Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Lawrence Taylor, in his excellent duiblog (duiblog.com), points out that “breathalyzers” do not measure alcohol: they actually measure the presence of a molecular group in chemical compounds. Ethyl alcohol (aka ethanol) contains the group, and so when the machine detects its presence (or, more accurately, infrared energy is absorbed by it), it simply assumes that the detected compound must be ethyl alcohol.

Problem: there are thousands of compounds containing the molecular group — of which well over one hundred have been found on the human breath.

Breathing gasoline or paint fumes, for example, or merely absorbing the fumes through the skin, can create false breath test results for days afterwards. And as Dean taylor has posted in the past, the problem is particularly acute when the suspect happens to be a diabetic, as diabetics often have high levels of acetone in their breath — a compound which contains the group in its molecular structure.

However, you do not need to be a diabetic to have high levels of acetone. Scientific research has established that acetone can exist in perfectly normal individuals at levels sufficient to cause false high breath-alcohol test readings.  See “Excretion of Low-Molecular Weight Volatile Substances in Human Breath: Focus on Endogenous Ethanol”, 9 Journal of Analytical Toxicology 246 (1985).

Fasting or radical dieting, such as with the Atkins diet, can also cause significantly elevated acetone. Studies have concluded that fasting, for example, can increase acetone in the body sufficient to obtain breathalyzer readings of .06%.  This is cumulative — that is, the .06% will be added by the machine to any levels actually caused by alcohol or other compounds.  Thus, a true breath alcohol of .03%, for example, would be reported by the machine as .09%. “The Likelihood of Acetone Interference in Breath Alcohol Measurement”, 3 Alcohol, Drugs and Driving 1 (1987).  And low-carbohydrate diets have long been associated with high levels of acetone production.

Of course, for many years law enforcement denied that any such problem existed.

How reliable are breathalyzers? Not very.

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

If you were unfortunate enough to have a DUI in Newport Beach – watch out.  Newport Beach is infamous for a police department dedicated to catching and arresting DUI offenders, a prosecutor, the Orange County District Attorney’s office, that has higher penalties for Newport Beach DUIs than other courts in the same county, and judges that don’t want to be known for being soft or easy on DUI offenders – especially in an area with as many political connections as Newport Beach.

Newport Beach DUI Checkpoints

Orange County DUI checkpoint locations are often found in Newport Beach, and DUI checkpoints are one of the most common ways the police find individuals to arrest for DUI. Unfortunately, DUI checkpoints are not truly effective ways of catching criminals. Their most useful purpose is for providing money to the city of Newport Beach, especially through impounded motor vehicles. An individual will still have to pay to have his vehicle back, even if he has been found innocent of DUI in a court of law.

Handling DMV Issues

The best thing you can do is to have one of the specialized Newport Beach DUI lawyers in the area handle the DMV issues for you. You’ll have only 10 days and could face having a suspended license for a year or more if you don’t act. It’s very important that the attorney has the chance to schedule a hearing to stop the DMV from removing your privileges because they can then subpoena witnesses and evidence that can help convey your innocence.

If you schedule the hearing yourself, you risk losing witnesses who may be unable to attend on the date you’ve scheduled, and it may be an inopportune time for your Newport Beach DUI lawyers too. Be sure to let the attorney know right away that you haven’t scheduled the hearing but that it needs to be done. They are experts at handling the situation and can potentially keep you from losing your license privileges.

Defending a DUI Charge

There are many different factors that contribute to the defense of a DUI charge. Not only will your attorney go over the details of the arrest with a fine-tooth comb, but he or she will ensure that all proper procedures were followed during your arrest. For instance, if the arresting police officer did not follow proper protocol, there’s a chance that all charges could be dropped. If your Miranda rights were not read to you, or if the breathalyzer machine was not calibrated correctly, the attorney can work to have the charges dismissed. Your blood alcohol level and toxicology reports will be gone over as well, as attorneys know exactly what to look for.

By quickly contacting an attorney as soon as you’ve been arrested and charged, you increase your chances of having competent representation and ensuring that your rights are protected.  Our Newport Beach office is located at 5020 Campus Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660 — steps away from the front door of the courthouse in Newport Beach, and you can reach us at (949) 682-5316.

Related articles

• Seal Beach: March DUI Checkpoint (cehwiedel.com)
• DUI Miranda Rights – The Miranda Warning is Not Mandatory for a DUI Arrest (slideshare.net)
• Cypress: DUI Checkpoint On Saturday (cehwiedel.com)
• Seal Beach: DUI Checkpoint On February 13th (cehwiedel.com)
• DUI Checkpoint in the Universal City Area Tonight (laist.com)

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

I was contacted by the owner of a DUI blog in Tampa Florida, who runs the Fight your DUI blog, and thought I’d give a shout out to what seems to be a well written blog in the field of DUI Defense.

I always think it’s funny that, since my law firm is in Orange County California, and I advertise our services as Orange County DUI Lawyers,  that I get a lot of Florida calls, as there’s an Orange County, Florida and sometimes the distinction is not made in a quick internet search.  (Note also a bit of trivia:  Both Disneyland USA parks are in Orange County, just in different states).

So, now I have a contact in at least one area in Florida – for anyone that needs a Tampa DUI Attorney.

~Robert

Related articles

• Mission Viejo: Mock DUI Collision at Trabuco Hills High School (cehwiedel.com)
• Marine gets 15 yrs to life in DUI killing (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• DUI Arrest Of Congressman’s Daughter Renews Ethics Violation Charges (huffingtonpost.com)

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

Newport Beach is a city that prides itself on being tough on DUI cases.  Receiving a DUI in Newport Beach means having to deal with both the Orange County Superior Court system, (through the Orange County Harbor Justice Center), AND the DMV regarding your license is an entirely different issue. Another major obstacle to overcome is to find a competent lawyer/attorney in Newport Beach who will not only fight for your rights as a citizen but who will also listen to your needs and game plan your strategies effectively and concisely.
Here are the steps to Take when looking for a Newport Beach DUI Attorney or Lawyer.

More than likely your arrest was made by one of three police divisions; Newport Beach Police Department, Orange County Sheriff’s Department or the California Highway Patrol. If a friend a family member was arrested you’ll need to contact them IMMEDIATELY.

Below is important information you’ll need.

Newport Beach Police Department
870 Santa Barbara Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660
(949) 644-3681

Orange County Sheriff’s Department
550 N. Flower Street,
Santa Ana, CA 92703

HARBOR JUSTICE CENTER

Orange County Superior Court

4601 Jamboree Road

Newport Beach, CA 92660

Contact the DMV Within 10 Days of your DUI Arrest

One of the most important aspects of a DUI arrest in Newport Beach as well as the rest of California is that a person suspected of driving under the influence has 10 Calendar days to contact the DMV with an attorney in order to schedule a hearing and to stop any possible suspension of driving privileges in the state of California. Whether or not someone has a California license is irrelevant, the DMV Admin Per Se hearing is critical in a DUI case mainly for the fact that it gives the attorney handling your DUI the opportunity to cross examine any officers or witnesses involved in the arrest and possibly a forensic toxicologist to testify regarding your blood alcohol level.

Let an experienced DUI Lawyer Handle the Work

It is not recommended for someone to schedule a hearing themselves. For reasons illustrated above, it may be difficult to schedule a hearing, especially if there are witnesses who will be subpoenaed. The attorney involved in defending your DUI will handle the administrative processes for you, giving you peace of mind and allowing the experts to handle the majority of your case. Be sure to have your attorney request a hearing via fax (facsimile) AND through certified mail to insure DMV receives the hearing request.

What you need to know
Because of the fact that an arrest was made in Newport Beach for a DUI, the DMV Admin Per Se Hearing will be held at the Irvine Driver Safety office of the DMV.

The Irvine Driver Safety office is located at

16735 Von Karman, #110,

Irvine, CA 92606-4953.

Because an arrest was made in Newport Beach for a DUI, court appearances are usually heald at the Harbor Justice Center. The Harbor Justice Center is located at 4601 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, CA 92660-2595.

Our law firm has an excellent reputation as top Newport Beach DUI Attorneys.  Our law firm’s Newport Beach office is located at:

Miller & Associates

5020 Campus Drive

Newport Beach, CA 92660.

Contact us anytime at (949) 682-5316

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

There are other blogs that I love and appreciate, and this posting is to bring to your attention the ones that are DUI, law, and politics related.  As someone that handles Los Angeles DUI, Orange County DUI, and Long Beach DUI cases, I deal with the effects of bad laws, and the efforts of those in politics to erode our Constitution.  These blogs help that fight, even if a little bit.  I appreciate all of you!

First, the Leave Us Alone blog, which has a Libertarian bent, but which also has some thought provoking commentary on the efforts of Government to intrude on our lives in every way possible.

http://leave-us-alone.blogspot.com/

The CrimLaw blog is a highly ranked, well written blog with a wealth of information about Criminal Law:

http://crimlaw.blogspot.com/

The Common Scold (love that name) is a humorous overview of the real world of practicing law and of operating a law firm.  It’s got great design and all the posts are well written:

http://commonscold.typepad.com/commonscold/

Talk Left is a blog that is not afraid to point out the sometimes shocking links between Politics and Crime:

http://www.talkleft.com/

Windy Pundit is a blog from (where else?), Chicago, the Windy City, about criminal defense and politics:

http://www.windypundit.com/

Idaho Criminal Defense Law is an absolutely beautifully designed blog about criminal defense:

http://www.idahocriminaldefenselaw.com/

Washington DUI Trial Law is by an attorney I know personally, Francisco Duarte (we are in a national organization together) and is well written and insightful with regards to DUI defense specifically:

http://www.washingtonduitriallaw.com/

Crime and Federalism is a blog that has a minimalist design, but tons of great content regarding the links between politics and criminal prosecution policies:

http://www.crimeandfederalism.com/

The Noble Lie is a blog that, sadly, just went on hiatus, but the archives are worth going through:

http://noblelie.com/

The Minnesota Criminal Defense Blog is a blog devoted to Criminal Defense in Minnesota, with an excellent design, and tons of great postings written on the site:

http://www.mncriminaldefenseblog.com/

Hopefully you’ll check these blogs out.  Thanks for looking!

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

One of the first things that people ask me is what they can expect in a DUI case. Often, their DUI arrest is the first time they have ever been in trouble with the law, and they are hungry for information. They just truly don’t know what to expect.

Although every DUI is different, and unique, the court system procedures and rules that make the overall guideline consistent from case to case.

The Arrest.
At a DUI arrest, the police will arrest after the initial stop, performing field sobriety tests, and a breath or blood test. What happens from there usually depends on the jurisdiction, and some details about the case, but here in Orange County, California, it’s the policy of the court to release the driver without bail, upon a signed promise to appear release document. An exception would be if there was an accident with great (serious) bodily injury, which is a felony, or if there were priors. Typically, bail would be assessed according to the county’s bail schedule in those cases. The promise to appear document would have the court date, and location, for the arraignment.

From there, the police have a duty to send the driver’s license, and police report, to the DMV within 5 days. The police must also forward the police report to the Orange County District Attorney’s office

The Arraignment.
An arraignment is the first step in a DUI case. If you have been arrested, you may likely have already been arraigned before you got out of jail. In some cases, a person is either not arrested, but given a ticket or told that a notice will follow in the mail. In other cases (very often in Drunk Driving Cases) a person will be let out of jail the next morning, sometimes after posting a small bond. Either way, at some point, before a case can formally begin, a person must be arraigned. This simply means that the Defendant is brought before a Judge (or Magistrate) and told exactly what crime they are being charged with, what the penalties are for that crime, and what their Constitutional rights are regarding those charges. In some cases, the Court will have a person read and sign a form called an “Advice of Rights” which lists all of the rights that a person accused of a crime has. These include the right to remain silent, the right to a public and speedy trial, and the right to an attorney.

For some people, especially those charged with Felonies, it is the Bail, or Bond part of the arraignment that is most important, because it’s there that they will learn exactly how much money needs to be put up to get them out of jail. Depending on the seriousness of the crime and the Defendant’s prior criminal record, Bail, or Bond, can be set at any amount, from what is knows as a Personal Bond to any greater amount of money ($100, $1000, $10,0000, $100,000 or ever $1Million dollars). In extremely serious cases, a Judge can deny Bond altogether. Sometimes a Judge will grant a bond with 10% provision, meaning that the Defendant, his or her family, or any Bail Bond Agency they hire will only have to post 10% of the Bond amount. For example, if bond is set at $10,000, 10%, then only $1000 needs to be posted.

A Preliminary Examination is the first stage in a Felony Case, and by law it must be scheduled within 14 days from the date of arraignment. Sometimes called a Probable Cause Hearing, the Preliminary Exam serves two legal purposes. First, if a Preliminary Examination is actually held (as opposed to the far more common practice of waiving it) the Prosecutor has to prove that a crime was committed, or a law broken. Second, the Prosecutor must prove that there is at least probable cause to believe the Defendant committed that crime. Now in practice that really means this: The prosecutor must convince the Judge that it’s likely a crime was committed it, and that there is an honest, at least debatable question of fact that the Defendant committed it. This is what lawyers call a low threshold, or low standard, meaning that the Prosecutor doesn’t have to prove much. In fact, after a Preliminary Exam, unless the Judge is convinced that the case against a Defendant is so weak that it practically screams to be dismissed, the case will undoubtedly be bound over, or transferred, to the Circuit Court.

In practice, such a vast majority of Preliminary Exams are waived that Michigan that in 2005, Attorney General Mike Cox floated a proposal regarding legislation to abolish them. Thankfully, that idea didn’t get off the ground.

Despite Mike Cox’s opposition to the process, the Preliminary Exam stage serves several very important purposes in the handling of a Felony Case. If a Defendant is in Jail, the lawyer can seek to have the Judge reduce the bond so the person can get out. In some cases, the Felony Charge can be reduced to a Misdemeanor and the whole matter concluded in the District Court, without the need for further proceedings in the Circuit Court.

Pre-Trials occur in both Felony and Misdemeanor Cases. In a Misdemeanor Case, the Pre-trial comes after the Arraignment. Some District Courts schedule Defendants for what reads like an “Arraignment/Pre-Trial.” The Pre-Trial is generally the meatiest of all Court proceedings, because it’s where the Defense Attorney and the Prosecutor discuss ways to resolve a pending charge. Often, a Plea-Bargain, or reduction of the original charge to one less serious, is produced. There can be more than one Pre-Trial hearing in any given case.

In a Felony Case, the Pre-Trial is held after the Preliminary Exam, usually within two weeks, and is the first hearing in the Circuit Court, where Felony Cases are handled.

A Trial, while perhaps the most complex of legal proceedings is the easiest to describe. A person who believes him or herself innocent of a charge, or a person who believes or hopes that the Prosecutor will not be able to prove him or her guilty beyond a reasonable doubt can have their case decided by Trial. There are two kinds of Trials: Bench Trials, meaning Trials heard by a Judge with no Jury, and Jury Trial, which of course mean Trials heard by a Jury. The end result of a Trial is a Verdict, which means a finding, either by the Jury, or the Judge if there is no Jury, of either guilty or not guilty.

Sentencing is, to most people, the most important part of their case. It is what happens to Defendant; it is the end-result. It is at this final stage that the Judge hearing a person’s case decides their fate. At Sentencing, the Judge orders a Defendant to do certain things, like attend AA, or get drug counseling. In addition, the Judge can order a Defendant to NOT do certain things, like consume any alcohol during the period of Probation, or to not go into bars or establishments whose primary purpose is the serving of alcoholic beverages. At Sentencing, the most important thing that happens is the Judge’s decision whether or not the Defendant serves any Jail or Prison time.

Most convictions or pleas result in Probation. Some Probation Sentences call for the less restrictive, non-reporting kind of probation, and other Probation Sentences call for an initial period of jail. Some Probation Sentences involve having the Defendant under what is known as a “tether” or house arrest. Although Probation can entail many things, it most usually involves no Jail, and requires the Defendant to, amongst other things, report once per month, get or keep a job, and stay out of trouble.

Related articles:

• Lawyer blames the other guy (theolympian.com)
• How To Get Your License Terminated: Get A DUI! (perezhilton.com)
• Ryan’s Stalker Pleads Not Guilty! (perezhilton.com)

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

The California DUI Lawyers Association is the premiere organization for DUI lawyers who are the top in their field. The CDLA offers educational programs on the cutting edge of DUI caselaw, practice, and has an email list, where real world, practicing DUI attorneys, share information from court appearances, and trials, towards gathering information on the tactics of judges and prosecutors, and how to handle situations as they come up. Like the National College of DUI Defense, which puts on the Trial Skills College at Harvard University Law School, Orange County DUI Lawyer Robert Miller has been a member of both the NCDD, and the CDLA, almost since its inception, and continues to work hard to uphold the ideals, and the great value of this organization. Membership is the sign of a DUI attorney dedicated to knowledge and skills defending persons charge with DUI, and shows that the DUI Defense lawyer is dedicated to his craft.

Related articles

• Half Tuition or Less for a Law School’s Second Class (nytimes.com)
• Pretty Tough Already (eschatonblog.com)
• When the Prosecutor Gets Charged (thisisthelaw.wordpress.com)

Archive for the ‘DUI resources’ Category

False positives on Breathalyzers from dieting.

Friday, August 6th, 2010

I received an email which led me to the following site:

www.udadd.com

As you’ll see, it’s a website dedicated to the proposition that the government should not mandate what adults (that is, persons over the age of 18) do regarding alcohol.  It’s interesting that a person can be old enough to vote, to die for one’s country, but not have an “adult” beverage.  I’m not necessarily promoting this site, but I think the webmaster is onto something – and it is another example of how politics infects the discussion about drinking and driving.

Related articles

• Singapore Will Give Free Drinks To People With Boobs (manolith.com)
• Problem Drinkers Finding More Help Online (time.com)
• Is a minimum alcohol price now more likely? (leftfootforward.org)