While most DUI convictions are misdemeanors, the conviction is entered on the offender’s California Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal history (often referred to as a “Rap Sheet”). This conviction remains on the individual’s rap sheet forever unless a successful petition for dismissal is brought forward. The petition for dismissal,…
A woman driving her Chevrolet Camaro the wrong way on the 60 freeway in Diamond Bar collided with a vehicle killing all four occupants of that vehicle and two occupants in her car. She was rendered unconscious and was airlifted to the hospital. Approximately one hour later, the investigating officer…
You get pulled over and the cop asks you: “Have you been drinking?” If you have been drinking, what should you say? Whether true or not, it is often reported that most people will answer, yes, but only one or two drinks. Well, the officer isn’t going to think, “okay,…
In California most simple DUIs without aggravating circumstances are charged as misdemeanors. For certain professions, even one misdemeanor DUI can threaten a person’s employment. A DUI conviction can result in the loss of a job or suspension of a professional license. The most obvious risk of job loss following…
The world has certainly changed since COVID-19 introduced itself to humankind. Almost every aspect of our lives has been affected. In the realm of criminal proceedings, a lot has changed and that includes the DUI landscape. Courts are closed to the public. Hearings that must be conducted pursuant…
Every parent’s nightmare is that their child will die before them. The tragedy is compounded when a child is killed by a drunk driver. But what if you are that DUI driver and you cause the death of your own child. Just this week, a Los Angeles mother was driving…
Unless you are of a certain age, you may not know that until 1988, the drinking age in many states was 18 years old. It was not until 1988 that every state raised the drinking age to 21. The raising of the drinking age in all states to 21 came…
INVESTIGATION REVEALS GROSS INACCURACIES IN DUI BREATH TEST DEVICES From the early Drunkometerprotypes to today’s purportedly sophisticated breathalyzers, the police have been administering breath tests on suspected drunk drivers for decades and millions have been arrested on the results of these devices. A recent New York Times investigationrevealed that the…
This must be the strangest DUI defenses I have ever heard of… but it’s true. It came to my attention when I read an article about a Boston man who was driving, seemingly drunk. The police didn’t believe him when he told them his “drunkenness” was caused by a medical…
Earlier this year, two friends, Giao Pham and Andy Lynn, were visiting San Diego from San Francisco. The two men stopped at a local San Diego bar. At the same time and in the same bar, a young San Diego woman, Alondra Marquez, was drinking with her friends. Messrs. Pham…