DUI Blogger

A Palm Springs man could be on the hook for more than just felony DUI – his ill-fated driving spree cost 1,000 Southern California Edison customers their power when he crashed his Mustang into a power pole. Though Noel Hernandez Montes has not yet been convicted of felony DUI, he was suspected of driving under the influence when his car rolled over, downing a power pole and several power lines. Montes did not injure any other drivers during his wild ride, but he did get himself into a whole lot of legal trouble.

If convicted, Montes could face criminal and civil charges related to the DUI and the outage. In addition for being responsible for repair costs for the power poles and lines, he could face penalties for the outage and any problems it may have caused for power customers. This is just one example of a situation in which a seemingly straightforward DUI case can get complicated. One can only hope that Montes has obtained an experienced California DUI attorney to help construct a legal case designed to safeguard his rights, his freedom, and his money.

Every DUI case is different and involves different circumstances, parties, and legal elements. Montes could have to deal with insurers, representatives of the power company, attorneys for affected parties, and the law. This highlights the importance of the right California DUI lawyer to negotiate between parties and keep you out of jail. Handled properly, DUI penalties can be significantly reduced, protecting your license and keeping you out of jail. Neil Shouse & Associates has DUI lawyers who are experienced, aggressive, and sympathetic towards our satisfied clients. Why go it alone when you could face jail time, loss of license, and heavy fines? Turn to Neil Shouse & Associates instead. Fight your DUI accusation with confidence – call Neil Shouse & Associates today for a free, confidential case consultation.

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A South Bay DUI crackdown resulted in 20 percent more DUI arrests, reports the Mercury News. In 2006, 716 arrests were made of drivers suspected to be operating their vehicles while under the influence of alcohol and drugs; the figure rose to 859 between December 14 and January 1. The California Highway Patrol’s holiday crackdown put large numbers of officers on the roads, with 80 percent of the Patrol’s officers deployed along with “roving DUI units” designed to track down potential DUIs.

Among Bay Area law enforcement, San Jose police led the arrest count, with Palo Alto and Morgan Hill police departments following closely behind. Unfortunately, there was one alcohol-related death on the road during the crackdown period when Palo Alto man Enrique Tejada died during a Christmas Eve wreck. However, this number is smaller than in 2006, which saw four DUI-related deaths during the enforcement period.

Increased enforcement during holiday periods is no anomaly to California residents, who are used to hiked-up patrols at times when holiday parties and irresponsible drinking often drive accidents and DUI-related deaths. However, the increased action on the part of CHP and local law enforcement reflect a broader attempt to crack down on California DUI cases. And California’s own DUI laws are among the toughest in the nation, requiring mandatory jail time, increasing in severity with every offense, and endangering convicted DUI drivers’ careers and reputations.

If you’ve been accused of a California DUI, act immediately to protect your rights and your license. Call Neil Shouse & Associates today. Our experienced and aggressive attorneys know what it takes to free you from all DUI charges, negotiate repeat charges, and work within the often-confusing California DUI system. We’re committed to protecting the freedom and personal rights of each and every DUI client. Call today – a phone consultation is free and confidential.

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Recent reports indicate that the California Highway Patrol will ramp up patrol efforts along the I-15 corridor in an attempt to get a handle on drunk drivers, speeders, and those who fail to properly use seat belts and proper restraints while driving. The crackdown effort will focus on the I-15 corridor that stretches from Nevada to northern Riverside County and will involve speed traps, increased police activity and even air patrols.

According to a recent report by the San Diego Union-Tribune, there were over 130 deaths and nearly 7,000 accidents on that very stretch of I-15 in a single year. The injury, death and property damage toll has prompted the CHP to take action, cracking down on irresponsible drivers. Approximately 18,000 vehicles are thought to take the route daily.

Though the CHP’s action is expected to last only for two days, it is indicative of increasing concern on unsafe driving and DUI behavior on California’s roads. As you may know, California has one of the most draconian sets of DUI laws in the country, and takes both speeding and driving under the influence very seriously.

Possible consequences of a DUI conviction can include losing your license, spending time in jail, facing expensive fines and insurance rate hikes, and newspaper and press exposure that can sully your reputation and make it hard to find a job or do business in your town. The DUI hearing that occurs after your arrest is the most important legal appearance you’ll make in your California DUI case, and it pays to have an experienced California DUI lawyer by your side as you appear before the DMV.

Neil Shouse & Associates is committed to freedom and civil rights for its DUI clients. We know what it takes to fight and win your DUI case. Call today for a free consultation.

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Lieutenant Deborah Pierce, a California Highway Patrol officer working for the Bakersfield division, was pulled over and arrested on drunk driving charges while driving on Highway 99. The officer, who wrecked her car, did not hurt any others while on the road. News reports state that she will face misdemeanor DUI charges. There is no word yet on whether Pierce, who has served with the CHP for over 17 years, will be stripped of her CHP position.

Pierce isn’t the only Highway Patrol officer who has faced legal heat for driving under the influence in recent years. In late 2006, a high-ranking Division Assistant Chief was arrested on DUI charges. He had been a long-time advocate of DUI education and ending California drunk driving. Maples was given administrative leave after his arrest.

Unfortunately, California’s Highway Patrol is no stranger to questionable behavior by high-ranking officials. But Pierce’s pullover goes to show that nobody is exempt from California’s hard-hitting DUI laws. Though administrative leave or loss of job is a real possibility for Pierce, that’s just the tip of the iceberg for how a DUI can affect your long- and short-term prospects.

Not only does a DUI endanger your freedom by potentially costing you your license, but it can cost you over time by adding a mark to your permanent record, raising insurance rates, costing money in penalties and fines, and even requiring imprisonment. That’s why it’s so important to consult with an experienced DUI attorney as soon as you’re charged with DUI. The right DUI lawyer knows the system and can defend you capably and aggressively.

Neil Shouse & Associates have what it takes to defend your DUI. Interested in a free consultation? Time is of the essence. Call us today for more information on how we can preserve your right to drive and get you out of a sticky DUI situation.

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Having successfully completed an intensive seminar about field sobriety tests, where I, as a los angeles criminal defense attorney, acted as a cadet in the police academy, learning how to administer the tests; I now have a very different viewpoint of these tests.

Having learned how to administer and take the tests, I now have first hand knowledge as to how many possible ways these tests can be viewed, how potentially difficult they are to do completely sober, and how the officer may not always be correct or precise in his evaluation of them.

Bottom line, they are not always a correct indicator as to the legal level of intoxication, and to whether the person is really DUI.

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A 40-year veteran officer of the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department is facing misdemeanor drunk driving charges. According to an article in The Los Angeles Times , Michael Aranda, a 62-year-old division chief was arrested the night of June 12 on the 14 Freeway on suspicion of driving his county-issued car while under the influence of alcohol and while he was off-duty.

Aranda, who supervised the sheriff’s department’s crime lab and computer systems, was put on paid administrative leave two weeks ago after that freeway incident when 911 callers reported that Aranda was driving the county issued Chevy Impala erratically. Many sheriff’s executives are issued a car by the county for the purpose of driving to and from work. The Times article states that Sheriff Lee Baca ordered him to be placed on administrative leave after finding out that the Department of Motor Vehicles had suspended the deputy’s driver’s license. Aranda himself has agreed to submit his resignation and will get paid until Oct. 16.

This investigation reportedly took more than three months to be completed. Still police and the district attorney’s office have declined to reveal the officer’s blood alcohol content. The Times article also states that Aranda was arrested because he “appeared intoxicated” when officers stopped him.

This story is a clear example of how a drunk driving arrest can have an immediate and direct impact on your career. All these events – suspension of driver’s license, being put on administrative leave – occurred even before this officer was convicted of the DUI. That’s why it’s vital for anyone who has been arrested on suspicion of drunk driving to immediately contact an experienced California DUI attorney, who not only has a thorough knowledge of the law, but one who can represent you in a DMV hearing. The outcome of that hearing will determine whether you get to keep your driving license or not.

Every step you take and every decision you make in a DUI case can affect your future. Don’t make these decisions alone. If you or a loved one is facing a DUI charge, call a Southern California Drunk Driving attorney immediately to schedule an appointment to discuss your case.

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Prosecutors in Cook County, Chicago, are looking into whether an officer hailed as “top cop” for making a record number of DUI arrests, followed the correct procedure in administering field sobriety tests or Breathalyzer tests. According to a news report in the Chicago Tribune prosecutors dropped 50 misdemeanor cases stemming from arrests made by Officer John Haleas. About 500 more cases are under review, the article said.

The investigation began after two prosecutors in training rode along with the officer in April 2005. Not only did they see that Haleas did not give the man he stopped on suspicion of a DUI a field sobriety test, but also he did not make the man aware of his rights to decline a Breathalyzer test. Officers are also mandated by law to observe a suspect for 20 continuous minutes before giving the exam, but Haleas did not do that either, the article said.

The police department reportedly conducted an internal investigation, found that there was misconduct on the part of the officer. He was penalized with a one-day suspension and reassignment to desk duty. The article also says Haleas made 718 arrests in 2005 and 2006, more than any other officer in the entire state of Illinois. He was a two-time winner of the “Top Cop” award from the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists. Now it seems prosecutors will drop not only hundreds of misdemeanor cases involving this officer, but also many felony cases that carry a harsher punishment.

As DUI defense attorneys, we know that this officer in Chicago is probably not the only one in the country who does not follow proper procedure in DUI arrests. Research by the National Highway Transportation Safety Authority (NHTSA) has shown that many police officers themselves don’t understand how to administer field sobriety tests. Breathalyzer exams are also highly questionable.

When a police officer does not follow proper procedure as in this case, not only are innocent people put in jail or penalized heavily, but people who are really guilty of drunk driving are going to be let off the hook because the officer’s credibility is in question.

If you or a loved one has been accused of a DUI, call a Southern California Drunk Driving defense attorney to discuss your legal options. We will make sure your side of the story is heard and help you fight your DUI charge.

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A 26-year-old Ramona woman was arrested for the fifth time in sixth months on a drunk driving charge, a news report in the San Diego Union Tribune states. According to the article Tiffany Adamo has been arrested during stops and was once even found passed out in her car behind the wheel and blocking traffic. Adamo bailed out each time she was arrested and none of her cases have reportedly gone to trial yet.

In the most recent incident that led to her arrest, Adamo was driving at a local shopping center when she crushed a 7-year-old boy against his mother’s car. Fortunately the boy was not injured seriously. Adamo even tried to leave the scene, but was stopped by the boy’s mother who blocked her path and wouldn’t let her go, the Union Tribune reported.

The report also provides more interesting information about Adamo. She had no criminal record before her DUI arrests. According to family members who were quoted in the article, she was a kind-hearted woman who did well in school, attended community college and was even engaged to be married. Police however found that she possessed prescription narcotics and found her to be under the influence of a medication described as a “central nervous system depressant.”

It could take weeks before we find out exactly what drugs were in Adamo’s system. But the question is if she did not have a criminal record, why didn’t she get the help she needed before the situation got out of hand. Why wasn’t she offered the option of going into rehab or a sober living facility?

Southern California Drunk Driving defense attorneys have not only had a high success rate with acquittals in DUI cases, but in many instances we have also helped clients avoid jail and get the help they need to become clean and sober. We’ve found that very often, addicts need a nurturing environment where they can recover from their addictions. Jail or prison won’t help.

If you or a loved one has been accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, call a Southern California Drunk Driving defense attorney to discuss your legal options. A DUI charge does not automatically mean jail time. You have other options. Call us for a free consultation.

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Southern California DUI Defense, one of the premiere Los Angeles County law firms, recently welcomed two new DUI attorneys. Long Beach DUI Attorney Lynda Westlund is joining the Long Beach office and will be practicing drunk driving defense throughout Orange County and the South Bay, including Newport Beach, Anaheim, Fullerton, Torrance and Whittier. Lynda had been a successful Los Angeles County Public Defender, and had gone into private practice in order to devote more time to her clients and cases.

Beverly Hills DUI Attorney Dana Raz has joined the Los Angeles office. Dana has experience working for both the Los Angeles District Attorney and the Los Angeles City Attorney. She served as an intelligence analyst in the Israeli Defense Force prior to coming to the United States and pursuing a legal career. Dana will be serving the Los Angeles Metropolitan courthouse, the LAX courthouse and the Beverly Hills courthouse.

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It was a “freeway chase” that was more like a funeral procession involving police cars rather than a wild pursuit with unpredictable twists and turns. This July 6 pursuit lasted 90 minutes from the San Fernando Valley to Kern County and in the end of it all, police arrested 50-year-old Diane Louise Simpson of Reseda on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.

According to an Associated Press news report, this was Simpson’s second DUI arrest in about a year. Simpson didn’t give in even after a patrol car, into an hour of pursuing her, bumped her car and spun it around. Her car came to a stop, but she started the engine and continued on, according to news reports. It all began with an illegal U-turn. Officers tried to stop her for what was a minor traffic infraction, but she refused to stop and drove away, the article reported.

Continue reading "DUI Arrest For Woman Leading Police On Unusual Chase" »

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A Los Angeles Police Department officer, who does DUI and traffic enforcement himself, got arrested last week when he was off duty, on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, according to a news article posted in the Los Angeles Daily News.

The 27-year-old officer, Brian Lawrence Gossh, called the charges “ridiculous” and says the arresting Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputies performed an unlawful arrest, which he intends to challenge in federal court. Gossh was arrested July 1 in an Arleta intersection after he reportedly swerved to avoid hitting another motorist who Gossh says, suddenly applied his brakes. A passing deputy who saw this near accident stopped Gossh’s car. No one was reportedly injured.

Continue reading "LAPD Traffic Officer Charged With DUI" »

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This is an unusual one. Police in Orange Beach, Ala., were shocked to find that the Chevrolet Monte Carlo they were involved with in a high-speed chase was actually being driven by a 11-year-old girl, according to an Associated Press news report posted on the Seattle Times’ Web site. More unusual, the girl was obviously intoxicated, officials said. Just how drunk? Well, police say her blood alcohol level was high enough to get an adult a DUI charge.

The girl, whose name was not released because of her age was not seriously injured, but was treated at a hospital for scrapes and bruises and released to relatives, according to the article. The 8-mile pursuit reached speeds of 100 miles and ended when the girl’s vehicle flipped. Police realized who was in the vehicle only after they looked inside with guns drawn. Police said they expected to see a hardened criminal, not a young girl. The girl was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol, speeding, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident. Officials said the girl sideswiped a vehicle during the chase.

Continue reading "High-Speed Chase Ends With DUI Charge For 11-year-old" »

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California, known more perhaps for its number of freeways and the cars on them, is also getting a lot of credit for its recent work in limiting drunken driving.

According to an article in The Sacramento Bee , which reported on the results of a newly completed study by the U.S. Department of Transportation, federal investigators find California pulling well ahead of other states like Florida, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas in terms of reducing DUI numbers on its roads. The Congress-mandated study, the first of its kind, compared the effectiveness of different states in fighting drunken driving.

California scored well in channeling its considerable resources into innovative DUI reduction programs that include targeting areas with increased impaired driving activity, the use of special drunken-driving task forces and additional online innovations.
The success of its programs has Chris Cochran, a spokesman for the California Office of Traffic Safety commenting, “Other states do come to us, to see how we do things. We all trade ideas back and forth.”

The number of drunk driving related fatalities in 2005 was 16,885 people, nationally. The fatality figures, taking into account the number of drivers and highway miles, were 0.52 deaths in California for every 100 million vehicle miles traveled, 0.73 deaths in Florida, 0.75 deaths in Missouri and 0.94 deaths in South Carolina.

Continue reading "Smooth Start To California’s DUI Reduction Story" »

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A couple of weeks ago, drug company Sepracor announced that its earnings have fallen this year. While their press release didn’t say why, one reason is easy to guess: A major product for Sepracor, the sleep aid Lunesta, has generated a storm of negative publicity recently. Like Ambien, which I wrote about here recently, Lunesta is often reported to cause people to do strange things in their sleep that they don’t remember on waking -- including driving while asleep. Like Ambien, Lunesta is implicated in an increasingly large number of DUIs. And studies show that Lunesta is longer-acting than Ambien, meaning it takes longer to clear your system. This opens early risers to the possibility of being cited for driving to work while technically intoxicated -- from something they took more than eight hours before.

Interestingly, according to this article in the New York Times, a 1998 study published in a British medical journal called The Lancet makes a direct connection between car accidents and zopiclone, the chemical parent of Lunesta (whose generic name is eszopiclone). If this is also true of eszopiclone and other variants on the drug, Sepracor and other companies that market these sleep drugs owe us some very severe warnings on the label!

Legally speaking, you have a good chance of defending yourself from a DUI caused by Lunesta. Just like Ambien, Lunesta causes people to do things they don’t remember in their sleep -- which means that those who drive under the influence of Lunesta are not voluntarily choosing to drive. Under the law, you must intend to drive in order to be charged with a DUI. However, past cases suggest that not following safety instructions could hurt your case. For example, labels advise against combining Lunesta and many other sleep aids with alcohol, precisely because you’ll be significantly more impaired afterward. That means if you voluntarily chose to combine them, you may not be able to dismiss your case. And because sleep aid makers also instruct you to make sure to leave enough time to get a full night’s sleep, you may still be on the hook for early-morning driving under the influence of Lunesta -- depending on how long it’s been since you took it. As always, a skilled DUI defense attorney can help you break down the particulars of your case and fight a DUI you truly didn’t deserve.

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Are you sick of Paris Hilton’s DUI yet? I’m sure she is. A small but significant part of her problems was her failure to sign up for alcohol education classes, which are required after a conviction for every type of DUI in California. Not signing up will almost certainly make you look bad to a judge, but more importantly, it opens you up to all kinds of consequences that you’d probably rather avoid -- including jail.

There are actually three types of alcohol classes in California, which are unhelpfully called by the names of the state laws that created them. The kind Hilton got are called SB 1176 classes, and they’re for people who weren’t technically convicted of driving under the influence -- Hilton got her charge reduced to reckless alcohol-related driving (also called “wet reckless”). You can generally plead to this in cases like hers where you have no prior convictions, nobody was hurt and your BAC wasn’t outrageously high. It’s not a DUI conviction, but it counts as a prior DUI conviction if you’re ever stopped for a DUI again. Because Hilton got probation, she also had to sign up for the SB 1176 classes within 22 days. SB 1176 classes take 12 hours to complete and they’re usually broken up over several days. You have to pay for them yourself, at a cost of $200 to $300.

If a first-time offender isn’t able to plead to recklessness and gets a first DUI conviction instead, he or she will be sentenced to AB 541 classes (among other things). The judge has discretion as to whether you get three, six or nine months. Again, you’re required to pay for it yourself, at a cost of around $400 to around $1000, depending on the program and how long you have to be in it. Private providers approved by the state run the classes, so how they break down depends on where you are, but you can expect alcohol education as well as group and individual counseling.

People who have been convicted of more than one DUI within seven years get SB 38 classes, which take one to two and a half years to complete, and cost at least a thousand dollars. Even if a judge doesn’t sentence you to SB 38 classes, you will still have to complete them to reinstate your license (a license suspension of two to five years is mandatory for a multiple DUI offender). Again, you get group counseling, individual counseling and alcohol education; you might be strongly encouraged to attend 12-step program meetings as well.

These classes are not fun -- or for that matter, cheap. In fact, if you look at all the costs of a DUI -- fines, court costs, car insurance rate hikes, finding alternate transportation if your license is suspended, and possible loss of your job -- they’re actually more expensive in many cases than the cost of hiring a lawyer. A good DUI lawyer isn’t cheap either, but he or she can get the charge reduced or dismissed altogether, and significantly decrease some of the penalties associated with a DUI, including non-financial penalties like losing your license. To talk to us about how we can help defend your DUI charge in Los Angeles, Orange County and the Inland Empire, give us a call or click here to fill out a case evaluation form online.

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Millions of Americans suffer from insomnia, which explains why more than 26 million prescriptions for a sleeping medication called Ambien were written in 2005. Unfortunately, there is increasing evidence that Ambien’s popularity comes with a dark side: Users report doing strange things in their sleep and remember none of it in the morning. Ambien users have been found by loved ones and strangers sleepwalking; eating the entire contents of the fridge, including strange things like buttered cigarettes; and most dangerously, driving in their sleep.

Unfortunately, this means our nation has seen a rise in Ambien-related DUIs. In fact, the Wisconsin Law Journal reported that Ambien is in the top 10 most commonly detected drugs in many state toxicology labs. A reference to Ambien-related sleep-driving even made it into a recent episode of The Simpsons. People arrested for a DUI under the influence of Ambien don’t usually remember getting in the car and driving; in fact, they’re generally people who previously had spotless driving records. In response, the FDA announced in March that it wanted makers of Ambien and other insomnia drugs to make the warnings that come with these medications increasingly dire.

Because the law requires DUI to be voluntary -- that is, you have to know you’re under the influence and choose to drive anyway in order to be charged with a DUI -- people arrested for Ambien-related sleep-driving may be able to get their DUI charges lessened or dismissed altogether with the help of an experienced DUI attorney. There aren’t many reports on the results of Ambien DUI court cases yet, but having no prior DUIs would certainly help. Consuming alcohol or nonprescription drugs along with the Ambien might hurt your case -- if you remember doing it.

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In what has turned out to be a landmark DUI case, deputies in Orange County, Florida, finally made an arrest last week in a deadly DUI crash that happened near the University of Central Florida in October 2006, according to a news report in Central Florida News TV’s Web site.

Investigators now say 20-year-old Malcolm Barnes was huffing a legal chemical before the fatal crash. Barnes is charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. This is the first DUI manslaughter case connected with huffing.

When Barnes crashed his vehicle head-on into a motorcycle, killing the rider, officials said they thought he had been driving under the influence of alcohol. Detectives knew Barnes was high when he went the wrong way down Alafaya Trail and threw 19-year-old Andrew Brannon off his motorcycle and dragged him to his death in October.

So as part of their investigation, they drew blood and sent it off to a lab. When officials received the results of the test, they did not coincide with how the suspect was acting the night of the crash. Officials said they went back to take a closer look at Barnes’ vehicle and found canisters of 3M Dust remover. That led investigators to believe that this could be a huffing case.
Huffing is the intentional inhalation of a chemical substance in order to get high. Officials say it’s a disturbing trend on the rise, especially among teenagers and young people. Most huffing substances can easily be found in homes. The dust remover, for example, is a product most people with computers own. And while these substances can easily be bought in a store for their intended use, they are still dangerous and treated as illegal substances when abused.
Those who inhale these substances risk losing their lives the first time they attempt huffing. Or as in the case of Oct. 6, they could put someone else’s life in jeopardy. Those who inhale these substances could also be arrested for driving under the influence of a substance – be it legal or illegal.

Continue reading "Fatal DUI Crash Caused by Man Huffing Legal Chemical" »

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A Cincinnati police officer who recently received an award from Mothers Against Drunk Driving was arrested last week in Aurora, Ind., on drunken-driving charges, according to a news report in the Cincinnati Enquirer.

Aurora Police charged Officer Charles Beebe, 54, with driving while intoxicated and driving while intoxicated with a blood-alcohol level between .08 and .14. Beebe's blood alcohol was .08, according to the arrest report. A driver is considered to be legally drunk in Indiana with a blood alcohol of at least .08.

Aurora Officer Jared Dausch said in his arrest report that he was parked on Indiana’s Highway 56 when he saw a sport utility zip by at a high rate of speed. The female driver of a car following the SUV pulled alongside the officer and told him that the SUV driver was going to cause an accident, he said in the report. The female driver also told the officer that the SUV “passed her and ran two vehicles off the road,” the officer stated. Dausch then pursued the SUV and stopped it. Once he made the stop, the officer administered a field sobriety test on Beebe, which he failed, the report said. Beebe then agreed to a chemical test.

He was booked into the local county jail. Beebe is a 32-year veteran of the Cincinnati Police Department. He was promoted to specialist in 1990. Earlier this year, Beebe received a Top Cop award from MADD's Southwest Ohio chapter at the group’s annual luncheon. The group released a statement Thursday saying it was disappointed to learn of Beebe’s arrest especially because they had honored him recently for getting drunk drivers off the road.

A Cincinnati police spokeswoman wouldn't provide Beebe's specific salary but said the salary range for Cincinnati police specialists is $58,484 to $60,263 annually. She also said Beebe “will be assigned to desk duty, with police powers suspended, pending the outcome of his court case.”

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