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One thing you should know about a DUI arrest is that every DUI case is different, each with their own unique circumstances.  When it comes to deciding the penalties for a DUI charge, the judge and/or looks at many factors.  There are certain factors, however, that can enhance a DUI charge in California including:

Having minors in the vehicle with you at the time of arrest Being under the legal drinking age (The legal age is 21 in most states.) Any prior DUI charges Causing an accident, injury, or death to other people Having a BAC (blood alcohol content) of .20% greater than the legal limit Speeding or reckless driving

In the state of California enhancements are usually added on when the charges are initially filed, but they can be added at a later time if the case is still pending and the enhancements won’t threaten the driver’s right to a fair trial. These additional allegations must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt or the sentence cannot be enhanced.  If you are found to be guilty of these additional allegations, you can probably see higher fines, longer jail sentence, longer mandatory DUI education, longer driver’s license suspension, and a more restrictive probation.

If you have been arrested for drunk driving and your case includes any one of the circumstances mentioned above, it may be beneficial to hire an experienced California DUI defense lawyer who specializes in DUI cases.  A lawyer can investigate your case and make sure that your right to a fair trial is upheld in court.

Originally published here.

Most of the time when we hear about an accident or incident involving a person driving while impacted by the effects of alcohol, we automatically make assumptions about that person. The same is true for the majority of people who are considered under the law as you peers. Since the determination of whether or not you are under the influence is left to the discretion of the enforcing officer, you absolutely must have a DUI Lawyer in California if you expect to be treated fairly.

The American culture is extremely fond of automobiles and alcohol, and yet the two are a disastrous combination. Our love affair with the car is such that mass transit systems have never really had much of a groundswell of support from any quarter. Through movies and societal behaviors, with a terrific push from some very sophisticated advertising, the use of alcohol has become a ubiquitously accepted social norm, despite the fact that we all know we make poorer decisions after drinking.

The true nightmare scenario is you having the smell of alcohol on you when someone else, driving recklessly or distracted crashes into your vehicle. The chance of you being able to explain what really happened are significantly diminished the second the officer sense you have had a few drinks. We are, as a society, spring loaded to the conclusion that the person in an accident that was drinking must be at least partially if not wholly responsible, even before an analysis of the mishap has been conducted.

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There is also a practical problem with our aggressive pursuit of individuals driving under the influence, how is the individual to know they are technically DUI? There are certainly no testing capabilities at establishments that serve alcohol to allow the driver to assess their status after a few drinks. Even the decision as to what constitutes drunk driving, while not exactly arbitrary, is certainly not scientific.

With alcohol, the affect on our body is the result of a number of characteristics. Body size, tolerance to alcohol, and even the level of fatigue the person is experiencing all make a difference in how alcohol will influence a person. Today three beers might have no impact on you at all as far as your coordination is concerned, tomorrow, after a bad night with little sleep and a long stressful day, two beers may significantly decrease your performance. There is no standard method that accurately assesses how much alcohol is a safe level on any given day.

While no reasonable person will contest the prudence of all of us as a society taking every step possible to removing impaired drivers from our streets and highways, the means to protect those who are falsely accused must be as solid as our drive for safety. There are a number of medical conditions that would leave an individual in a position in which their sobriety would be challenged when they have consumed no alcohol whatsoever.

While it does not happen often, there are instances wherein individuals undergoing a period of hypoglycemia which law enforcement has incorrectly diagnosed as drunken behavior. This is a natural result of the overwhelming pressure to eliminate drunk driving as a source of vehicular deaths. There is, of course, logic to the stance that it does not matter what is causing an individual to drive poorly, the danger to others is the same, yet justice would dictate a more reasoned response.

Because the issue of driving under the influence is such a political hot potato, you have to be careful to protect yourself should you be arrested for the offense. While most of us were taught to confess on the spot when we have made an error, in this case it is better to be cautious. Ensuring you are treated equitably and get your fair presentation under the law, a DUI lawyer in California is critical.

Originally published here.

On the heels of a month marked by extensive media coverage of the Orange County trial of Andrew Gallo–the San Gabriel man, who, despite having his license suspended for a prior DUI conviction, took the wheel after a night of binge drinking and killed Angeles’ rookie pitcher, Nick Adenhart, and two friends in an early morning collision–news has broken of a new law that will impact DUI repeat offenders. Starting January 1, 2012, judges will have the option of revoking an individual’s license for up to 10 years if that person has three or more convictions for driving under the influence within the past decade. The law is just one of many efforts by state legislators and officials to combat drunk driving in California.

Annually 1.5 million people are arrested for driving under the influence in this state, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). DUI repeat offenders account for one-third of those arrested. A recent study of the percentage of drivers with alcohol-related convictions in the nation’s 20 largest cities by insurance.com found that the greatest number of violators resided in San Diego, followed by San Jose in second place, Los Angeles in seventh, and San Francisco in eighth. The high incidence of convicted drivers in these cities was attributed to three factors: a higher rate of alcohol consumption among the population, “more partiers,” in general; a lack of public transportation; and effective enforcement of drinking-and-driving laws.

Over the last 30 years, numerous laws have been passed to prevent drinking and driving in the United States:

In 1984, the Federal Uniform Drinking Age Act was signed into law. Under the law, states that fail to prohibit the purchase or public consumption of alcohol by an individual under the age of 21 will have 10% of Federal highway funding withheld from them. In effect, this law raised the national minimum drinking age to 21.

In 1990, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sobriety checkpoints were legal under the constitution.

In 1995, the Federal Zero Tolerance Law was passed, making it illegal for individuals under 21 years old to drive with any measurable amount of blood alcohol content (BAC) in their blood. Highway safety funds would be withheld from any state failing to comply with the law by October 1, 1998.

In 2000, .08 BAC became the national illegal limit for impaired driving. Under the law, a percentage of federal highway construction funds would be withheld from any state failing to comply.

To date, 14 states have enacted laws mandating DUI first-time and repeat offenders to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. California, however, has only implemented a pilot program in four counties: Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento, and Tulare. Drivers with the device are forced to breathe into a tube connected to a machine that measures alcohol levels; if alcohol is detected, the machine will prevent the ignition from starting. The device not only prevents those with DUI convictions from drinking and driving, it also serves as a deterrent to all drivers, as it considerably increases the cost of receiving a DUI. Legislators will consider expanding the program statewide after a 5-year evaluation.

In California-and nationwide-efforts to combat drunk driving have had an impact on the number of fatal alcohol-related accidents. Throughout the country, such accidents decreased by almost 10 percent from 13,041 in 2007 to 11, 773 in 2008. In California, there were 108 fewer fatal accidents in 2008 than in 2007, from 1,347 to 1,239. Hopefully, the fatality rate will continue to decline with the state’s increasingly aggressive DUI enforcement and harsher penalties.

Originally published here.