Many drivers are likely aware of electronic monitoring thanks to celebrities such as Lindsay Lohan. The truth is that the DUI sentencing alternative is not just for celebrities. In fact, it is one of the best ways for drivers who are convicted of driving under the influence to avoid jail time.

How Does It Work?

Electronic monitoring involves having the DUI offender wear an ankle or wrist bracelet that electronically monitors the individual’s whereabouts while under some form of house arrest. The device sends a signal to a computer either at the probation office or to a monitoring contractor. The signal indicates whether or not the DUI offender is in compliance with the terms of the probation. (more…)

Unfortunately, according to a recent study, the answer to this question is “no.” A 2009 analysis by CDC researchers found that for adults in all age groups, the presence of children in the home does not decrease drivers’ likelihood of alcohol-impaired driving.

In fact, an estimated 2.5 million adult drivers with children living in their households reported that they had recently driven while under the influence of alcohol.

This helps explain why more children in the United States are killed in motor vehicle crashes annually than by any other cause, with nearly a quarter of these deaths involving alcohol. (more…)

Many argue that lowering the legal drinking age could help lower the incidence of driving under the influence in California and across the country. The premise is that many DUI-related accidents involve young people (often underage) who have been binge drinking.

Statistics confirm that despite a steady decline in fatalities over the past decade, DUI is still prevalent among underage drivers. In 2008, 12 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were young drivers age 15 to 20 years old. More specifically, 5,864 15- to 20-year old drivers were involved in fatal crashes, including 2,739 driver fatalities. Among 15- to 20-year old drivers involved in fatal crashes, 31% of the drivers who were killed had been drinking and 25% who were killed in crashes had a BAC of .08 or higher. (more…)

When a person is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, the police will conduct a chemical test to determine the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC). The three chemical tests used are breath, blood, and urine testing.

Below is a brief summary of each test and its reliability.

Breath Testing

Breath testing, generally using a Breathalyzer machine, is by far the most common methods of testing a suspected DUI offender’s BAC. These machines determine a driver’s BAC by analyzing the alcohol content in exhaled vapor. Because Breathalyzers are subject to a number of problems including accuracy, calibration, and maintenance an experienced California DUI defense attorney can often challenge the results in court. (more…)

Sentencing for first-time drunken driving offenders has been a hot topic following the arrest of former NBA star Jalen Rose. Rose was recently ordered to serve 20 days in a Michigan county jail on his first offense of driving under the influence. As noted in a recent USA Today article, one of the most significant factors in determining DUI penalties is where the offender is arrested and prosecuted.

This is primarily because punishments for driving under the influence vary widely from county to county and state to state. As USA Today notes, “Drunken driving penalties are a lot like real estate values; they depend on location, location, location.”

Here’s a brief look at DUI penalties across the country: (more…)

Research suggests that jail time is not generally the best punishment for first-time offenders convicted of driving under the influence. This is primarily because jail time hasn’t been shown to be effective in preventing future DUI arrests.

“The studies show it has no impact,” said James Fell, senior program director for the Alcohol, Policy and Safety Research Center in Maryland in a recent article in the Detroit Free Press. “Jail is really only an effective tool if it is used as a threat to make the drunk driver comply with other orders for probation, treatment, community service, alcohol testing.”

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism also share this view. (more…)

After you are arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) in California, it is only natural to worry about the potential consequences, particularly the possibility of jail time. While every California DUI case is unique, there are several common penalties that may be imposed by the court.

Of course, the severity of the penalties is dependent upon a number of factors, including the number of prior DUI arrests within a 10-year period, speeding, high blood-alcohol content levels, injury to others, etc. (more…)

Manufacturers of vehicle interlock devices and advocacy groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving have formed an alliance to lobby Congress to pass national legislation requiring the installation of ignition interlock devices for all convicted drunk driving offenders. The devices are designed to prevent drivers from operating a motor vehicle when they have a measurable amount of alcohol in their systems.

The Drunk Driving Repeat Offender Prevention Act of 2011, introduced in the Senate in February by Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (NJ-D) and last month in the House by Rep. Eliot L. Engel (NY-D), mandates states to require an ignition interlock for a minimum of six months for all drunk driving offenders. States that fail to comply with this mandate will face a reduction in federal transportation funding of up to 5% if they do not change their laws by 2014.

According to a recent Washington Post story, lobbyists for ignition interlock devices are currently working hard to insert the requirement into the transportation reauthorization bill, a tentative outline of which was released last week by Rep. John L. Mica, Florida Republican. (more…)

Being arrested for driving under the influence in California can be a stressful and overwhelming experience, particularly if you have grounds to believe that the charges are unjustified. Fortunately, there are many defenses available in a California drunk driving case.

Some of the most common DUI defenses include:

• Was the defendant actually driving? The prosecution must prove that the defendant was, in fact, driving. Intoxication is not enough to win the case. This may be difficult to prove because there are often no witnesses to the incident.
• Did the officer have probable cause? The arresting officer must have “legal cause” to (a) stop, (b) detain, and (c) arrest.
• Did you make incriminating statements to law enforcement? The Miranda rules may allow incriminating statements to be suppressed if warnings were not given at the appropriate time.

(more…)

A recent decision by the Supreme Court may impact some California DUI cases. The case addressed the Confrontation Clause, under the Sixth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which states that criminal defendants have the right to confront witnesses against them.

In its ruling, the Supreme Court held that crime laboratory reports may not be used against criminal defendants at trial unless the analysts responsible for creating them testify and submit to cross-examination.

The case at issue involved the arrest of a New Mexico man, Donald Bullcoming, on suspicion of driving while intoxicated. At his trial, prosecutors presented a crime lab report showing that his blood-alcohol levels were above the legal limit. (more…)