Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Our Orange County DUI Lawyers bring you the name of the Orange County Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is staying.  Radaronline was the first website to break the news that Lohan was staying in Orange County, after being bailed out.  After TMZ had reported that Lohan was to enter a Newport Beach facility, both Radar Online and TMZ deleted that information from their websites.

Lindsay Lohan is at the Morningside Rehabilitation center, a Costa Mesa facility.

A paparazzi crush is possible, but a Costa Mesa Police Department watch commander said city law enforcement will have “nothing to do with” the matter.

So did Morningside and other Newport rehab operators solicit Lindsay’s business while she was in jail?  TMZ wouldn’t say. When asked how Morningside would be handling the privacy issue of not only Lindsay, but other occupants of the facility, the rehab facility said “no comment”.

Why would anyone put rehabs so close to all the partying? Good question, and one resident have asked for years.

But celebrities in rehabs aren’t always great for business.

The inside buzz in Hollywood is Lindsay’s broke. So how is she paying for rehab? Is the media blitz part of a Morningside Recovery PR campaign? Morningside certainly benefits from having nationwide coverage of Lindsay at one of its facilities. But is that really the attention Newport or Costa Mesa wants?

Newport Beach City Manager Dave Kiff said he had found out early Friday morning Lindsay was slated to come to a Morningside facility but wasn’t sure if it would be Newport or Costa Mesa. The Costa Mesa police and Newport Beach department were put on alert anticipating media onslaught.

Bob Rush, who has been a vocal community activist fighting the proliferation of rehab homes in Newport, said he’d heard Lindsay could be in the home a few doors from him.

So how does he feel about massive paparazzi and media camped out on his street? He told me “It brings some good attention to the issue we’ve all been complaining about.”

Some surfers in the neighborhood plan to don their Hawaiian shirts and come out with a welcome banner for Lindsay. You have to love crazy!

But the fact remains Lindsay Lohan is a troubled girl with a serious problem. Whether it’s Newport or Costa Mesa, police will have their hands full with extra officers on duty. Who pays for this?

Can either city recoup those expenses from Morningside? Apparently not, but if it can be proven that Morningside did in fact solicit her business, why should residents have to pay?

Recovering from drugs and alcohol is a tough road under the best of circumstances. But getting sober under the media’s microscope won’t make it any easier for Lohan or the residents unlucky enough to be living around the rehab she finally lands in.

The plan is for Lindsay to stay at least until the next court hearing on October 22.  Morningside is one of only a few rehab programs here in Orange County, and one that our Newport Beach DUI Attorneys know well.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Writer Steve Smith has an interesting editorial in the Daily Pilot, about local politician Jim Righeimer challenging the recent Orange County DUI Checkpoint location in Costa Mesa, including this quote:

That night, Righeimer was doing what many of us would have liked to do over the years, that is, question the usefulness of these checkpoints. That this particular one was during rush hour on a busy street was the tipping point for Righeimer.

Righeimer should be commended for questioning the checkpoint. Though his intentions were good, his execution was poor. And he knows darn well that bureaucracies do not like to be questioned and do not like challenges to the status quo. Frankly, I want advocates like this who are going to ask questions.

As our local Orange County DUI Attorneys can tell you, and me, as a Newport Beach DUI Lawyer specifically (the Newport Beach courthouse is where Costa Mesa cases are handled)…. Amen.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

In an editorial about Orange County DUI Checkpoint Locations in Costa Mesa, published in the Daily Pilot newspaper, politician Jim Righeimer calls the recent Costa Mesa DUI checkpoint “unnecessary” and “ill-advised”, as follows:

“At 6:30 p.m. Sept. 16, 3,200 commuters sat in an unnecessary traffic jam because the Costa Mesa Police Department decided to run a sobriety check point at a primary intersection to the off-ramps of the San Diego (405) Freeway at Harbor Boulevard.

I was one of those frustrated folks trying to get home, or in my case, the Estancia High School football game. Most concerning to me was the safety of drivers slamming on their brakes on the Harbor off ramp.

It reminds me of the California Department of Transportation running a sweeper train during rush hour — it’s poor judgment and lacks common sense.

I decided to ask some difficult questions of the officers conducting this ill-advised check point. They are not used to citizens questioning their authority, which I think is a healthy thing to do.”

If you have questions related to an Orange County DUI, feel free to call our office anytime, at (714) 568-1560.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Attorneys have learned that the Newport Beach Police Department’s traffic division is planning a sobriety checkpoint from 7:30 p.m. Saturday until 3 a.m. Sunday, according to a statement.

The checkpoint will be held on northbound Dover Drive at 16th Street, a location based on its proximity to bars and restaurants.

“The checkpoint will be clearly marked and vehicles will be selected to move through the check lanes on a pre-set basis to ensure objectivity and timeliness,” according to the statement.

Motorists will be greeted and given an informational brochure, police said.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Attorneys have learned that members of the Costa Mesa Police Association packed the council chambers Tuesday night, seeking disciplinary action for Planning Commissioner Jim Righeimer’s interruption of a DUI checkpoint operation last week.

Officer Allen Rieckhof, president of the police association, said to the council that a transparent investigation to show what happened last Thursday evening is imminent.

“I can assure you that an investigation will show that none of my members did anything wrong and acted professionally in the face of a man who used his appointed position and thug-like tactics to impose his will,” Rieckhof said.

While driving south on Harbor Boulevard toward Gisler Avenue, Righeimer, who is running for City Council, passed through the checkpoint. He then parked at the nearby McDonald’s and walked up to the officers asking why such operation would be conducted during evening rush.

Police contend that Righeimer tried to intimidate officers by using his position to try to shut down the operation. But Righeimer has said that he was only questioning the wisdom of holding the checkpoint during rush hour.

Grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety funded Costa Mesa’s checkpoint, an operation that is meant to remind people of the danger of drinking and driving.

One Costa Mesa police detective described how a drunk driver changed a young couple’s lives more than 20 years ago, a story that brought Councilwoman Katrina Foley to tears.

“They had their entire lives in front of them and they had a plan,” Det. Dana Potts said. “He was to go on to college to study criminal justice and become a police officer. She was going to continue college as time would allow as a new parent.”

But while heading home with her fiance, a drunk driver ran through a red light. Potts said the subsequent crash killed the young pregnant mother and her unborn daughter. He then revealed the identity of the fiancee, which startled many in the audience.

“I was the driver of the Volkswagen, and that was my daughter,” Potts said.

City Atty. Kimberly Hall Barlow said she’s conducting the investigation and will report back to the council.

Two Costa Mesa police officers blasted a City Council candidate Tuesday over his heated objections to a police checkpoint Thursday that snarled traffic near the Harbor Boulevard exit from the I-405.

One of them told of how his pregnant girlfriend had been killed by a drunken driver 22 years ago.

Residents said the checkpoint caused delays of 30 minutes to an hour, as well as a number of near-collisions, but Costa Mesa Police Association president Allen Rieckhof said the problem was candidate Jim Righeimer’s reaction to it.

After going through the checkpoint, Righeimer parked his car, and came back to confront the officers, demanding to know who had authorized it.

Politics overshadows the dispute, as Righeimer has made opposition to high public employee salaries an issue in his campaign. The police employees union is in negotiations with the city on a new contract.

Rieckhof suggested that Righeimer used his position as a member of the city’s Planning Commission to influence the officers, although the commission is not a part of the police department’s command staff. It has authority over zoning variances and such.

Rieckhof asked the City Council to investigate whether Righeimer “used his appointed position and thug-like tactics to impose his will.”

Although several police officers who were at the checkpoint know the facts, Rieckhof did not actually accuse Righeimer, making his points by asking questions.

“I would ask the council not to get sidetracked with the reasons he got upset,” Rieckhof said, urging them to focus on whether Righeimer identified himself as a member of the planning commission or had made any threats.

Detective Dana Potts, the police association vice president, told the council about the drunken driver who killed his girlfriend, Jamie Squires, who was 7 months pregnant. On June 13, 1988, Potts, then 18, was driving the 17-year-old Squires through Fountain Valley, when a drunken driver ran a red light, killing her and the unborn girl.

Potts called Righeimer selfish for caring more about getting to a high school football game on time than about drunken driving.

City Attorney Kimberly Hall Barlow said she is investigating the incident.

“I think it’s appropriate to look at what happened or did not happen,” Mayor Allan Mansoor said. “I also think it’s appropriate not to jump to any conclusions.”

Reached for comment Tuesday night, Righeimer said, “I will continue to ask the tough questions. It is part of the democratic process. I do not care if they bus in a thousand cops with manufactured anger. I will not be intimidated.”

The checkpoint was held from 6 to 11 p.m. Thursday at Harbor Boulevard and Gisler Avenue, just south of the I-405. There were 3214 vehicles that went through the checkpoint, resulting in two arrests on charges of driving under the influence.

There were also 12 vehicles towed from unlicensed drivers.

A California Watch investigation earlier this year found that vehicle impounds far outnumbered DUI arrests at the checkpoints. It also found that the widespread impounding – which appears to violate a 2005 federal appeals court ruling – usually results in property forfeiture. Towing fees and fines generated more than $40 million in California in 2009, California Watch found.

Police officers, who work the shifts as overtime, were paid more than $30 million in 2009 to conduct checkpoints.

Studies by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and others have found that checkpoints are inefficient at catching drunk drivers; officers on patrol are more likely to find drunks weaving.

Mothers Against Drunk Driving advocate Vicky Macia, who spoke after the two police officers, conceded the point.

“The primary goal of a DUI checkpoint is not to arrest people,” she said. “It is to deter people.”

Councilwoman Wendy Leece echoed the remark.

“It’s just informing and reminding people to be sober,” Leece said.

In a guest column for the Daily Pilot, Costa Mesa resident Nancy Marcus wrote, “I was almost hit three times on the offramp as other drivers slammed on their brakes because of the massive traffic back-up on Harbor.”

Carl Lekawski was coming home from work when he hit the traffic, which backed up onto the offramps and all the way up Harbor to South Coast Drive.

“It took me nearly an hour and I didn’t even get to the checkpoint,” Lekawski said. “I turned before I got to it.”

Lekawski turned off at Gisler Avenue. He said many others did the same. Most of the other drivers either did u-turns on Harbor to avoid the backup, or got on the freeway to get out of the mess, he said.

Drunken drivers could have done the same, he said.

“If I were drunk, I would have tried to avoid it,” he said.

Righeimer said he was stuck for a half-hour in the traffic.

Righeimer, Rieckhof said, “minimizes his egregious conduct and tries to turn it around and blame the police department.”

If you have questions about a DUI checkpoint location in Orange County, contact our Orange County DUI Attorneys at 877-568-2977.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Our Orange County DUI attorneys found out that the Costa Mesas city attorney’s office is looking into a disagreement between Planning Commission Chairman Jim Righeimer and police over whether it was a good idea to stage a driving under the influence checkpoint on a busy street during rush hour Thursday, city officials said.

Righeimer passed through the checkpoint while driving southbound on Harbor Boulevard at Gisler Avenue without incident about 6:30 p.m. on his way to the Estancia High School football game. After he drove through it, he parked in the McDonald’s parking lot and walked over to police and asked them about the wisdom of slowing down traffic before the game and during the evening rush.

Officers said they felt Righeimer, who is running for City Council, tried to flex political muscle because he was inconvenienced by the traffic the checkpoint created.

“There’s an attitude,” Righeimer said Friday. “They’re not used to being asked questions. I’m just asking questions.”

Righeimer, a former Daily Pilot columnist, has been clashing with the police and fire unions in recent weeks over comments he has made about the need to reform expensive pension packages for public safety employees.

The checkpoint was conducted from 6 to 11 p.m. In a news release issued days before the checkpoint, police said the location was selected because of DUI-related crashes and arrests in the area.

Righeimer said he asked to talk to the officer in charge of the checkpoint and demanded to know why they were doing it at such a busy intersection during rush hour. He said it took him nearly half an hour to get from Susan Street, a small street east of Harbor, through the checkpoint.

Four police officers, each of whom asked not to be identified because they’re not authorized to speak with the media, claimed Righeimer demanded, as a public official, that officers shut down the checkpoint. They said he threatened to call Police Chief Chris Shawkey.

Righeimer acknowledged that he said he would call the chief, but only for answers. He said he never demanded that they shut down the checkpoint.

“They don’t like anyone coming up to them and asking questions,” Righeimer said. “I think most of the public expects to see DUI checkpoints later in the evening in areas that have bars and restaurants, not at the exit of freeways. I think they ended up with 3,400 cars and two people arrested. It kind of tells you right there.”

Statistics released Friday show 3,214 cars passed through the checkpoint, with officers screening about 500 of them and arresting two on suspicion of driving drunk. Police also cited 17 people and impounded 12 vehicles.

City Manager Allan Roeder explained that planning commissioners report to the City Council and do not have authority over police.

Roeder did not elaborate on the nature of the city attorney’s investigation, though he did confirm one is taking palce.

He said he was aware of the incident and the city is gathering all documents, field observations, including audio recordings and any other related information to hand over to the city attorney’s office.

The checkpoint was funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety. Saturation patrols, which are much more effective at finding and catching drunk drivers, (a saturation patrol is where more officers are on the streets looking for impaired drivers), are not only cheaper for the force, but are less inconvenient to the public.  However, saturation patrols, unlike DUI checkpoints, don’t get federal funding, MADD volunteers and funds, and are less political than DUI checkpoints.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that the Costa Mesa Police Department will be conducting two DUI/Drivers License checkpoints in the next several days, first on Thursday, September 16, 2010, from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., at Harbor Boulevard/Gisler Avenue. The second checkpoint will be Monday night, September 20, 2010, from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m., at Victoria Street/American Avenue; these areas near a number of nightlife establishments, including bars, nightclubs, and restaurants.

DUI checkpoints are conducted for one primary reason – to make money for the police department.  The Federal Government, through the National Highway Transportation Administration (NHTSA) provides funding for DUI checkpoints, and MADD provides volunteers and funding.  Although DUI checkpoints are not even close to being as effective as roving “saturation patrols”,  as far as the percentage of offenders identified and or the percentage arrested and off the street, they catch a significant number of driers without a valid license, which allows the police to impound a vehicle for months, which at the police impound lot’s daily rate, is a significant source of income for local police departments.

Information about this DUI checkpoint was publicized and provided to us by the Costa Mesa Police Department.  If you have any questions about DUI checkpoints for our Orange County DUI Lawyers, call us, toll free, at (877) 56 8-2977.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have been tipped off by the police that the Newport Beach Police plan a DUI checkpoint from 7:30 p.m. Friday to 3 a.m. Saturday on northbound Dover Drive at 16th Street in Newport Beach.

Screening will last a bit longer than Newport Beach’s typical six-hour checkpoints, but still isn’t expected to produce a large number of arrests, as the tactic is mainly employed to obtain federal and MADD funding, and DUI checkpoints have been proven ineffective.

The location is a common one for checkpoints in Newport Beach, along with the Newport Boulevard exit from the Balboa Peninsula and Jamboree Road near Santa Barbara Drive.

Newport Beach police also conduct regular “saturation patrols” where officers devoted to spotting drunk drivers are deployed across town, which is a tactic with a much higher rate of apprehending those driving drunk, according to the Orange County DUI Lawyers practicing in the area.

Archive for September, 2010

Exclusive Celebrity DUI information: We name the OC Rehab where Lindsay Lohan is

Thursday, September 30th, 2010

Well, the Labor Day weekend has passed, and the “all out” efforts to crack down on DUI for this past weekend (including the AVOID the 38 special project, which ended a special enforcement period September 6th).  So how did law enforcement do? Our Newport Beach DUI lawyers decided to find out.

The California Highway Patrol reports that they arrested 56 people in Orange County on suspicion of drunken driving over the Labor Day holiday weekend, compared to 73 last year, a drop of 23%, and no one was killed in traffic collisions on Orange County freeways, said CHP officer Denisse Quesada.

Local law enforcement began their maximum enforcement period Friday at 6 p.m. and continued until close to midnight Sept. 6.

During the labor day weekend, CHP and other law enforcement in Orange County often increase patrols and stage sobriety checkpoints.

Other counties do the same, in part to take advantage of federal funding, impound fees, and MADD funding and volunteers.  In San Diego County, Chula Vista police screened about 500 drivers at drunken driving checkpoint that wrapped up early Monday, but no arrests were made.  When DUI arrests are made, police always say that they are providing a valuable service in keeping streets safe, so…  does that mean that the police and checkpoints are now no longer needed?

Nope.  “That means the message is really coming across,” Officer Alicia Chudy said.

The checkpoint in the 200 block of East Orange Avenue resulted in eight citations for driving without a license and six citations for driving with a suspended license, Chudy said.  Fifteen other citations were issued, and 13 vehicles were impounded, she said.

On Thursday and Friday, the Chula Vista police stopped 89 vehicles during a saturation patrol, arresting two drivers on suspicion of drunken driving and impounding 16 vehicles, Chudy said.  Each of those can result in a 30 day or longer impound, which, at the daily rate, is significant income for law enforcement, according to a study from UC Berkeley.

Just like in Orange County, California Highway Patrol said Monday it had no reports of traffic fatalities in San Diego County during the Labor Day holiday weekend.

In San Diego County, the CHP arrested 72 motorists across the county on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs since 6:01 p.m. Friday.

Last year, there was one reported traffic fatality and 82 motorists were arrested for drunken driving during the same time period, meaning that the overall drop in DUI arrests continues.   If you have any questions for our Orange County DUI Lawyers, call us, anytime, toll free at (714) 568-1560.