DUI San Diego

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.

It doesn’t matter if you were at the bar with your friends or you were at home having a couple beers, at some point you made the decision to get behind the wheel of a car and now you’ve found yourself arrested and facing serious legal charges. Depending on your area, DUI charges can vary, but in San Diego, DUI charges are very strict, and if you are faced with this kind of charge, you are about to experience a lot of turmoil. The truth is, only a skilled San Diego DUI attorney can help you when you’re in this kind of situation. A DUI Attorney San Diego is very familiar with the court system, loop holes in the law, and methods to have evidence and potentially harmful testimony dismissed out of court.

The police officer walks up to your car and asks if you’ve had anything to drink. He/She may give you a field sobriety test, or a breathalyzer test and/or a blood test. Be aware, you can refuse to take these tests, but more than likely (especially if the police officer is believes you have been drinking) they will simply keep you in custody until they get a warrant that gives them the right to test you and then arrest you if you are intoxicated.

Of course, this is based on the premise that you did drink before you got behind the wheel. You may be surprised to know that there have been several cases where people were pulled over, tested and arrested for DUI even when they did not have a thing to drink. In those kind of cases, it goes without saying that you will definitely need an experienced DUI attorney to protect your rights.

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Now that charges have been formally filed against you for driving under the influence, you have some business to take care of.  The first step is to find and consult a San Diego DUI attorney. Be careful though, you don’t just want any attorney. It is important you find a skilled attorney that focuses on DUI cases. Don’t worry too much about the cost. When you hire someone to protect your freedom, your driving and criminal records, as well as your reputation, you should not attempt to cut costs. Concentrate on finding the most qualified attorney for you situation. When it comes to legal representation, you normally will get what you pay for, so if you want the best attorney to represent you, be ready to pay more.

The best way to find the best attorney is to search online for people who may have had similar experiences in your part of San Diego. See if someone recommends a good attorney. You can go to the yellow pages, or even an attorney directory, but there’s no guarantee these attorneys are successful at what they do. If possible, interview a few attorneys and ask to see or hear testimonials from other people they’ve represented. Ask about their court record. If an attorney has had success in lessening charges or getting cases thrown out completely, that’s the attorney you want.

A knowledgeable DUI Attorney will oversee the evidence against you and will create a strategy designed to have your charges decreased or to have your case dismissed completely. It is actually quite common for tests like breathalyzers to output false readings. An experienced attorney may be able to have the test results from a breathalyzer thrown out of court; or they may even use the weather, such as heavy wind or rain, as the reason for you failing the field sobriety test.

You must trust your attorney to have your best interests at heart. If he tells you to dress a certain way, talk a certain way, or say certain things, listen to him. His job is to win your court case; and attorneys don’t like to lose.

Even if the evidence is stacked against you and you think there’s no way you’re going to get out of this mess, a good San Diego DUI attorney may surprise you by finding a loophole, or an angle you never thought of that just might save you from years of legal trouble, lost money and tarnished reputation. But you must choose the best San Diego DUI attorney if you hope to receive the best results for your hard earned money.

Originally published here.