December 2009 Archives

A New Hampshire man was arrested in April on a DWI charge, but recently got off with a lesser offense because of his body type. Now many residents in Los Angeles and people all across the country are questioning the validity of field sobriety tests. 

Jaimil Choudhry, 20, of North Hampton stands at 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighs 230 pounds, which meets the clinical definition of obesity. While police believed Choudhry to be intoxicated at the time of his arrest, drunk driving lawyer Andrew Cotrupi argued that his client shouldn't have been given particular field sobriety tests because of his obesity.

New Years Eve is here, and it's time to party. But when you close out 2009 with a bang, make sure you're making responsible decisions. The last thing you would want is to enter the new year with a DUI. The Los Angeles Police Departments is cracking down on drunk drivers with a series of checkpoints this weekend. Funding for these checkpoints comes from the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration. Police have so far confirmed checkpoints at the following locations.

• December 31: Hollywood Boulevard at Las Palmas Avenue, between 8:00 PM and 3:00 AM
• January 1: South Figueroa Street between 8th and 9th streets, between 6:00 PM and 1:00 AM
• January 2: Olympic Boulevard west of Cherry Avenue, between 7:00 PM and 12:30 AM

Many people feel that elderly men and women shouldn't be driving, because of either senile habits, bad judgement, or for other health reasons. Smart Motorist reports that older drivers are more likely than younger ones to be involved in multi-vehicle crashes, particularly at intersections.

Do you need a Tipsy Tow? Representitives of the Automobile Club of Southern California are happy to give people a tow, if it means keeping drunk drivers off the road on New Years Eve. 

A sober New Years Eve can be fun, especially if you’re a teenager living in San Bernardino County. 

It's a pretty well-known fact that driving under the influence of alcohol or other drugs can be dangerous, yet many residents of Los Angeles probably don't realize that driving with a hangover can also be unsafe.

Researchers at Brown University will soon publish their study about the effects of various types of liquor on how people experience hangovers. Their study shows that people drive poorly while experiencing hangover symptoms from a heavy night of drinking the day before.

For Johnny Winterrod:

"2001, you was 4 and a half years old when we was hit by the drunk and am thankful to God that we survived, you are my strength that gets me through everything."  

The words written by Patti Winterrod are published on the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) website, as part of the organization's cybervigil. This year MADD is holding an online candlelight vigil during the holiday season, where people around the country are encouraged to light a "virtual candle" to raise awareness about those effected by drunk driving.

You better watch out, or you might cry. You don't need to pout and here's a reason why: Metro is offering free services on Christmas Eve.

Did you know it's illegal to charge admission to any party that's held in a residential zone? So if you enter a house party, and they have a bouncer at the door charging an entrance fee, just explain that charging money for such an event isn't legal, according to Los Angeles County Code 13.41.

Police suspected a motorist of driving under the influence in Los Angeles County last week, but the suspect refused to pull over. Instead, the man driving a Lincoln Navigator wouldn't stop, where police ended up chasing him through Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego County, and all the way down to the Mexican border.

It would be difficult for any DUI lawyer in Los Angeles County to argue that 120 mph is a safe speed to drive at. This is just one reason why DUI offenders driving at high speeds don't usually get of easy.

If you don't like the taste of alcohol, but love the feeling of getting a buzz, there's a new product that might catch your interest.

Russian professor Evgeny Moskalev of Saint Petersburg Technological University has developed a technique that takes alcohol and transforms it into a powder, which can then be packed into pill form. Moskalev successfully developed "dry vodka," but he says the technique can solidify any kind of alcohol, including whisky, cognac, wine and beer.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Marsha Revel assessed the progress of Lindsay Lohan's DUI probation earlier this week, but the Hollywood actress was not present in the courtroom. Instead, Lohan's DUI lawyer in Los Angeles stood in court on her behalf.

In the earlier blog post, Big Island Making Big Changes, there was discussion of how Hawaii is taking effective measures to decrease drunk driving on the roads with its Holiday Shared Ride Taxi program. The program offers bar patrons in Hawaii free taxi coupons as an alternative to driving away from establishments under the influence. Now, people in Los Angeles will be happy to know that similar measures have come into play here in the Golden State.

The program is being funded through a private organization, where many Los Angeles residents have praised the private organization for striving to take drunk drivers off the road.

Two freeway crashes in downtown Los Angeles occurred early Friday morning in the exact same spot. The first incident involved driver Angela Kim, 21, who collided with another vehicle on the Santa Monica Freeway. Authorities arrested Kim on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Kim's inoperable car was to be left on the freeway until a tow truck came, but moments after Kim's arrest another alleged drunk driver hit Kim's car. This might be too much irony for just one Los Angeles drunk driving lawyer to handle.

If you're charged with a DUI in Los Angeles, but you don't live in California, you might be wondering how to go about contacting a DUI lawyer. You might be thinking, "Should I contact a DUI lawyer in Los Angeles or a DUI lawyer in my home state?"

The answer of course varies depending on your situation, but generally it's best to get a lawyer in the same state that you were arrested in. While certain exceptions might be granted, most people accused of a California DUI must have their trial in California.

Those in Los Angeles who have recently been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, might be requesting a Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer for a Christmas present. But Los Angeles police have now teamed up with local bartenders to come up with an alternative to getting drunk this holiday season. So perhaps the DUI lawyers won't be receiving as many calls as they might expect.

The Los Angeles Police Department, California Highway Patrol, and bartenders in L.A have partnered together to put on the event Battle of the Bartenders, scheduled for tomorrow at ESPN Zone L.A. LIVE. The event is a competition among bartenders in the L.A. LIVE center, where the bartenders will be competing over who can make the best alcohol-free mocktail drink.

After Macos Valencia, 21, was convicted of his second DUI in 2008 he said he learned the consequences of driving under the influence and pledged never to drink and drive again. But last July, he was arrested on suspicion of a DUI again. This time he allegedly killed a cyclist and injured several other people in a San Fernando collision.

After the crash, Valencia allegedly tried to flee the scene, but a deputy was able to catch up with him and put him under arrest. The Santa Clarita Valley Signal reports that Valencia had a blood alcohol level of about .18 percent after the crash, which is over double the legal limit. The Los Angeles County district attorney told the Signal that he was legally drunk and high on methamphetamine, cocaine and marijuana.

California is one of several U.S states that allows expungement of a DUI, where people can remove their DUI conviction off their criminal record under certain criteria.

So if you've been convicted of a DUI, and don't want it to haunt you for the rest of your life, you may be able to get a second chance and have the conviction cleared. According to California Penal Code Section 1203.4, a person qualifies for DUI expungement if he or she has completed all terms of probation, paid all fines, and is not charged with another crime.

In the Los Angeles region, there are four Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) chapters that work to get drunk driving accidents off the road.

What's MADD? This group of mothers (and now many fathers) work to stop drunk driving, support those effected by drunk driving, and prevent underage drinking. The non-profit organization started almost 30 years ago and is now considered to be a key player when pushing for harsher DUI and drunk driving legislation.

If you’re planning to go bar hopping this weekend in Downtown Los Angeles, make sure you don’t get behind the wheel after you’ve had too much to drink. Not only can you get yourself into a serious accident, but it’s likely you’ll get a DUI with an increased number of law enforcement officers in the region.

President Barack Obama officially proclaimed the month of December as National Impaired Driving Prevention Month on December 2.

Through a written proclamation, the president acknowledged the dangers of drunk driving and stated how more action is needed from the government and from private organizations to stop people from driving under the influence.

Hawaii's Big Island is taking major leaps to decrease drunk driving on the roads this holiday season, and the city of Los Angeles should be looking to Hawaii as an example.

In order to make the Hawaiian roads safer, the island is bringing back its Holiday Shared Ride Taxi program from now until January 1, 2010. Through this program, selected bars in East and West Hawaii will be offering drunk patrons free taxi coupons as an alternative to driving away from establishments under the influence.

Los Angeles County is one of four counties in the golden state officially participating in California’s 5-year test of ignition interlock requirements for first-time DUI offenders.

Ignition interlock systems in cars are devices that test for alcohol on a driver’s breath, where a vehicle cannot start unless the BAC of the driver is below a certain level, usually between .02 and .04 BAC.

A forty year old man was arrested in Redlands on Thursday night after allegedly driving with a blood-alcohol level four times the legal limit. Police say that his arrest is all thanks to the town's surveillance cameras.

While former NFL player Brian Bosworth could not attend his own court hearing for his DUI arrest, his Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer pleaded on his behalf. With his lawyer's defense, the court granted him what many would consider a lenient punishment for a first time DUI offender.

Former Baywatch star Pamela Bach will be spending her Christmas Eve in criminal court, where her DUI trial is expected to occur.

Bach was arrested on charges of driving under the influence on Saturday November 28, when she was driving on Highway 101 near Laurel Canyon Boulevard. When given a breath test, Bach's blood alcohol content showed results of .14 and .13, where the legal limit is .08 BAC.

The transit minister in Quebec recommends the creation of a new DUI charge for drivers with BAC levels between .05 and .08 in the Canadian province.

Los Angeles law enforcers say that in a collision between a car and cyclist, the person driving the vehicle usually suffers minor or no injuries, while the person on the bike is often found dead or paralyzed.

A 23 year old man was arrested on Thanksgiving for assault and suspicion of driving under the influence, after he attacked a blind man at an Anaheim am/pm mini market.

Palm Desert is working extra hard to crack down on DUI enforcement. The city has received an additional $163,167 in grant money from the California Office of Traffic Safety to limit drunk driving in the area.

Local police officers and Los Angeles DUI attorneys know that the city of Palm Desert has not faired well in recent years when it comes to DUI accidents. In a 2008 study, Palm Desert ranked eighth out of 97 cities with populations under 50,000, in the number of fatal and injury traffic collisions. It ranked ninth out of the 97 in number of alcohol related crashes.

Hollywood actress Stephanie Pratt was recently arrested for a DUI, but her Los Angeles DUI attorney pleaded not guilty to the charges on her behalf in the courtroom.

The twenty-three year old reality television star is best known for her character on The Hills. She was pulled over last month in Hollywood for driving with tinted windows at 3:45 am, but when the police officer suspected that she was driving under the influence of alcohol, the cop took her to Van Nuys jail, where she took two breath tests measuring .08 and .09, when the legal limit in California is .08.