 p.m. to 3 a.m. within the city limits.

Oxnard Police officers will be joining forces with officers from the California Highway Patrol, Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, Ventura Police Department, Simi Valley Police Department, Santa Paula Police Department, and California State University Channel Islands during a DUI task force operation that will target the 101 Freeway. Over 25 officers from these agencies will be patrolling the freeway from the city of Ventura to the LA County line searching for impaired drivers. The operation will start at 7 p.m. and end at 3 a.m.

And remember, just because you are arrested for DUI at a checkpoint doesn’t mean that you are automatically guilty as charged. California sobriety checkpoints must adhere to very strict requirements. If they don’t, your arrest and subsequent case may be dismissed. Be sure to consult with a California DUI attorney immediately following a sobriety checkpoint arrest.

Drive safely!

While the vast majority of California DUI cases resolve prior to trial, those that do not typically proceed to a jury trial (as opposed to a court, judge or “bench” trial). And because DUI trials are among the most common types of California misdemeanor trials, there are definitely some routine practices that you can expect to see.

Examples of some of these “routines” that occur with great frequency in drunk driving California jury trials include officer testimony about how the defendant “failed” all of his/her field sobriety tests; officer testimony about how the defendant displayed the “objective signs and symptoms of impairment”; expert witness testimony that no one can safely drive above California’s legal limit; and expert witness testimony that the defendant’s blood alcohol concentration was probably much higher than what was reflected in the blood or breath test.

But don’t despair. Skilled California DUI defense attorneys not only expect this type of evidence in a California jury trial, but know the most effective strategies to refute it. Whether to take your DUI to the jury is a consideration that you and your lawyer should discuss based on the facts and circumstances of your individual case.

California DUIs are among the most common misdemeanor violations in the state. As a result, they are also subject to a wide array of police misconduct. Police frequently make DUI arrests that involve biased investigations, “Xeroxed” police reports, excessive force, exaggerated testimony, and even flat out lies.

But fortunately, there is relief. If you’ve been the victim of this type of police misconduct, it’s likely that someone else has as well. And your California criminal defense attorney can file what’s known as a Pitchess motion to find out if this is the case.

A California Pitchess motion is a request to obtain information contained in an officer’s personnel file. If the judge finds prior complaints, he/she will turn over the contact information of all those who have previously complained about the officer’s conduct.

Typically prior complaints will undermine an officer’s credibility…a major issue when it comes to a jury trial. In reality, such complaints will usually persuade the prosecutor to reduce or even dismiss your charge(s).

If you are arrested in California for a felony DUI…and plead not guilty to the charge(s)…you are entitled to a preliminary hearing. A California preliminary hearing is held to determine if there is enough evidence to hold you to answer for your felony DUI charge(s).

Because California preliminary hearings aren’t held in misdemeanor cases, the majority of this state’s drunk driving cases skip this phase of the California criminal court process, since most DUIs are misdemeanor offenses.

This means that persons who face felony DUI charges…either because they have four or more DUI convictions within a ten-year period or were involved in DUIs that caused injury or death…will want to make sure they put the prosecution to the test at the preliminary hearing.

If, for example, you are charged with a DUI causing injury, your California criminal defense attorney will likely try to introduce evidence at the preliminary hearing to prove that it wasn’t your negligence that caused the injury. If you were not the cause of the injury, you are not guilty of the offense.

This is why the California preliminary hearing is so important. It saves a defendant the time and expense of enduring a trial when there simply isn’t enough evidence to support the charge(s).

Late last month, 24-year old Palmdale resident Michael Hemperly crashed his 2001 Porsche into a tree on Bouquet Canyon, a winding road in Santa Clarita, California. His 26-year old passenger, Rancho Cucamonga resident Marissa Hodges was killed as a result.

Although the case is still under investigation, authorities announced that Hemperly was arrested for felony drunk driving, vehicular manslaughter, and possession of a controlled substance.

Whether prosecutors charge Hemperly with Penal Code 191.5(a) California’s gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated law or Penal Code 191.5(b) “vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated” will depend on what the investigation reveals.

If the facts reveal that…in addition to driving under the influence…Hemperly committed an additional wrongful act with gross negligence, prosecutors will likely file the more serious charge Penal Code 191.5(a), California’s gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated law.

However, if the facts demonstrate that Hemperly only acted with “ordinary” negligence, they may pursue the less serious charge of ordinary vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

The less serious charge may be filed as either a misdemeanor or a felony and carries no mandatory jail or prison time. However, Penal Code 191.5(a) California’s gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated law is a straight felony that subjects an offender to four to ten years in the California state prison or to 15 years-to-life if he has a prior PC 191.5 conviction or two or more prior DUI convictions.

After being ordered to serve 90 days in jail for violating the terms of her California DUI probation, actress Lindsey Lohan has been released…and after serving only 14 days in the Lynwood facility. She was immediately taken to UCLA to begin her 90-day rehab sentence.

Although jail overcrowding and “good time” credits are responsible for significantly reducing jail sentences, the prosecutor on the case has stated that Lohan will have to serve her entire 90-day rehab sentence.

This is because judges have little control over when jail facilities release their inmates. They do, however, retain control over other California DUI probation conditions, which can include participation in drug and/or alcohol rehabilitation programs.

If Lohan doesn’t comply with the program…and, yet again, violates her probation…she will likely serve another jail sentence.

If you live in Los Angeles, Tulare, Alameda, or Sacramento counties beware…a new California DUI law went on the books last month. All first time DUI offenders who live in these counties will be required to install ignition interlock devices “IIDs” in every car they own or operate in order to be issued or reissued a driver’s license following a DUI license suspension or revocation.

This pilot program will last for five years. If successful, it will expand into other California counties as well.

Multiple DUI offenders will also be required to install these IIDs in order to regain their licenses. The length of time the instrument will have to remain in the vehicle depends on how many prior DUIs the offender has. First time offenders must keep them in for five months…fourth time offenders as long as three years.

Offenders will be responsible for the costs of installation and maintenance of the ignition interlock devices “IIDs”, which can be quite costly. If a defendant is unable to pay, the state may provide assistance.