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Posts Tagged ‘DUI Law’

Why Were Labor Day Weekend 2010 DUI Arrests Down?

Monday, September 13th, 2010

Labor Day Weekend 2010 DUI arrests were down across California this year. According to the California Highway Patrol there were 900 DUI related arrests statewide over the long three day weekend as compared with 923 arrests for the same period last year.

Could the flat statistics be a result of the recession? In other words, could the decrease in arrests be a reflection of statewide police layoffs and cutbacks? In Santa Clara County the facts would indicate otherwise. From Friday August 20, 2010, through Saturday September 4, 2010, DUI patrols and sobriety check points were increased as part of a summer DUI crackdown campaign. Notwithstanding the added enforcement efforts, there were only 343 driving under the influence arrests compared with 363 arrests for the same period a year ago.

Although the above statistics may reflect a year over year decrease in California DUI related arrests, penalties for a DUI conviction are still potentially quite severe including license suspension, jail time, probation, fines, court fees, alcohol classes, increased insurance premiums, and a criminal record.

If you or a loved one have been arrested for driving under the influence or should you have questions regarding California DUI law please call San Jose DUI Attorney Bernard P. Bray: (408) 292-9700.

Tags: DUI Law
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Why Blood Alcohol Concentrations of .15% Matter?

Monday, March 22nd, 2010

Pursuant to California Vehicle Code section 23578, persons convicted of driving under the influence in California can expect enhanced penalties in sentencing when they admit to having driven with a blood alcohol concentration of .15% or higher.

The reason for this enhancement is justified by statistics. Most drivers who have consumed alcohol have low blood alcohol concentrations, and few of these drivers are involved in fatal crashes. On the hand, while only a relatively few number of drivers have blood alcohol concentrations higher than .15%, a much higher proportion of those drivers have fatal crashes.

If you have questions regarding California DUI law, or should you or a loved have had the misfortune of a DUI arrest, protect yourself to the fullest extent possible, call San Jose DUI Lawyer Bernard P. Bray.

Tags: Criminal Law, DUI Law
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2010: The Year of the Drunk Driving Checkpoint?

Saturday, February 13th, 2010

Watch out all would be drivers after consuming alcohol and driving in California. The California Office of Traffic Safety has recently announced that 2010 will be the Year of the DUI Checkpoint in California. California already conducts more DUI check points that any other state in the country, and 2010 will see an increase in those checkpoints.

$8,000,000.00 has been allocated by the California Office of Traffic Safety, and it is estimated that this money will fund approximately 2500 DUI checkpoints in 2010, a significant increase over 2009’s approximately 1700 sobriety checkpoints.

A driving under the influence arrest can bring serious consequences in California, including: license suspension, a mandatory jail sentence, probation, stiff fines, court fees, long term alcohol classes, increased insurance premiums, and a criminal record. The above are all potential standard consequences of a first driving under the influence conviction. Attorney Bernard P. Bray has extensive experience and an excellent track record of successful results defending drunk driving cases.

If you or a loved one has been arrested for drunk driving contact San Jose DUI Attorney Bernard P. Bray immediately: (408) 292-9700. One must move quickly in securing assistance. An accused only has 10 days in which to request a hearing with the DMV to avoid what otherwise will be an automatic license suspension for an arrestee who produced a .08% or higher blood alcohol test result, or who refused a blood alcohol test.

Tags: DUI Law
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A Break For DUI Drivers?

Thursday, January 7th, 2010

Second and third time DUI drivers in California have for several years been subjected to long term license suspension as a result of their convictions. Effective this year the rules for obtaining restricted licenses for second and third time California DUI drivers are changing, and providing quite a break.

Now, second time DUI, alcohol only, offenders will be able to apply for a restricted license after ninety days into their otherwise two year license suspension. Previously, they could only apply after twelve months into their two year suspension. Third time DUI, alcohol only, offenders will now be able to apply for a restricted license after six months into their three year license suspension. Previously, they could only apply for a restricted license after twelve months into their three year suspension.

The legislative history surrounding these changes state that their purpose is to encourage drunk drivers to obtain ignition interlock devices by permitting them to obtain restricted licenses sooner if they do.

Should you or a loved one have the misfortune of a DUI arrest and/or have questions concerning California DUI laws contact San Jose DUI lawyer Bernard P. Bray.

Tags: Criminal Law, DUI Law
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Should I Take the Test, and If So, Which One?

Monday, September 28th, 2009

California drivers faced with a request form a police officer to summit to an alcohol chemical test must submit to a test, or be faced with the almost always certainty of a mandatory one year license suspension. While there are various defenses that may be available for a refusal to summit to the mandatory testing requirement, this writer always recommends taking the test, thereby avoiding the potential for long term license suspension.

What test?

There are usually two tests available. The standard breath test consists of a suspect blowing into a testing device. Alternatively, one may submit to a blood test which consists of a simple blood draw.

Hands down, this writer recommends the breath test. Breath testing requires conversion of a breath sample to derive a blood alcohol percentage. The conversion factor is known as a partition ratio, and issues surrounding such ratios give rise to successful attacks on the reliability of breath test results. Partition ratios vary widely in the general population and within individuals. Moreover, patrition ratios in the general population are higher than the standard used in breath test machines, giving suspects taking such tests a potential benefit.

There are other reasons breath test machines lend themselves to an attack on the reliability of their results. Machines often do not function properly. Breath testing machines have a margin of error of 0.02%. Further, breath test results in some machines are truncated. The third decimal in the result is not included. Thus, a test result of .099% will read out .09%, giving a suspect an added benefit. In some situations a suspect may be able to avoid providing enough deep breath to register all of the alcohol present in his system. Finally, the breath test machine scale in some machines is set .003% below the start line giving the suspect a further added benefit.

Should you or a loved one have the misfortune of a DUI arrest and/or be faced with other issues concerning your driving privilege contact San Jose DUI Lawyer Bernard P. Bray.