DUI Blogger

Comedian Artie Lange pled guilty to DUI in a New Jersey Court yesterday. Lange was arrested back in July following a minor traffic accident. A regular on the Howard Stern show, Lange claims that at the time of the incident, he was under the influence of prescribed sleeping pills he had taken the night before.

This news falls on the heels of yesterday’s blog, where I specifically addressed driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) as a fairly common trend. While Tawny Kitaen’s arrest (the topic of yesterday’s blog) was likely (though not necessarily) drug-related, Lange’s was admittedly due to a prescription sleep aid.

If you are unable to drive your car in the same manner as a sober driver would under the same circumstances, California will prosecute you for driving under the influence of drugs, regardless of whether the drugs were illegal, prescription, or over-the-counter.

Continue reading "Comedian Artie Lange Pleads Guilty to DUI" »

Tawny Kitaen, the former actress, most commonly known for her sultry appearances in Whitesnake music videos from the 80’s, was arrested in California Saturday on suspicion of DUI. Although not too many details were released, the Newport Beach police reported that she was arrested at about 3 p.m. for driving her Range Rover under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Kitaen was most recently featured on season two of the VH1 reality series “Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew”. Based on the time of day that she was arrested, and on the fact that Kitaen was previously convicted of felony cocaine possession, and is an admitted abuser of various prescription meds, it’s very likely that the DUI was drug related.

While DUIs typically involve alcohol, driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) is very common, too. California law draws no distinction between the two…if you drive under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol, you will be prosecuted under Vehicle Code 23152a.

In similar fashion, the state makes no distinction between illegal, prescription, or even over the counter drugs. If a drug, any drug, impairs your mental and/or physical abilities to such a degree that you “no longer have the ability to drive with the caution characteristic of a sober person of ordinary prudence under the same or similar circumstances", you can be arrested and convicted for a California DUI.

Most people think of California DUI cases as involving "drunk driving." But the state's DUI law prohibits more than just driving under the influence of alcohol. The Vehicle Code make sit illegal to drive while intoxicated by alcohol or drugs or any combination of the two.

Driving under the influence of drugs is often referred to as "DUID" or "California DUI of Drugs." Some of these cases involve suspects arrested for driving while intoxicated by illicit drugs such as methamphetamine, crack cocaine or LSD.

But an increasing number of California DUI cases involve suspects driving while taking prescription drugs, even lawfully prescribed drugs. The two biggest trends we're seeing in DUID law are DUI Ambien and DUI Vicodin cases.

Many of the DUI Ambien cases involve "sleep driving." A person goes to sleep after taking ambien and maybe also a glass of wine, and wakes to find herself having driven somewhere while in a drug-induced trance. Most of the DUI Vicodin cases involve a person prescribed vocidin as a pain-killer after an injury or a surgery. He continues to drive as he normally does, but gets pulled over and cited for DUI.

Some people mistakenly think they can't be prosecuted for DUID if the drugs were prescribed by their doctor. Not so. California DUI law prohibits driving when your faculties are impaired by any substance: legal or illegal, illicit or prescribed. Nevertheless, a good DUI attorney can often find problems in the evidence and exploit them to get a DUID charge reduced or dismissed.