Image by DutchAstrid via Flickr

have learned that The Orange County Crime Laboratory (OCCL) has received a $350,000 grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety to purchase new instrumentation for increased identification and quantitation of prescription and abused drugs for cases when driving under the influence of Drugs (DUID) is  suspected. This technology will provide more comprehensive toxicological testing of DUID case  samples. Obtaining these additional equipment funds was done in cooperation with and through the  assistance of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office.

In recent studies, 23 percent of all fatally injured drivers tested positive for drug involvement. In another study where drivers voluntarily allowed for testing, more tested positive for marijuana (8.4 percent) than for alcohol (7.6 percent).

If you have any questions for our DUI Lawyers Newport Beach, call (877) 568-2977, anytime.

The multi-agency crackdown from Dec. 16 to Jan. 1, known as “Avoid the 38,” involved the California Highway Patrol, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and police departments. There were no reported DUI fatal collisions.

During the 17-day holiday enforcement period the previous year, 743 people were arrested for driving under the influence, according to the “Avoid” database.

Numerous patrols and checkpoints were scheduled countywide during the New Year weekend in Laguna Niguel, Laguna Beach, Huntington Beach, La Habra, Westminster, Anaheim, Buena Park and Placentia.

Image by John McNab via Flickr

Image by FrogMiller via Flickr

A 41-year-old veteran San Diego Police Officer, David Hall, committed suicide.  He had been battling alcoholism and was depressed because he believed he would lose his job for a DUI hit and run crash he was involved in earlier this year.

In the report, investigators say Officer Hall was specifically worried about an upcoming hearing regarding his DUI case.

And before his suicide he didnt leave behind a note. In fact, he didnt give his wife Michelle or three kids any indication he was about to shoot himself in the backyard.

Which he did at about 9:40 in the morning, as his kids slept inside their Linda Vista home.

He was found by his wife who heard the gunshot as she was about to drive off to work.

The report also shows Officer Hall had quit drinking for five months following his DUI crash, but for some reason he relapsed shortly before his suicide.

“More people commit suicide after a DUI arrest than any other kind of arrest including rape-murder, said Psychiatrist Dr. Clark Smith, who believes Officer Halls relapse played a big role in his suicide.

“Often people who are very depressed drink a lot more and both factors increase suicide risk, Clark said.

Michelle agreed that the DUI played a major role in her husbands suicide.

“We went through such a tremendous ordeal in the last seven months, she said. “He knew what he did was wrong with the DUI and he was trying to fix his life by going to Alcoholics Anonymous, and in the end he felt like he had no other option.

Michelle also blames her husbands suicide on certain members of the media who she says hounded her family about the DUI case.

And she blames the D-As office saying, “I think the District Attorney was out to make an example of him. Sad.  But as a Los Angeles DUI lawyer, I see this too often.

Related articles

• News links: Philadelphia woman gets $12,000 gas bill; Pennsylvania liquor enforcement officer charged with DUI in Pittsburgh (pennlive.com)
• San Diego Police Officer Commits Suicide After Being Charged with Hit-And-Run (laist.com)
• Liquor Board Enforcement Agent Arrested For DUI (inquisitr.com)

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Our Criminal Lawyers Orange have learned that the Avoid the 38 Orange County DUI Task Force today announced it will join nearly 10,000 other law enforcement agencies nationwide in support of an intensive crackdown on impaired driving August 19 through September 5, known as “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over”.

DUI Driver’s License Checkpoints, Multi-Agency DUI Task Force deployments and local Roving DUI patrols are scheduled locally, in partnership with law enforcement nationwide, during the Summer/Labor Day Campaign.  Call us at (877) 568-2977 if you have any questions.

Related articles

• Orange County DUI Checkpoints: San Clemente (ocduiblog.com)
• Orange County DUI Checkpoints: (ocduiblog.com)
• Orange County DUI Checkpoints: Newport Beach (ocduiblog.com)

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As a DUI specialist Orange County, I get asked a lot whether or not it’s better to take a breath test, or a blood test, and I usually give the advice to choose breath.  (Although there is a split of opinion on that, and some attorneys recommend blood).  The presence of mouth alcohol, temperature, partition ratios, and the math effort used to convert breath to a blood alcohol level gives some room for argument.

One of the best ways to lower a breath test, however, is to hyperventilate, which cools the airways and, as breathalyzers are temperature dependent, makes for a lower test.  The academic studies seem to bear this out:

“…a group of men drank moderate doses of alcohol and their blood-alcohol levels were then measured by gas chromatographic analysis of their breath. The breathing techniques were then varied.The results indicated that holding your breath for 30 seconds before exhaling increased the blood-alcohol concentration (BAC) by 15.7%. Hyperventilating for 20 seconds immediately before the analyses of breath, on the other hand, decreased the blood-alcohol level by 10.6%. Keeping the mouth closed for five minutes and using shallow nasal breathing resulted in increasing the BAC by 7.3%, and testing after a slow, 20-second exhalation increased levels by 2%. “How Breathing Techniques Can Influence the Results of Breath-Alcohol Analyses”, 22(4) Medical Science and the Law275.For another study with similar findings, see “Accurate Measurement of Blood Alcohol Concentration with Isothermal Breathing”, 51(1) Journal of Studies on Alcohol 6.

Dr. Michael Hlastala, Professor of Physiology, Biophysics and Medicine at the University of Washington has gone farther and concluded:

“By far, the most overlooked error in breath testing for alcohol is the pattern of breathing….The concentration of alcohol changes considerably during the breath…The first part of the breath, after discarding the dead space, has an alcohol concentration much lower than the equivalent BAC. Whereas, the last part of the breath has an alcohol concentration that is much higher than the equivalent BAC. The last part of the breath can be over 50% above the alcohol level….Thus, a breath tester reading of 0.14% taken from the last part of the breath may indicate that the blood level is only 0.09%.” 9(6) The Champion 16 (1985).

The one thing that seems pretty clear is that holding your breath (which police sometimes ask you to do) results in a much higher test.  That can make the difference between being over the limit and under the limit.  Be careful out there, and if you need an attorney, my number is (877) 568-2977.

Related articles

• Alcohol levels can make a big difference (sfgate.com)
• Who Gets Drunk and Why (online.wsj.com)
• New Alcohol Management Feature on the LifeGuard Personal Breathalyzer Helps People Manage their BAC (prweb.com)

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A lawsuit in Santa Barbara County is questioning the legality of DUI checkpoints. A Superior Court judge in Santa Barbara could decide to change the way police departments perform DUI checkpoints. A court date is set for Wednesday.

Santa Barbara Defense Attorney Darryl Genis says officers aren’t following standard operating procedure when holding the checkpoints. Genis says both the CHP and Caltrans have put together model plans for closures and signage, which he believes officers in the “Avoid the 12″ DUI campaign are not following.

Genis says police officers are required to get city council approval before shutting down a road for a DUI checkpoint. He says the same rules apply to a checkpoint as they would for a parade or city event. He also argues in most cases, drivers don’t have enough warning. “They know the process, they just feel that they don’t have to go through that process because it’s a DUI checkpoint,” said Genis.

Monika Biskup, Santa Maria resident, “I personally have a friend, his sister was killed by a drunk driver, so I think it’s important to have DUI checks.” Nationwide, there are 12 states where it is illegal for law enforcement to set up sobriety checkpoints. Opponents have argued of the thousands of drivers who pass through, on average, only a handful are actually arrested.

In 1990, the US Supreme Court ruled the public benefit from the checkpoints outweighed the infringement on search and seizure rights making them constitutional, as long as the proper rules were followed. The DA’s office did not return our calls for comment but there is quite a bit at stake here.

Genis says if the court rules in his favor not only would officers have to comply with all rules, the judge could dismiss all DUI cases where law enforcement did not follow the proper procedures. Lompoc is holding a DUI checkpoint this weekend.

Our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have been informed that the Newport Beach Police Department has announced a partnership project with the UC-Irvine Health Education Center, RADD-the Entertainment Industry’s Voice for Road Safety, and the Newport Beach Tavern Owners Association to bring the RADD Rewards Program, a public/private initiative to reduce drunk driving, to the Newport Beach community.

Through the RADD Designated Driver Rewards program, 13 prominent members of the Tavern Owners Association volunteered to provide special incentives and free non-alcohol beverages to honor non-drinking designated drivers who pledge to get their friends home safely.   Participating establishments include Baja Sharkeez, Balboa Saloon, Beach Ball, Blackies By the Sea, Brew Co., Cabo Cantina, Class of ’47, Mutt Lynch’s, The Blue Beet, The District, Woody’s Wharf, Malarky’s Irish Pub, and Rudy’s Pub & Grill.

The “RADD College DUI Awareness Program” identifies popular bars and restaurants that cater to campus populations and encourages participation in the RADD Rewards Program. The RADD Rewards Program identifies and rewards designated drivers at local establishments. Tavern owners donate the rewards and administer the program in their venues.  UCI’s peer educators and staff will provide participating Newport Beach bars with free Responsible Beverage Service (RBS) training and display materials that feature RADD’s “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk….Do You?” message and a designated driver pledge card.

Thanks to a generous grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Administration, the UCI Health Education Center joins seven other universities statewide receiving funding to provide training for student leaders in RBS and other environmental management practices related to alcohol.  The program also provides support for large-scale, campus-wide events promoting alcohol awareness through interactive, educational games and activities.

“UCI has enjoyed the partnership with RADD as its college program development partner since 2009. We’re pleased to be activating the retailer rewards component in our own community through the alliance with the Newport PD and the Tavern Owners Association,” said Ms. Ball, Acting Director of the UC-Irvine Health Education Center.

“We at RADD are very excited to welcome the Newport Beach Tavern Owners Association to the family of RADD Rewards partners, and look forward to supporting the UCI-Newport Beach PD initiative for road safety on-and-off campus in Orange County,” said Marian Novak, RADD California Coalition Manager.

About the RADD College Program

In 2009, RADD partnered with the UC-Irvine Health Education Center.  Through this partnership, support from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety (OTS) continues the development and expansion of university-based designated driver initiatives. RADD has partnered with eight California universities, and is a proud two-time recipient of the US Department of Transportation’s prestigious “Public Service Award.”

http://www.collegeisradd.org/

http://www.radd.org

For further information regarding the local program, please contact NBPD’s ABC Liaison, Detective Bryan Moore-(949) 644-3725. bmoore@nbpd.org, or, if you have questions for our Newport Beach DUI attorneys, feel free to call us at (949) 682-5316 anytime.

I don’t take advertising on my blog or website, other than the Google Link ads at the very bottom, which are automatically served.  But I learned last week about a valuable service that I think could help some of the hundreds of regular subscribers and thousands of visitors to my blog that reside here in Orange County.

Josef, from Your Car Our Driver, is a licensed and insured driver, who has a pool of drivers available to drive you to and from events in Los Angeles and throughout the OC.  The program and company combines safety and ease of use at a reasonable cost in the comfort of your own car, and you end up where you need to be at the end of the night with your own car with you.

Useful for charity galas, private parties, dinner, concerts, a night on the town, airport transportation, or personal appointments, the standard rate is $30 per hour, with a 3-5 minimum, and gratuity and administrative fees are not included.

Visit www.yourcarourdriver.com or call (949) 643-1700.  As a DUI Specialist Orange County, I see lots of DUIs, and I think this is a great idea.

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.

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)