Up until last week, the law allowed police officers to forcibly draw blood from any person suspected of driving under the influence, if that person refused to voluntarily submit to a chemical test of their blood, breath or urine. The U.S. Supreme Court has now determined that “forced blood draw”…
Do prior convictions for DUIs in other states qualify as priors in California? The answer is yes, but, according to California law, it must be a “qualifying offense”, meaning that the prior must have the same elements as a conviction for DUI in California. What this means is that in…
If you have been arrested for driving under the influence in Orange County, there are two separate proceedings that are triggered by the arrest. One is the court proceeding and the other is the Department of Motor Vehicles suspension hearing. These proceedings and hearings are independent of each other and…
When someone has been arrested for driving under the influence, the arresting agency submits a report to the Orange County District Attorney for their review and ultimate filing of charges. It may seem pretty straight forward in that someone has been pulled over, given a test and then determined to…
In California, if you are charged with driving under the influence, whether it is alcohol or drug related, the prosecution could add to the charges what is known as sentence enhancements. These enhancements can substantially increase the severity of the punishments imposed by the Court. Here are some of the…
Now that the 2012 “Winter Holiday Anti-DUI Crackdown” has ended, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department has posted the results. In keeping with the “Avoid the 38” DUI Campaign, 38 Orange County law enforcement agencies conducted sobriety checkpoints, special saturation patrols and routine patrols for the Winter Holiday period December 14,…
A 27 year old Santa Ana man was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, felony hit and run and driving on a suspended license, in connection with the hit and run death of a 75 year old man last week. The charges have yet to be filed but due to…
A drunk driver caused a three-car accident on the 91 Freeway in Anaheim after crashing into the center divider. When the woman driver attempted to flee the scene, she put her vehicle in reverse and in doing so crashed into another car, which then was hit by yet another vehicle.…
An Ignition Interlock Device, or IID, is an option/sentence alternative, for people who have been convicted of driving under the influence. The IID is a small device, similar to a Breathalyzer that attaches to the steering column of a car. The purpose of the device is to measure whether or…
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, in the first 9 months of 2012 there were 1500 arrests for drug-related dui’s. 95 percent of those arrests resulted in convictions. Compared to 2010, there were 1400 arrests for the year and 92 percent resulted in conviction. Orange County is very…