DUI Blogger

The following DUI / driver’s license roadblocks are set to take place this weekend.

Friday, April 29th 2011

The Alhambra Police Department will conduct its DUI checkpoint at an undisclosed location in the city between 6:30pm and 2:30am.

The Coachella Police Department will operate its sobriety / driver’s license roadblock between 7:00pm and 2:00am at an undisclosed location in the city.

The Fountain Valley Police Department will conduct its drunk driving checkpoint at an undisclosed location within the city between 9:00pm and 3:00am.

There will be a DUI checkpoint in the eastbound lanes of El Segundo Boulevard at Halldale Avenue in Gardena between 7:30pm and 3:30am.

The Rancho Mirage Police Department is operating its sobriety checkpoint between 8:00pm and 2:00am at an undisclosed location in the city.

L.A.P.D. will be conducting a DUI / license roadblock in Sherman Oaks on Ventura Boulevard at Columbus Avenue between 8:00pm and 2:00am.

The Salinas Police Department is operating its sobriety roadblock at an undisclosed location in North Salinas from 6:00pm until midnight.

The Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is conducting a DUI checkpoint in the city of Santa Clarita from 6:00pm until 2:00am.

The Whittier Police Department is conducting a DUI / driver's license checkpoint from 7:00pm to 3:00am near Leffingwell Road and Santa Gertrudes Avenue.

Saturday, April 30th 2011

The Rancho Mirage Police Department is operating a second sobriety checkpoint between 8:00pm and 2:00am at an undisclosed location in the city.

The Roseville Police Department will be conducting a DUI /driver’s license checkpoint at an undisclosed location between 9:00pm and 2:00am.

The Folsom Police Department will be conducting its checkpoint from 7:00pm until the early morning near the intersection of Greenback Lane and River Rock Drive.

Because California DUI laws provide that DUI checkpoints must give the public advance notice of an upcoming sobriety checkpoint, you can contact your local police, sheriff, or CHP office to try to find out more details about these listed DUI checkpoints.

The Ventura County Sheriff’s Department will remove 125 faulty DUI breath testing machines from their stations. This remedy follows a four-month period of testing where deputies were noticing inconsistent breath testing results. California DUI law dictates that individuals who opt to take a DUI breath test…as opposed to a DUI blood test…must submit two different samples to ensure that the testing instrument is taking an accurate measure of the amount of alcohol in the suspect’s system. Results that differ by more than 0.02% are considered unreliable.

Because of this discovery, the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office is going to have to review all DUI convictions where the defendants’ submitted to samples during the time in which the machines weren’t properly functioning. As a result, a large number of DUI charges may have to be dismissed, and a number of DUI convictions may have to be overturned.

If you were arrested for driving under the influence in Ventura County within the last six months, you may want to consult with an experienced Ventura DUI defense attorney who could help investigate your case. If you were unfairly convicted based on the results produced by faulty DUI breath testing machines, now is the time to challenge your case.

Senator Bill Emmerson introduced a bill on February 18, 2011 that would significantly toughen the already tough California DUI penalties. The new law would delete the limitation that only allows prosecutors to enhance multiple driving under the influence (DUI) offenses if the subsequent DUIs occur within 10 years of the prior offense(s). If passed, SB 780 would allow prosecutors to enhance multiple DUIs regardless of when the prior DUI occurred.

SB 780 would also increase the penalties for DUIs causing injury for people with two prior DUI convictions from a minimum of 120 days up to a one year maximum in the county jail to a minimum of 120 days in the county jail up to three years in the state prison.

Senate Bill 780 would also change California hit and run law. Under existing law, a person who flees after committing vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, or gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated is subject to a penalty enhancement that adds an additional and consecutive five year term to the underlying crime. SB 780 would add murder to the list of crimes that would be subject to the five year consecutive state prison term enhancement for hit and run.

A host of laws in California cover driving under the influence cases. Depending on the circumstances of the alleged offense, a defendant can be charged with anything from a misdemeanor “wet reckless” to a DUI with aggravating factors such as having a minor in the car or a particularly high blood alcohol content.

These offenses can result in fines, probation, alcohol education classes and perhaps time in county jail.

But if someone dies as a result of your alcohol-impaired driving, you can face murder charges, and years behind bars in California state prison. That's what 28-year-old Alan Michael McConnell is looking at, having just pled guilty to two counts of second degree murder (also known as “Watson murder”) in connection with a collision that killed two women.

According to prosecutors, he had a BAC of .15% at the time (an aggravating DUI factor) as well as a pending DUI case from an earlier date.

To be convicted of the very serious charge of DUI-related second degree murder, the prosecutor must prove that the defendant acted with “malice aforethought” or conscious disregard to human life. If prosecutors can’t show that level of malice for Watson murder, but can show ordinary negligence, they can change you with the lesser felony offense of vehicular manslaughter under Penal Code Section 191.5(a) PC.

McConnell faces a sentence of 15 years to life. He will be sentenced on April 22 in the Pomona Superior Court.