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Our DUI Lawyers Long Beach have learned from an excellent article that the sanction of California’s newest law regarding the impounding of vehicles at sobriety checkpoints has made an impression on both civilians and law enforcement.
Effective Jan.1, the police are no longer able to tow a vehicle at a DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoint if the driver’s only offense is that he or she is unlicensed (no license or license is invalid – suspended, revoked or expired).
This law was endorsed by California state Sen. Gil Cedillo, D- Los Angeles, an avid supporter of immigration rights; and according to reports, it was primarily because DUI checkpoints inadvertently yet apparently set up traps for unlicensed drivers, where illegal immigrants seemed to be primary targets, and the towing of vehicles resulted in a relatively generous amount of income for cities.
“People are still going to be stopped for driving without a license at a checkpoint and show up in court and answer why they are driving a car. Just for the checkpoint, we can’t take the car,” said Sgt. Randy Latimer of the Oxnard Police Department.
“However, at the end of the checkpoint, if no one (registered owner or licensed driver) picks it up, we will tow it. Also, on the street, if an officer stops an unlicensed driver, the car will be impounded for 30 days,” he added.
Collectivo Todo Poder al Pueblo (Power to the People Collective) is an Oxnard-based organization that is dedicated to migrant justice in Ventura County, and actively protests at checkpoints.
“Checkpoints were traps and were being set up in heavily residential areas to apprehend citizens who lack papers. If you look at numbers of DUI suspects, they were very low, and they were apprehending dozens of unlicensed drivers and holding their cars for ransom,” said Elliott Gabriel, a spokesperson for Todo Poder.
“The tow truck companies are making money and the police are paid overtime by grants. It’s a racket benefiting at the expense of the most vulnerable section of the community,” Gabriel said.
With a 30-day impound, a driver could pay more than $1,000 in fines and fees to reclaim a vehicle.
In Camarillo, of the 172 vehicles impounded in 2011, 42.4 percent (73 vehicles) were not claimed.

Slow night at a sobriety and license checkpoint on Channel Islands and M Street in Oxnard on Jan. 28.
A Ventura County officer explained that the majority of cars are not retrieved after 30 days, because the driver either still has no license or has one that is invalid. This leads to the transfer of vehicles to towing companies for auction.
Jose (who wished to have his true identity withheld), an illegal immigrant driver in favor of the new law, has had his car impounded and has been deported once back to Mexico.
While driving home at night in late 2010, he was pulled over after stopping at a traffic light. “The police followed me with their lights on from the light to when I parked and came and asked if I’m OK,” he said.
Jose was then asked for his license and registration, to which he admitted he did not have either.
“I said I have no license, they said it’s against the law.”
He explained that, after revealing he had no license, he was immediately asked if he had been drinking, and he admitted having had a couple of beers earlier. Jose was asked to step out of the car and perform field sobriety tests (FSTs).
“I did a lot of walking and counting and it take so long,” he recalled. “Then I did the breathing test and I got 0.08. I thought 0.08 was the legal limit.”
Jose was subject to more questions about his alcohol intake and his whereabouts that night and eventually was taken to the police station under suspicion of DUI. Once at the station, he explained, he submitted to a breathalyzer, this time resulting in a 0.09 blood alcohol level, an increase from his original 0.08 percent.
According to Jose, after his second breathalyzer, the officer told him, “0.09 is DUI. You gotta obey the law. You’re under arrest.”
Jose remembered his confusion. “I did the test the first time and I wasn’t 0.09 before, but they don’t care. So I went to jail.”
Jose’s car was impounded, costing him more than $1,500. Like law enforcement, impound lots are not friendly, in his opinion.
“The people at the impound say they don’t have anyone who speaks Spanish when you call. This is Oxnard!” Jose said.

One of several Todo Poder advocates during a “checkpoint action” to warn motorists.
One of his friends, also an illegal immigrant, recently had a bad experience, Jose said. After being in a minor car accident, the friend admitted his illegal status (no license) to the California Highway Patrol officer on site, and eventually, all involved persons were allowed to leave; but once in his vehicle, the CHP officer approached and asked for license and registration – with prior knowledge of the answer. With nothing to produce, the vehicle was towed.
“The police will always find a way to tow your car,” Jose said. “Also, at the impound, people stole things from my friend’s car. I think it’s really mean, taking things from your car.”
After his DUI arrest in 2010, Jose was deported back to Mexico and then came back to the states.
“I have my family here. I’m trying to make money and I don’t want to go back to Mexico. I don’t want to break my family,” he explained.
Jose works six days a week, at least 10 to 12 hours a day. “People think we (illegal immigrants) are just here getting babies and going to welfare, but that’s not true. We have to work all those hours. People on welfare don’t do that.”
He plans to continue working and supporting his family, and hopes not to have any more encounters with law enforcement.
“Sometimes, not very much, you can get a nice police officer, but most of the time, they have bad moods. How they talk to you and treat you like animals. I haven’t killed nobody, hurt nobody, they can’t even look you in the eye. The law, it’s easier on American citizens, but if you’re illegal, they wait for you, impound your car and make some money,” stated Jose.
Jose is grateful for the new checkpoint law. Although it only applies at checkpoints, he is still happy because, before this year, he believed that checkpoints were a place for law enforcement to target unlicensed drivers.
“Now I will be more comfortable to go through a checkpoint, and if they try to take my car just because I don’t have a license, I will say, ‘Sorry, you can’t take my car, sir!’ ” he said with enthusiasm.
Aside from a profit in towing, there has also been controversy over the possibility that illegal immigrants, like Jose, have been targeted in the DUI checkpoint process — an immigration hunt rather than sobriety enforcement.
“The purpose of checkpoints is mainly for public information and a deterrent for drunk driving,” said Latimer. He clarified that the license and DUI check are both important safety parts of a checkpoint, and are not specifically used to catch unlicensed drivers.
Senior Officer Jaime Brown, currently in the traffic division of the Oxnard Police Department and a 14-year law enforcement veteran, explained, “We are just checking all the drivers to make sure they have proper licenses and make sure they’re not drinking and driving.”
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently credited California’s record-breaking decreased DUI-related incidents to increased checkpoint activity throughout the state.

An unlicensed driver being questioned by two members of the Oxnard Police Department; one served as a translator.
The accusation of using checkpoints to target unlicensed and, specifically, illegal immigrants (drivers) is disputed by law enforcement throughout Ventura County, with Brown simply responding, “Absolutely not true.”
“We look at solely collision and DUI stats to find where we will set up a DUI checkpoint. We never ever look at the area of town that we will find most unlicensed drivers. Never does it come in that we look at demographic,” clarified Latimer.
Oxnard is the largest city in Ventura County, with higher rates of DUI-related incidents as well as an estimated greater population of illegal immigrants and drivers compared to other cities in the county.
Not only do activists question the purpose of checkpoints, but also how local law enforcement presents its intentions, and even the signs at the checkpoint.
“The police say they want to warn people that there are checkpoints ahead, but they set up in very dim streets like Ventura Road and Channel Islands Boulevard, and the warning signs they put up are in English in a predominantly Spanish-speaking community,” Gabriel said. “By the time people see the signs, they are too far in to turn around.”
At checkpoints, law enforcement personnel give drivers advance notice with the “checkpoint ahead” warning signs, which are located near a “way out,” a courtesy that Brown said is not mandatory.
Todo Poder often protests at checkpoints, in what it calls “checkpoint action.” In these protests, it sets up near a DUI checkpoint, with flashing lights and bright orange lights and warning signs (some in Spanish) about what lies ahead.
The group has two goals: to monitor the checkpoint and police actions, making sure they do not violate anyone’s rights, and to warn drivers that there is a checkpoint in case they are unlicensed.
According to Gabriel, “The response we got from the community was overwhelmingly positive. People brought us coffee, honked their horns ….”
The Office of Traffic Safety (OTS), which annually funds Oxnard and Ventura DUI-related programs, recently released a report detailing the state’s checkpoint results.
In 2011, there were 2,089 checkpoints conducted in California, and of the 20,154 drivers who performed FSTs, 29.59 percent (5,964) were arrested for drunk driving while 2.35 percent (474) were arrested for driving under the influence of drugs. It does not state how many were unlicensed.
“Checkpoints, saturation patrols, they’re all tools we use to make the streets safer and the fact that we’ve seen reductions, I know that we’re doing the right thing and keep people from driving without licenses,” said Latimer.
According to AAA’s 2008 follow-up research study to its previous #Unlicensed to Kill# report, unlicensed drivers are still involved in one of every five fatal crashes.
This nationwide study consisted of statistical averages from 2001 to 2005, concluding that, yearly, 8,030 unlicensed drivers were involved in 19.9 percent (7,679) of all fatal crashes, resulting in 20.5 percent (8,801) of all deaths involving vehicle crashes.
No statistics were available from Ventura County regarding unlicensed driver collisions but Brown estimated that five out of 10 traffic collisions in Oxnard were caused by unlicensed drivers.
“Proper training is important for traffic safety,” added Latimer.
Advocates for unlicensed illegal immigrant drivers agree, but not entirely.
“The safety factor is a problem. However, we feel that undocumented residents have no other recourse but to drive and should not have to dwell in this legal gray area. We feel that they should gain access to drive and that would solve a lot of the problem,” explained Gabriel.
Regardless of the fact that the new law only applies to checkpoints, it clearly has made an impact on both law enforcement and those opposed to checkpoints.
“(The new law) just makes it harder when unlicensed drivers have access to a car. I see the people’s side but at the same time, it’s like the law is letting us down a little bit by not letting us take the car away. In California, the law states, when you don’t have a driver’s license, you can’t drive,” said Sr. Officer Brown.
Gabriel said he believes it is one step closer to their goal.
“This law represents a partial victory for migrant justice, because now DUI checkpoints are getting back on track rather than focusing on unlicensed drivers,” he said. “It’s a partial victory because our main goal is to see undocumented residents gain a driver’s license and be subject to tests like everyone else.”

Related articles

• Orange County DUI Checkpoint: Irvine Conducts DUI Checkpoint for the Holidays (ocduiblog.com)
• Apple Halts New DUI Checkpoint Apps (danielrrosen.com)
• 8 Arrested For Alleged DUI In Overnight Checkpoint Operation (losangeles.cbslocal.com)

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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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Related articles

• Celebrity DUI Review (ocduiblog.com)
• Former major leaguer Curtis Leskanic arrested for DUI with daughter in car (hardballtalk.nbcsports.com)
• Celebrity DUI – Jamie Pressly settles her DUI case (ocduiblog.com)

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Our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers have learned that actress Estella Warren has received what the Australian press is calling the “DUI Plea Deal of the Century”

The Planet of the Apes star allegedly crashed into three cars, attacked a police officer and then escaped custody while she was being booked back in May.

She was recaptured and charged with DUI, hit-and-run driving, battery on a cop and resisting arrest.

But Warren has avoided possible jail time after striking a deal with Los Angeles City prosecutors.

According to TMZ.com, she has agreed to plead guilty to DUI and the remaining three charges against her have been dropped.

Warren has also been sentenced to 60 months of summary probation and ordered to pay over $US1900 ($A1838) in costs and penalties.

And the actress tells the gossip site she’s glad to put the case to rest.

“I take my actions and their consequences very seriously. I can’t express enough how grateful I am that no one was injured or hurt. Moving forward I am focusing all my efforts on my career, my family and being a good influence to others.”

That’s fairly good, but not the deal of the century.  Los Angeles DUI cases are a little more negotiable than those in Orange County.

Related articles

• Celebrity DUI Review (ocduiblog.com)
• Estella Warren Pleads No Contest to DUI (eonline.com)
• Actress Estella Warren pleads no contest to DUI (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• Actress Estella Warren Pleads No Contest to DUI (abcnews.go.com)

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As an Orange County DUI Lawyer that keeps on top of DUI trends, I notice that one of the biggest terms that people use to find my DUI Blog is Celebrity DUI arrests.  A few examples 2011, and then from from the last few years:

Related articles

• Celebrity DUI Arrest: Flo Rida (ocduiblog.com)
• Celebrity DUI Arrest: Samantha Ronson arrested for DUI (ocduiblog.com)
• Orange County DUI arrests sure to rise with DUI task forces (ocduiblog.com)

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Our Long Beach DUI Lawyers have learned that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting a DUI/DL Checkpoint on Sat. 04-23-11 during the hours of 6PM to 2AM

Personnel from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, Risk Management Bureau’s Traffic Services Detail, will be conducting a DUI/DL Checkpoint on Saturday, April 23, 2011 from 6 PM until approximately 2 AM. The checkpoint will be conducted in the City of Lancaster.

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Our Long Beach DUI Lawyers have received a hot tip from the Los Angeles Police Department of Los Angeles DUI Checkpoint Locations.

When: Friday, April 15, 2011, 8 p.m. to Saturday, April 16, 2011, 3 a.m.
Where: Santa Monica Boulevard and Bronson Avenue
Who: Officers from West Traffic Division and Hollywood Area will staff the checkpoint.

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As a DUI Specialist Orange County, I’ve written about the problems of police impounds at DUI checkpoints in the past, and what a money maker it can be for police departments.  The Los Angeles Times had an article about how the issue of impounds has become a controversial topic in recent years.  Under criticism that it was unfairly targeting undocumented immigrants, the Los Angeles Police Department on Friday announced changes to its rules for impounding cars of unlicensed drivers at sobriety checkpoints.

Previously, LAPD officers at such checkpoints followed stringent protocols that called for them to impound a car whenever the driver was found not to have a valid license, regardless of whether the driver had been drinking.

Those rules have drawn the ire of immigration advocacy groups that said they disproportionately targeted undocumented immigrants, who are not able to obtain licenses legally in nearly all U.S. states. Once a vehicle is impounded, law enforcement agencies often require it to remain locked up for at least a month and charge the owner hefty fees to release it.

The new LAPD guidelines soften the department’s stance somewhat. Police will be required to make an attempt to contact the registered owner of the stopped vehicle. If the owner is a licensed driver and can respond to the checkpoint in “a reasonable period of time,” the officers will release the car to him or her. If the owner is unlicensed, officers will permit another person who is a licensed driver to take the car.

If no one with a license is available, police will impound a vehicle. In any case, police will issue a citation to the unlicensed driver.

Police Chief Charlie Beck said that since he took over the department more than a year ago, the checkpoint policy had “stuck in my craw as one of the things we weren’t doing the right way.” Beck said he decided to make the change after immigration rights advocates raised the issue with him anew in meetings this week.

“I’m tired of casting the net so wide,” he said. “This is the right thing to do. There is a fairness issue here … and we’re trying to balance the needs of all segments of our community and keep the roads safe.”

The new rules, Beck said, were an attempt to mitigate somewhat “the current reality, which is that for a vast number of people, who are a valuable asset to our community and who have very limited resources, their ability to live and work in L.A. is severely limited by their immigration status.”

The change, which the department announced in a news release late Friday afternoon, is likely to anger groups that support strict enforcement of immigration laws. Efforts to contact representatives of several of those groups for comment were unsuccessful.

Police in the small cities of Bell and Maywood have been accused of systematically targeting undocumented immigrants when impounding cars in an effort to boost municipal revenues.

Ron Gochez, a member of the steering committee for the Southern California Immigration Coalition, expressed limited praise for the LAPD’s change but questioned why the department needed to impound a car if the driver had not been drinking.

“It’s a step in the right direction, but it still falls short of what we’re asking for,” he said. “We’re not against checkpoints. We want checkpoints to happen, we want drunk drivers off our streets. We just don’t want people to be losing their cars who aren’t drunk.”

If you have a question for our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers, call me anytime at (877) 568-2977.

No Orange County DUI Checkpoint locations that I am aware of this weekend, but our Newport Beach DUI Lawyers have uncovered a Los Angeles DUI checkpoint, as follows:

What: Sobriety & Drivers License Checkpoint

When: Friday, December 3, 2010 8 p.m. – 2 a.m.

Where: Cahuenga Boulevard between Broadlawn Drive and Fredonia Drive North Hollywood, California

Who: Emergency Operations Division

Why: Sobriety checkpoints are not a proven enforcement tool effective in reducing the number of persons killed and injured in alcohol involved crashes, and do not work nearly as well as police saturation patrols.

Officers will be checking drivers through the checkpoint for signs of alcohol and or drug impairments.

Officers will check for proper licensing and will impound any vehicles where a person is suspected of driving with an invalid license, bringing in thousands of dollars in impound fees to the police department.

Statewide, overall traffic deaths declined by 23 percent, from 3,995 in 2007 to 3,081 in 2009.

Total traffic fatalities are at their lowest levels in six decades, when the federal government began compiling figures.

Driving under the influence deaths declined by 16 percent, from 1,132 in 2007 to 950 in 2009, according to federal statistics.

Funding for this and other DUI checkpoints are provided to the Los Angeles Police Department by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, bringing major funding to the LAPD.

For further information, please call us, anytime, at (714) 568-1560.