Actor Chris Klein was arrested early Wednesday in Los Angeles on suspicion of drunken driving, officials said.

Klein, 31, best known for his role in the “American Pie” comedies, was taken into custody about 3:15 a.m., according to California Highway Patrol Officer Patrick Kimball.

Kimball said officers pulled Klein over after they spotted his black 1999 Chevrolet Blazer weaving across three lanes of traffic on the westbound 101 Freeway at Woodman Avenue.

The actor was booked at the Los Angeles Police Department’s Van Nuys station for driving under the influence of alcohol and released without bail, Kimball said.

Klein got his break in 1999′s “Election” and later played the character Oz in the “American Pie” comedies. His onetime relationship with actress Katie Holmes was frequent tabloid fodder.

“I found DeWitt’s recent pleading of no contest to misdemeanor DUI particularly disappointing. Admittedly, I haven’t been paying much attention to her post-1984 career, and her mugshot only accentuates the lingering differences between her and Somers (DeWitt looks like a drunk 60-year old, Somers looks like the plastic surgery offspring of Courtney Love and Pam Anderson).

And the less said about Yasmine Bleeth, the better.

But DeWitt’s drunk driving arrest is just the latest (or almost latest) in a series of celebrity inebriated motoring arrests. I can’t really call them “scandals” because…nobody cares. Seriously, the sheer tonnage of Hollywood DUIs (referred to as “DWIs” here in Texas, in case you were confused) is like any other atrocity: the more you’re exposed to it, the less you care.

What I still don’t get, however, is why they keep happening.

Now, it’s pretty apparent that getting busted for drunk driving is only a hindrance to people like you and me. Actors, athletes, and politicians can bounce back with little or no negative repercussions from their boozy vehicular forays. Obviously a big part of why everybody from the A-list on down doesn’t worry a lot about getting nailed is because they assume they’ll remain marketable. Shia LaBeouf (arrested in 2008) starred in the biggest grossing movie of 2009 (and one of the top grossers of all time), while Michelle Rodriguez and Keifer Sutherland have maintained fairly lucrative careers following their own busts.

Now for some of these folks, I blame lack of funds sufficient to hire a personal driver. Granted, LaBeouf can’t really use this excuse, but Puck from The Real World? Jani Lane? Tawny Kitaen? They’re lucky to even own cars.

So it would appear there’s a significant link between a star’s particular career trajectory and their access to a limo service. Then again, one might assume a celebrity’s Q rating would figure prominently into their likelihood of arrest in the first place. Do you think Lethal Weapon 2 vintage Mel Gibson — or Melrose Place era Heather Locklear, for that matter — would’ve been cited if they were pulled over after a half dozen Bartles & James? Not bloody likely.

Indeed, when we look at recent arrests of this nature, the list looks like a “Where Are They Now” slideshow: DeWitt, Lane, and Kitaen are joined by Gary Collins, Haley Joel Osment, Nick Nolte, and Mischa Barton. All of whom were at one point perched on the fabled catbird’s seat, but have lately fallen on hard times. If history serves, we can probably kiss these folks days in the public eye goodbye. Though there are always exceptions to this rule (see Keanu Reeves (1993)).

Still, even the D-est of the D-listers in this category (hi, Andy Dick) should still have enough money to stock up on vodka, Red Bull, and prescription Percocet to stay in their own damn house. But there’s the quandary: quietly downing a 1.75 of Absolut in the privacy of your mansion doesn’t get your name on TMZ, and sensibly taking a cab or a limo home from the Viper Room won’t earn you much needed publicity, or that conciliatory spot on Oprah after your dutiful and totally sincere stint in rehab.

What we’re left with at the end of the day is the only rational explanation; celebrities, like they’ve been telling us (and we’ve secretly suspected) all along, are just better than us. The sooner we accept this, the sooner I can stop obsessively lurking on mughsots.com.

As for Joyce, she’ll be lucky to be invited back to the 30th reunion of Airplane II.

In general a no contest plea is similar to a plea of guilty. A plea of no contest can be advantageous for defendants where the effects of a plea of guilty may be too harsh. A no contest plea also generally cannot be used to the same extent as a guilty plea as evidence used against the accused in any civil suit for the same act.

One disadvantage of a no contest plea is that it often carries the same legal effect as a conviction for sentencing purposes. Though a defendant may hope for leniency during sentencing for saving the court the time and costs of a trial, one may risk receiving the same punishment without the opportunity to offer a defense or a chance for an acquittal from a jury.

In this DUI case, DeWitt was charged last July with two misdemeanor counts, driving under the influence and driving while having a 0.08% or higher blood alcohol level. Authorities say DeWitt’s blood alcohol was .15% — almost twice the legal limit.

She was arrested last year on the Fourth of July in El Segundo.

An officer said that DeWitt drove around a barricade intended to control vehicular traffic.

DeWitt pulled up in a black sports car, parked and staggered toward a police officer standing in uniform next to his motorcycle, witnesses said.

DeWitt was sentenced to three years probation and must attend a nine-month alcohol program.

Probation is the period during ”the probationer” is subject to critical examination and evaluation. The trial period must be completed before a person receives greater benefits or freedom.

In addition, DeWitt must pay a $510, plus penalty assessments.

Lindsay Lohan has been an active participant in the celebrity news cycle throughout her Hollywood career. A new scandal or piece of juicy gossip about the young actress seems to emerge every week or two, reminding us how calm most of our lives are in comparison.

But a recent turn has taken Lohan from the world of L.A. gossip to serious legal tangle, as she had to appear in court after pleading guilty to misdemeanor drug charges and no contest to three driving charges in 2007. She was given probation at the time.

Now, a judge has ordered that Lohan must wear an alcohol-monitoring bracelet, and submit to drug testing in the L.A. every week, the San Jose Mercury News is reporting.  The SCRAM bracelets, as they are called, measure alcohol through the skin, and report the presence of alcohol to a separate machine.

At first, Lohan’s lawyer attempted to contest the ruling that her client had to wear a bracelet. The judge responded that she would be happy to spend the next half an hour listing reasons that she is requiring Lohan to wear the bracelet tracking her blood alcohol content.  The lawyer accepted that as basis enough to continue without further challenge.

The judge also ordered an alcohol education program for the starlet.

Her appearance in court recently was to address the fact that Lohan, had missed an appointment to appear in court last week for a progress report on her probation. On the day that she was supposed to be in Beverly Hills for that progress report, she was actually in Cannes, France, partying at the Cannes Film Festival. A warrant for her arrest was sent out, though it was recalled after Lohan posted bail.

Lohan’s lawyer claimed that her passport had been stolen while she was in France, and that it prevented her from getting on a flight from France.

The weekly drug testing could jeopardize a movie project that Lohan was scheduled to film in Texas. When presented with this information, the judge suggested that the project would have to wait.

Lohan spent several hours after the court session, waiting to have the alcohol-monitoring bracelet put on. She will have to wear the bracelet at least until her next hearing, which will take place in July.

While ignition interlock devices are common penalties for a Los Angeles DUI arrest, alcohol monitoring bracelets are less common. However, this high-profile case has brought them to the attention of the public at large, and even some mothers have an interest in using them to keep tabs on their teenagers.

Steps such as these are still a ways off, however, as the bracelet is not widely available, although many Orange County DUI Lawyers have been using them for years to avoid mandatory jail time for clients.

1. Nick Nolte—There’s just no way you can have this list without putting Nolte at the #1 spot. Greatest. Mugshot. Ever.

2. Lindsay Lohan—After her ridiculous lawsuit against E-Trade, I’m afraid to say anything bad about this young actress. Good thing the picture speaks for itself.

3. Paris Hilton—On this “night in Paris,” the hotel heiress and notorious party girl was charged with a DUI after some erratic driving and a failed field sobriety test.

4. Mike Tyson—The Baddest Man on the Planet was hit with a DUI after running a stop sign and nearly hitting a sheriff’s car.

5. Haley Joel Osment—He seems genuinely happy to be getting arrested for a DUI. Of course, he was also found with some marijuana, so maybe that’s what had him in such a great mood.

6. Rip Torn—In 2006, Rip Torn, who was 75 years old at the time, got ripped and decided to drive. The result was one of the most classic mugshots of the decade.

7. Kim Mattingly—Okay, so this was for public intoxication and not a DUI, but it’s far too great to be left off this list. By the way, Kim Mattingly is ex-Yankees star Don Mattingly’s wife.

8. Natasha Lyonne—Any time you have to tell the officer you’re a “movie star”, you can bet he doesn’t know or care who you are.

9. Cynthia Watros—At last count, 4 actors from Lost had gotten DUIs. But Watros clearly provided the best mugshot of the group.

10. Mel Gibson—Can you believe it’s been almost 4 years since Gibson went on his anti-Semitic tirade after getting arrested in Malibu for drunk driving? Nothing like the good ol’ days.

Which one is your favorite mugshot? Can anyone really top Nick Nolte?

David Hasselhoff’s ex-wife has been sentenced to jail after pleading no contest to a drunken driving charge.

Los Angeles DUI cases often involve celebrities.  Court records show Pamela Bach entered a plea Thursday in a Los Angeles court and was sentenced to 90 days. She will begin serving the sentence in May.

She received 60 days of jail time because she was on probation for a previous drunken driving case when she was arrested in November. Authorities found she had a blood alcohol level of 0.14, well above the legal limit of 0.08.

Attorney Jon Artz says Bach “wants to do the right thing” and move forward with her life.

Bach was married to Hasselhoff for 16 years until he filed for divorce in 2006. She appeared as a cafe owner in several episodes of Hasselhoff’s series, “Baywatch.”

Famous actor Mel Gibson recently had his Los Angeles DUI conviction expunged, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Gibson was pulled over back in July 2006 by a sheriff’s deputy on the Pacific Coast Highway in Los Angeles, Calif.

Gibson was driving his Lexus Sedan over 85 mph. He was given a breathalyzer test and his BAC content was at 0.12 percent – the legal limit is 0.08 percent.

According to CNN, Gibson was charged with a misdemeanor of drunken driving and an open container of alcohol in his vehicle. The open container charge is considered an infraction of the California Vehicle Code.

This was Gibson’s first offense, which is why he was able to expunge his record – or remove the DUI from his record.

He was eligible to expunge it from his record after he completed the terms of his probation. Gibson attended alcohol anonymous meetings, appeared in public service announcements and paid $1,300 in fines.

After the incident, the celebrity Web site TMZ posted Gibson’s arrest report. The report shows that Gibson did not go peacefully with the officer at the time of his arrest. He allegedly had an obscene outburst and tried to flee from the arresting officer, and then threatened the officer several times.

According to CNN, Gibson also made racial slurs, which became very public after his DUI arrest.

He stated, “The Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world.“ He then continued to ask the deputy if he was Jewish. This one night of drunken rowdiness may be expunged from his record, but not from the public eye.

CNN also reported that Gibson later released a statement after he made the comments: “I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement official the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.”

He continued to state he blurted the comments out in a moment of insanity.

After Gibson’s arrest, people speculated he would get “special” treatment being a famous star, but an independent review board did find the sheriff’s department handled Gibson’s arrest “in accordance with its policies and practices.”

SAN DIEGO – “The Real World: San Francisco” star Puck — real name David Rainey — was arrested on a DUI charge, California Highway Patrol officer Brian Pennings told NBC San Diego, over an accident Friday night that has left him in the hospital.

“(Rainey) was arrested for suspicion of DUI, however, he remains hospitalized due to his medical condition,” Pennings told the site.

According to Pennings, the former reality star will also be facing charges of child endangerment and driving without a license.

NBC San Diego reported that the Rainey, 41, and his 8-year-old son, Bogart, were severely injured in an auto accident on Friday that left the car upside down in a stream bed after it rolled down an embankment.

According to TMZ, sources close to Rainey’s family said he and Bogart were traveling on California’s Route 79 on Friday for a fishing trip when Puck swerved to avoid hitting a deer and lost control of the car.

However, Pennings did not mention an animal, telling NBC San Diego that Rainey lost control of his vehicle due to a curve in the road on Route 79.

“Due to his level of intoxication, he was unable to negotiate a curve in the roadway,” Pennings said.

TMZ further reported that after being transported to the hospital, doctors discovered that Rainey suffered broken bones in both feet, his right hand and his neck, He also reportedly fractured his clavicle and sternum.

Rainey’s son reportedly suffered damage to his liver and bruised several internal organs in the accident.

The reality star is reportedly expected to remain hospitalized for another week.

If you have questions about a Los Angeles DUI case, call me at (877) 568-2977.

Former ‘Hills’ Star Jason Wahler Charged After DUI Arrest

March 30th, 2010

Jason Wahler  is going for an all-time international party boy record — the former “Hills”  star just got charged with two counts of DUI after his second alcohol-related arrest in a month.

According to the Orange County District Attorney, Wahler — whose blood alcohol level was allegedly .15% when he was busted on March 19 — faces six months in jail if convicted.

Just a week earlier, Wahler was arrested after a bar fight in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico — then mysteriously bailed out and traveled back across the border to start more trouble.

If you have comments on anything related to the Orange County DUI scene, call me at (714) 568-1560.

According to TMZ, the 23-year-old reality star was taken into custody at 10:54 p.m. after police stopped Wahler in his 2008 Chevy Tahoe.

Wahler, 23, was released on his own recognizance hours later.

Related articles:

• Jason Wahler Busted . . . For The 7th Time! (pinkisthenewblog.com)
• The Hills Jason Wahler Arrested For Drunk Driving AGAIN!!!! (perezhilton.com)
• Jason Wahler F*cks Up Again, Second Arrest In One Week (socialitelife.celebuzz.com)
• Sixth Times The Charm For Jason (perezhilton.com)
• Bitter Babe Burns Boyfriend’s Boat (boatinsurance.org)