2012 February Archive

A DUI checkpoint in Garden Grove nabbed 2 alleged drunk drivers last night and cited 10 other drivers for license violations. In total, nearly 700 vehicles were pulled over. But as any Orange County DUI attorney will tell you, in order for any of the citations or arrests to hold up in court, the DUI checkpoints must adhere to strict rules.

First and foremost, any police department intent on putting up a DUI checkpoint needs to announce the location of the checkpoint in advance. Also, for a checkpoint to be considered legal, officers must adhere to a mathematical formula when selecting which motorists to investigate. For example, they must decide in advance that they are going to question every 3rd vehicle or 5th vehicle and then adhere to that random number.

Should your vehicle be selected, California law dictates that an officer can only conduct a brief investigation and look for signs of impairment. If a driver does not appear to be impaired they must be allowed to drive on without delay.

All DUI checkpoints must be clearly marked with hazard lights and marked police cars. It is also not legal for an officer to pull you over for turning around or trying to avoid a DUI checkpoint unless you violate a traffic law in doing so.

If you have been charged with a DUI as the result of a DUI checkpoint and you feel as though the checkpoint was not conducted in accordance with California law, it is imperative that you immediately contact a criminal defense attorney. The estimated costs for a DUI conviction far exceed $10,000.

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While any good California DUI attorney will tell you that appearing to be impaired while driving isn’t enough for a police officer to pull you over, the National Highway and Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has put out a “DUI Detection Guide” to help police identify impaired drivers. Ultimately, a police officer needs to observe you committing a traffic violation to pull you over, but these four main behaviors will have them on high alert.

(1) Problems Maintaining Proper Lane Position – Weaving, weaving outside the lane, straddling the lane line, swerving, making wide turns, drifting, almost hitting another vehicle or object;
(2) Speed and Braking Problems – stopping too far/short/jerky, accelerating or slowing for no apparent reason, varying speed, speed more than 10 M.P.H. slower than the speed limit;
(3) Vigilance (alertness) Problems – driving the wrong way down a one-way street, responding slowly to traffic signals, slow or failure to respond to police signals, stopping in lane without an apparent reason, driving at night without headlines on, signal issues (failure to signal, signaling inconsistent with action);
(4) Judgment Problems – Following too closely, Improper or unsafe lane changes, illegal/improper turns, driving on undesignated sections of the road, pulling over incorrectly when directed by police, display of inappropriate or unusual actions of belligerence, appearance of impairment.

Whether or not a police officer had reasonable suspicion to justify stopping you is an issue that you must discuss with your Orange County DUI attorney. Experts have calculated that the actual costs of a DUI conviction can far exceed $10,000, not to mention the inconvenience of having your driving privileges suspended. Just because you have been charged with a DUI doesn’t mean hope is lost. There are ways that an experienced criminal defense attorney can fight to have the charges reduced or even dismissed. But there is virtually no chance of successfully fighting a DUI conviction on your own.

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Remember, there are two ways to be convicted of DUI in Orange County:
1. Failing to operate a vehicle with the same caution characteristic of a sober person under the same or similar conditions (being an impaired driver as the result of drinking or taking drugs); or
2. Driving a vehicle while having .08% or more, by weight, of alcohol in the blood.

The phrase “drunk driving” is misleading. A driver doesn’t need to be “drunk” to be considered under the influence for the purposes of a Driving Under the Influence (DUI) conviction in California. The relevant question is whether a driver was impaired so much that he/she was not as cautious or alert as a non-drinking person would have been under similar circumstances.

While the prosecution needs to thoroughly analyze the facts in the case to prove DUI, an Orange County DUI defense attorney must do the same to disprove a DUI charge. The Fourth Amendment of the United States Constitution requires some minimal level of objective justification for making the stop, meaning the officer initiating the vehicle stop must be able to give a reason why he stopped a car beyond just a suspicion or hunch.

An actual vehicle code violation is most commonly cited in most DUI stops, but not required to justify a stop. Some common vehicle code violations include non-working taillights, failing to use a turn signal, or rolling through a stop sign.

Next, the arresting officer will note any observations of the common objective symptoms of intoxication (odor of alcohol, slurred speech, red eyes, flushed face, etc). The officer will detail in his police report the driver’s ability or inability to pass the field sobriety tests. Last, scientific evidence will be gathered though a breath or blood test to determine the concentration of alcohol in the driver’s blood or breath.

However, this scientific evidence is not absolutely necessary for a DUI conviction. Individuals who have refused to submit to any chemical blood or breathe test for alcohol concentration have been convicted of DUI solely on the basis of the testimony of police officers as to the defendant’s erratic or unlawful driving behavior.

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