Arizona Lowers DUI Penalties for First Offenses

Drivers in Arizona who are convicted with driving under the influence (DUI) charges for the first time will receive a “slightly gentler” sentence, starting January 1st next year.

A new state law set to take effect when the New Year comes in will reduce the amount of time that first-time offenders are required to have an ignition-interlock device on their vehicles, from one year to six months.

Interlock devices prevent vehicles from turning on if alcohol is detected in the driver’s breath. Arizona is known as among the toughest states when it comes to DUI laws, as it is one of only 15 that require first-time offenders to have interlock devices.

The length of time that an interlock device is used varies by state, and with the reduction, Arizona joins the ranks of Oregon, New Jersey, and Missouri, which require interlock devices for a period of six months.

The change was proposed early this year by Sen. Linda Gray of Glendale, who said that while she still believes in requiring interlock devices, she thinks that six months is long enough to teach a lesson.

The Arizona Chapter of Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), however, opposed the change to the law. Since Arizona required first-time offenders to have interlock devices, the number of DUI fatalities has decreased, and MADD Arizona program specialist Kelley Dupps said that they will be monitoring whether the new law will cause an increase in the number of DUI fatalities.

Dupps said: “We definitely feel the interlock law has made a huge difference in the DUI fatalities in Arizona… Interlocks allow offenders to get back on the road and drive safely while the community can rest assured that they are driving safely.”

If you’ve been charged with DUI in Arizona, it’s very important that you contact an Arizona DUI lawyer to discuss your legal situation.

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Wyoming Officials Say Mandatory Drunk Driving Law Gaining Acceptance

After a bit of a rocky start, law enforcement officials and prosecutors around the state say they’re now running into few problems with Wyoming’s new mandatory DUI (driving under the influence) testing law.

Since July 1, police officers have been able to get a judicial warrant requiring motorists pulled over for suspected alcohol or drug use to take a breath, blood or urine test. Prosecutors say the change has helped them win cases against drunk drivers, especially repeat offenders who know how to beat the system.

Civil liberties advocates have worried about officers restraining uncooperative suspects by force to take a blood-alcohol test, and some judges question the constitutionality of requesting a warrant by phone.

Police and prosecutors say it’s still too early to pass final judgment on the new law.

But in the past few months, police officials in many counties say that as more people learn about the law, most suspects now yield to testing without force. Judges, too, say they’re becoming more comfortable with the legality of the law, even if they may still be annoyed by late-night phone calls from an officer seeking a warrant.

“The general consensus is that it’s going well,” said Eric Phillips, Wyoming’s traffic safety resource prosecutor. “A lot of the anticipated worries haven’t come to fruition.”

Within the first two months of the new law being enforced, police in at least 16 Wyoming counties received warrants for DUI testing, a Casper Star-Tribune survey found.

In four counties, at least one suspect continued to refuse, leading officers to conduct blood tests by force.

On July 31. Cheyenne police received a warrant to test a 24-year-old man who was pulled over after reportedly driving erratically. When he still resisted, he was taken to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center, where five Cheyenne police officers held him down while a blood draw was conducted.

But in the past four months, no such incidents have taken place in Laramie County, said Laramie County Sheriff’s Department spokesman Gerry Luce.

“What we’ve seen here in the last three months is the trend has been extremely downward, if you will,” Luce said. “From our perspective, people understand that they’re required to comply with the law.”

Law enforcement agencies in other counties have also overcome initial difficulties.

For years, the Converse County Sheriff’s Office has taken DUI suspects to Memorial Hospital in Douglas for blood tests.

But when the new mandatory DUI law first took effect, the hospital refused to test people against their will, out of concern that unruly suspects would disrupt hospital operations.

For the past couple of months, though, the hospital has reached an arrangement with the sheriff’s department to send a nurse to the department’s detention facility to draw blood whenever a suspect is unwilling.

“It’s working very well,” Memorial Hospital Chief Nursing Officer George Rudloff said.

Before the law took effect, Natrona County Circuit Judge Michael Huber voiced concerns about whether the Wyoming Constitution allows police to obtain a warrant over the phone. But Huber said in a late August interview that he now believes such actions are constitutional.

The main drawback, Huber said, is the annoyance of judges getting warrant requests in the middle of the night. That, he said, could both overwork some judges and deter attorneys from applying to become judges in the future.

“Anybody that says it’s not an issue, just frankly, between you and me, they don’t know what they’re talking about,” he said.

While incidents like the Cheyenne arrest get headlines, law enforcement officials around the state emphasized that in the vast majority of cases, DUI suspects consent peacefully to a test — especially after they’re told that it’s mandatory.

The DUI test requirement was passed by state legislators earlier this year with the argument that repeat offenders with high blood-alcohol levels refused to be tested, knowing that refusal would make it harder to convict them at trial.

While there are no statistics showing if DUI conviction rates have increased, Phillips said a number of prosecutors around the state have said anecdotally that it’s made their job easier to win DUI cases.

Natrona County District Attorney Mike Blonigen said that’s been true in his case.

“I think it’s helped across the board, but particularly with repeat offenders who try to game the system and play games with field sobriety maneuvers,” he said.

Blonigen said requiring tests also will help police identify people driving after using drugs.

“I think we’re going to find a lot more involvement with controlled substances and stuff than perhaps we previously recognized,” he said.

Both Phillips and Blonigen said they had expected a legal challenge to mandatory DUI testing, but neither has heard of any such lawsuit being filed so far.

Some counties are still working out the details of how to enforce the new law. Converse County Sheriff Clint Becker said his department is debating whether to purchase a strap-down table to restrain physically resistant suspects for blood tests.

Some counties, including Natrona, don’t bother to administer a DUI test by force. Instead, they charge the suspect with interference.

Debbie Taylor of Wyoming MADD said she would like to see the Legislature establish a uniform statewide policy for how police should administer DUI tests to unwilling suspects and enact harsher penalties for those who don’t consent to a test.

But Taylor said there are no immediate plans to push for such measures, especially as it can be tough to get state lawmakers to pass stricter impaired-driving laws.

“A lot of legislators feel that it is taking away from the general public’s rights, and so they don’t like to add more laws to the books,” she said.

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Vehicle Forfeiture

Arrests for driving on a suspended license often follow driving under the influence convictions like day follows night.  In addition to the usual probation, fines, and even jail time, there is a little known power that law enforcement has in suspended license cases.  In certain circumstances, the police agency that arrests you for driving on a suspended license can take your car, sell it at auction, and keep all of the proceeds. 
Under California Vehicle Code section 14601.6, a court can declare your care a “nuisance” if you repeatedly drive without a license.  The elements that the State must show in order to take your car are:

1. You drove the car
2. On a highway (highway means any public road)
3. In California
4. You had a suspended or revoked license, or you were unlicensed
5. You were the registered owner of the car
6. You had a previous misdemeanor conviction of driving without a license, or driving on a suspended or revoked license in California.

When most people read this law they are amazed that the State has the power to sell their car after only their second conviction for driving on a suspended license.  One must wonder how someone can be expected to pay the crushing fines of a suspended license conviction as well as their fines from their DUI conviction after their car is taken away and sold. 
Luckily, this power is rarely used by law enforcement and prosecutors.  One reason may be that most cops and Deputy DAs don’t even know about this statute.  When I was a Deputy DA most of my colleagues were shocked when I discussed this statute.  However, the more likely explanation for the infrequent use of this law is economic.  Instituting a program for forfeiting cars, tasking personnel to staff it, keeping records, and organizing auctions all costs money.  Most of the cars that would be taken in such a program would be worth little at auction.  At the end of the day, a forfeiture program would probably end up costing more than it would make.
Even though this law is rarely used it shows how serious suspended license charges are.  If you have been charged with DUI or driving on a suspended license after a DUI call 888-DUIANSWER immediately to speak with an experienced DUI attorney.

Two Counties Report Their Holiday Drunk Driving Crackdown

Statistics for DUI enforcement efforts during the holiday period have been released by Solano and Alameda counties.  Both counties show an increase in driving under the influence arrests compared to the same period last year.  The numbers encompass the period from December 16 until midnight on January 1. 
Alameda County saw 849 DUI arrests this year compared to 763 DUI arrests last year.  That was a 17 percent increase.  Police tactics involved in the crackdown included 200 officers out on opening night, DUI enforcement at the Raiders game, warrant sweeps, sobriety checkpoints, maximum freeway enforcement, and saturation patrols in the cities. 
Solano County arrested 48 suspected DUI drivers.  Last year they arrested 39 suspected drunk drivers during the same period.  That was a 23 percent increase in DUI arrests.  No DUI deaths were recorded during the holiday last year or this year. 
It is important to note that both counties are already saying that the increased driving under the influence enforcement effort will return during Super Bowl Weekend and Saint Patrick’s Day.  I will report in this blog when more details are released.  You can bet that there will be DUI sobriety checkpoints set up across the Bay Area. 
The problem with these “pat on the back” reports is they assume that everyone that was arrested for DUI was guilty.  The truth is many innocent people have been, and will continue to be rounded up in the DUI frenzy.  If you have been arrested for driving under the influence in the Bay Area you need an experienced DUI attorney right away.  Call 888-DUI ANSWER immediately to talk about your case today.

New Year’S Eve DUI Checkpoints

It looks like Bay Area drivers may not have to endure as many driving under the influence checkpoints as they did over the Christmas weekend.  According to a press release, Alameda County will not have any checkpoints this weekend. 

In Solano County, there will only be one checkpoint.  It will be at an undisclosed location in Vallejo.

In San Francisco, there will be a DUI checkpoint on Saturday, New Year’s Eve.  It will be set up on Eighth Street at Folsom Street from 8:00 p.m. to 3 a.m. 

Keep in mind that there may be other unreported DUI checkpoints throughout the Bay Area.  If you unexpectedly drive up to one there is nothing illegal about legally avoiding the checkpoint.  The police need to provide a legal avenue of escape for people who choose not to submit to the DUI checkpoint.  

Since there are specific requirements that police must satisfy with a sobriety checkpoint, if you have been arrested for DUI at one call 888-DUI ANSWER immediately to talk to an experienced DUI attorney.  Above all, have a happy and safe New Year’s Eve!

Sobriety Checkpoints this weekend!

While all Bay Area counties are conducting heightened DUI enforcements through the holiday season, four cities have publicized driving under the influence checkpoints they will conduct this weekend. 

In San Francisco, there will be another checkpoint this Friday night, December 23, 2011.  It will be set up on The Embarcadero at Washington Street.  It will last from 8:30 p.m. to 3 a.m.

Up in Marin County, the San Rafael Police Department will conduct a DUI checkpoint in San Rafael.  It will be on Grand Avenue at East Francisco Boulevard and operate in both directions.  It will start at 6:00 p.m. and may relocate sometime in the evening to northbound Irwin Street at Fifth Avenue. 

In Alameda County there will be two DUI checkpoints.  The first will be on Thursday night from 8:00 p.m.  It will be set up on the 14800 block of East 14^th Street, near 148 Avenue, in San Leandro.  The second checkpoint will be on Friday night in Hayward.  The exact location of the DUI checkpoint has not been disclosed. 

If you are going out this weekend be sure to avoid these locations.  If you do get arrested for a DUI, call (888) DUI Answer as soon as possible to hire an experienced DUI attorney.

Your Miranda Rights: Part 2

Yesterday I wrote in my blog some basic information about your Miranda rights.  I wrote that Miranda warnings only have to be provided after you are formally arrested.  This is significant for driving under the influence (DUI) cases because most questioning in a DUI case happens before the officer actually slaps cuffs on you. 

Today, I want to talk about what you need to do to invoke your Miranda rights.  Usually, once an officer recites your Miranda rights to you he will then ask, “Do you understand the rights I have just read to you?”  If you answer affirmatively, the officer may then ask you something like, “With those rights in mind, do you want to talk to me without a lawyer present?”  An officer does not necessarily have to ask that last question.  They can simply start asking questions, and if you answer them, it can be implied that you are willing to talk without a lawyer. 

Your assertion of your right to remain silent or speak with an attorney must be “unequivocal”.  That means saying something like, “Maybe I should talk to a lawyer first”, or “Do you think I should talk to a lawyer first?” may not count as assertions of your rights.  If you find yourself in a situation where you have been arrested and officers want to ask you questions be direct.  Tell the police officer something like, “With all respect, I choose to invoke my right to remain silent and hereby refuse to answer any questions without my attorney present.”  Such a statement is an unequivocal invocation of your rights, and will require the officer to stop talking to you immediately. 

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again:  “The less you tell the cops the better it will be for your case down the road.”  The police are not looking to help you out by getting your side of the story.  They are looking for evidence to use against you in court. 

Your Miranda Rights

Many people charged with driving under the influence assume that failure by police offers to advise them of their Miranda rights should automatically win them a dismissal of their charges.  The truth is far more complicated than that.  Not being advised can have no effect on your case, but also could mean all the difference in the world.  It all depends on the facts of your case. 

Miranda rights are based on a Supreme Court case that basically said that your 5^th Amendment right against self incrimination is kind of useless if you don’t even know you have it.  It requires that if you are arrested you must be advised certain rights before you can be questioned.  Most people know the rights by heart from hours of cop dramas on TV, but for the rest of us the rights are:  (1) You have the right to remain silent; (2)  If you give up the right to remain silent, anything you say can and will be used in court against you; (3)  You have the right to speak with an attorney of your choice before questioning, and to have the attorney present during questioning; (4)  If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you by the court before any questioning, if you so desire.  The attorney will not cost you anything.  After these advisements are read the officer should ask if you understand your rights, and if you are willing to speak without a lawyer.

First, it is important to understand that police officers do not always have to advise you of your Miranda rights before talking to you.  An officer only needs to advise you if you are actually “under arrest”.  In a DUI case this is significant, because most of the questioning that officers do happens before the formal arrest.  Whether or not you were actually under arrest depends on many different factors, such as where the questioning took place, if you were in cuffs, and how many officers were present.  It is incredibly important that you remember as many details as possible about the questioning so your attorney can fight to keep your statements out of court. 

It is also important to know that just because an officer did not read you your rights does not mean that you don’t have them.  Under almost any conceivable circumstance, other than providing basic identification you do not need to speak with police officers.  Usually, the less you say to the cops the better, and the less time your lawyer will spend later trying to prevent your statements from being used against you. 

In future blogs I will go into more detail regarding Miranda rights. 

More DUI Checkpoints this weekend

Yesterday I reported in my blog that there will be two driving under the influence vehicle checkpoints in Contra Costa County.  It looks like there will be a few more throughout the Bay Area. 

In Marin County, there will be DUI checkpoints this weekend and next weekend.  According to the San Rafael Police Department, there will be a DUI checkpoint on Friday, December 16, 2011 in San Rafael.  It will be on westbound Manuel T. Freitas Parkway at Las Gallinas Avenue from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.  The second Marin County checkpoint will be on Friday, December 23, 2011.  It will also be in San Rafael, from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.  The Department has not released the location of this checkpoint yet.  I will post the location on this blog when I learn of it.

Three DUI sobriety checkpoints are planned for the holiday period in San Francisco.  The first will be this Sunday, December 18, 2011 starting at 8:30 p.m.  It will be located on 19^th Avenue at Winston Drive.  That is right in front of the Stonestown Galleria.  The other two will be on December 23 and New Year’s Eve.  The locations of those two checkpoints have not been released yet. 

Also, it appears that there will be a DUI checkpoint in Alameda sometime after the Oakland Raiders game on Sunday, December 18.  The exact location and time has not been released.

The San Jose Police Department says that they will conduct a DUI sobriety checkpoint on Saturday, December 17, 2011 from 9:00 p.m. to 3:00 a.m.  The location is “undisclosed”. 

Keep in mind that there may be other checkpoints located throughout the Bay Area this weekend.  Be careful if you are driving out there.  If you are arrested at a DUI checkpoint call my office right away to ensure that all of your rights are protected. 

Contra Costa Sobriety Checkpoints

According to an article in the December 15, 2011 Contra Costa Times, police officers throughout the county are planning various increases in DUI enforcement.  This increased enforcement will last until after New Year’s Eve.  The campaign will include numerous DUI sobriety checkpoints throughout the county. 

The times and locations of two checkpoints have been released.  They are both on Friday night, December 16, 2011.  One is in Richmond, on San Pablo Avenue at the cross street of McBryde Avenue.  The only time given is “nighttime hours”.  The other DUI checkpoint will be in Walnut Creek, on Lawrence Way, near Interstate 680.  The time of this checkpoint will be from 9:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m.  The report also talks about other checkpoints planned for San Pablo and West Contra Costa, but no details are provided. 

Obviously, it is always best to never drink and drive.  If you do decide to have one or two and take the chance, don’t drive anywhere near these locations.  If you are arrested at a DUI checkpoint carefully select a DUI lawyer with experience in challenging these intrusions. 

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