After an individual is arrested for allegedly committing a crime, certain legal proceedings will take place. Although the presence of an attorney is not required, it is in your best interest to obtain the assistance of a knowledgeable criminal attorney who will properly represent you and answer any questions you may have. If you or a loved one has been arrested, don’t take a chance. Contact Irvine criminal lawyer Staycie Sena for to see what she can do for you.

Initially, the individual will be booked by the police and placed in a holding cell until his initial court appearance. The initial appearance will be the first proceeding in front of a judge. During this appearance, the judge informs him of his rights and assesses his case to determine whether there is probable cause for the initial arrest and holding.

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“You have the right to remain silent.” This fact of arrest is so commonly known it is almost cliché. However, other aspects of arrest and detention are not so well understood. If you are arrested, there are specific issues you need to keep in mind.

Once you have been taken into custody, you will be fingerprinted. This is not an option, and while you will not likely be wrestled to the ground or forced into submission to this or other tests, your refusal will not reflect well on you later. (In fact, your lack of cooperation could even be used against you.) You may also be asked to provide handwriting and voice samples, and your property may be searched. Keep in mind that at this point, the police are trying to determine as many of the facts of the case as possible.

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If you have been arrested for driving under the influence, you may be considering contacting an Orange County DUI attorney. During your initial interview with a DUI attorney, you will be asked several questions about your arrest and what happened leading up to it. Below are some questions you are likely to be asked, so it might help to have your answers to these questions ready before your interview.

Your state of health at the time of your arrest is important. Your attorney will want to know if you have any physical disabilities or inner-ear problems that might affect your balance. How much sleep did you get in the nights before your arrest? Had you taken any medication? Have you ever experienced a head injury?

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Under the U.S. Constitution and most state criminal procedure codes, criminal suspects retain specific rights with respect to police informants. Under the Fourth Amendment, probable cause or reasonable suspicion that a crime is being committed is always required before law enforcement is privileged to arrest a private citizen. Orange County DUI attorneys know that probable cause is formed a variety of ways—typically through police investigative tools and eyewitness accounts. Sometimes, police are able to apprehend a criminal based on a tip from a known or anonymous informant. The law imputes varying levels of probable cause and reliability with respect to informants, and police are not necessarily permitted to pursue a criminal based on an unreliable, anonymous, or unknown informant.

Criminal procedure law is friendlier to law enforcement in situations where an informant is identified by name and has been relied upon successfully in the past. In this circumstance, it is likely that the suspect’s Fourth Amendment rights were not violated by police effectuating an arrest based on a tipster. Conversely, courts have held that probable cause is not present in cases where police arrest a suspect based on an anonymous tip from an unknown, unreliable source. In these cases, police should have used the tip to investigate further and garner more evidence to form probable cause before arresting the suspect.

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There are many components to a DUI charge and arrest. Law enforcement officers observe the physical characteristics of any person under a suspicion of driving under the influence. Observations are made during the initial traffic stop, the field sobriety test, and the subsequent arrest. If you are facing a recent DUI arrest, it is important to get the representation from an Orange County DUI attorney who is experienced in finding alternative explanations for the various observations recorded by the arresting officers.

It is common for Orange County DUI attorneys to uncover inconsistencies in the police officer’s report. In most situations, the arresting officer will fill out an Alcohol Influence Report that is intended to detail the officer’s perceptions of the DUI suspect. One common inconsistency involves a situation in which the blood alcohol content (BAC) of a suspect is particularly high in comparison with the observations made in the Alcohol Influence Report. This could suggest inaccuracies in the chemical analysis of the suspect’s BAC. An experienced Orange County DUI attorney will assuredly advocate his or her client with regard to these potential chemical incompatibilities.

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A Costa Mesa woman has been charged with driving under the influence and causing injury after she hit a pedestrian. The pedestrian, 17-year-old Newport Harbor High School student Crystal Morales was crossing a crosswalk shortly after 2:45pm when she was struck. The high school student was taken to a local hospital where doctors induced a coma so that Morales could recover from internal bleeding, brain swelling, head trauma and other internal injuries.

The 38-year-old driver Marie Lippincott, a fellow classmate’s mother, was driving a Chevy Tahoe northbound on Irvine Ave. when the accident occurred. An officer arrested Lippincott and is currently being held at the Orange County Jail in lieu of $100,000 bail. After further investigation, records showed that in 2005, Lippincott pleaded guilty to theft, burglary and obtaining prescription drugs by fraud.

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In an effort to enforce safe driving, several cities within Orange County will be conducing DUI sobriety roving patrols.  The Orange County Sheriff’s Department will be conducting these DUI roving patrols today, Friday December 2^nd, within the city limits of Aliso Viejo, Laguna Niguel, Laguna Hills and Laguna Woods. The roving patrols are funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to help reduce the amount of DUIs and DUI related collisions.

Unlike standard DUI sobriety checkpoints, roving DUI patrols are not stationary and therefore cannot be avoided by motorists.   These roving patrol officers look for motorists who exhibit obvious signs of intoxication such as swerving, bloodshot or watery eyes and even the scent of alcohol.

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A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has been accused of driving under the influence after he caused a DUI-related accident.  38-year-old Richard J. Patterson of West Covina was off duty when he crashed the motorcycle that he and his wife were on into another vehicle on the 405 freeway.  Patterson was taken to the local hospital for a hip injury while his wife was hospitalized with a knee injury and abrasions to the arms and hands.

After investigation, it was determined that Paterson’s blood alcohol level was at 0.15 percent two hours after the accident occurred.  Paterson’s arraignment is scheduled for Tuesday where he faces charges of driving under the influence causing injury and driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more causing injury.  If convicted, Paterson could be facing probation and up to three years in state prison.

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Many cities throughout Southern California set up multiple DUI sobriety checkpoints during weekends and holidays. Costa Mesa, however, is choosing to conduct fewer checkpoints in favor or more DUI saturation patrols.  By doing so, arresting officers are able to target more drunk drivers on any given night without having to announce the time and location prior to its commencement.

Unlike DUI sobriety checkpoints which are structured, DUI saturation patrol officers are able to roam the cities, ensuring the safety of motorists without having to make a big scene. Most motorists are able to research the DUI checkpoint locations and oftentimes, avoid a certain location knowing a checkpoint is scheduled to occur.  The city of Costa Mesa believes that by reducing the amount of DUI checkpoints and relying more on DUI saturation patrols, officers can be more effective in arresting those who have been driving under the influence.

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A Garden Grove man has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he caused a DUI-related accident in Irvine shortly before 7pm.

The man was allegedly driving while under the influence of alcohol when he crashed into the Orange County Fire Authority’s Eternal Flame Memorial in the city of Irvine. The man, whose name has not been released, damaged a gate, knocked down a light pole, jumped a curb and drove through a small block wall before crashing into the memorial. The driver was taken to the local hospital with a broken foot and was later arrested for an Orange County DUI.

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This past Halloween weekend was full of scary costumes, lots of candy and many DUI checkpoints and arrests.  The Orange County DUI Task Force, known as “Avoid the 38”, wanted residents to celebrate Halloween safely and therefore had extra DUI saturation patrol officers roaming different cities within Orange County.

While a standard DUI sobriety checkpoint is stationary and often near an area known for frequent DUI arrests or popular bars, a roving DUI saturation patrol is less obvious. These roving drunk driving patrol officers tend to blend into crowds, looking for drivers who show signs of intoxication.

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A 35-year-old Stanton man has been arrested for driving under the influence after he caused a fatal DUI accident that took the life of a 50-year-old man.

The accident occurred at 5:15am on Saturday morning in the 500 block of Beach Boulevard in Anaheim when the driver of a 2000 Chevrolet S-10 pickup, Alexandro Cedillo, failed to notice a pedestrian crossing the road.  Unfortunately, the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene.  Cedillo stopped and stayed until officers arrived and he was arrested on suspicion driving under the influence and being under the influence of a controlled substance.

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An Orange County Superior Court judge has sentenced a 28-year-old male to seven years in prison for a fatal DUI related accident that occurred in early July.

The accident occurred at 12:50am on July 17^th, 2011 when the male driver, Yannis Ismael Galanis, was driving his GMC pickup at high speeds southbound on the I-5 freeway near Disneyland Drive.  After suddenly swerving into a lane, his GMC crashed into another vehicle and continued up a dirt embankment before hitting a concrete barrier; the truck re-entered traffic lanes before coming to a stop on the freeway.  Galanis, whose BAC levels was 0.11 percent, and his passenger Edgar Murillo, were taken to the local hospital where unfortunately, 29-year-old Murillo died hours later.

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A 65-year-old Orange County woman has been arrested on suspicion of felony driving under the influence after she crashed her vehicle into two pedestrians in Laguna Beach. According to the Orange County Register, Sharon Niggemann was driving her SUV, when she failed to see or stop for two pedestrians who were crossing Laguna Canyon Rd near the Festival of Arts/ Pageant of the Masters.

One of the pedestrians, a 65-year-old woman, was taken to OC Mission Hospital with major trauma to her body while Niggemann was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI.  It is unclear whether the second pedestrian was also injured.

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An Orange County man has been sentenced to 20 years and 4 months in prison for a fatal DUI-related accident that he caused last Valentine’s Day.  Gustavo Vega, 24, was driving while under the influence of alcohol on February 14, 2010 when he sped through a red light and crashed into a Toyota Corolla.  The Corolla’s driver sustained minor injuries but unfortunately the passenger, 20-year-old Cara Lee, died at the scene of the accident. According to the Los Angeles Times, Vega fled the scene but was later found by police hiding at a nearby housing complex.

This past Friday, Vega was sentenced at the Orange County Superior Court for murder, felony hit-and-run, driving under the influence and felony possession.  Vega’s blood-alcohol content level during that fatal DUI accident was at .17 percent, more than twice the legal limit.

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A former O. C. Newport Beach City Attorney was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after causing a solo DUI-related accident.

At 7:30pm on Friday, 53-year-old David Hunt of Santa Ana was driving in a parking lot five minutes away from his office at the west end of Ford Road near Mesa View when he hit a parked vehicle.  Once officers arrived at the scene of the accident, they had Hunt perform a DUI field sobriety test before he was arrested.  At around 2:10am, Hunt was released on his own recognizance and officers declined to provide the results of the tests and blood alcohol level.

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A 17-year-old Orange County boy has been arrested and booked on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, causing a collision and vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.  The teen was driving a van northbound near the 1600 block of Harbor Boulevard near Disneyland at around 4am when he allegedly struck two homeless women who were walking at the crosswalk.

According to the investigation, one woman was thrown a considerable distance into the southbound lanes while the second woman came to a rest in the left-turn lane of the northbound lanes.  Unfortunately, both women died at the scene of the accident and the teen was arrested and booked at the Orange County Juvenile Hall on several counts including a California DUI.

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If you have recently been arrested for an Orange County DUI, you understand how frustration, difficult and expensive it is to be charged as a DUI offender. It can be even more traumatizing if you are involved in a DUI-related accident.

Several police departments within Orange County are part of a program that requires drunk drivers who are involved in accidents to pay additional costs. These costs are related to emergency services, salaries of emergency personal, cost of investigations including conducting DUI field sobriety tests as well as the costs related to time spent transporting and booking the alleged DUI suspect.

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A fatal DUI accident in Riverside County has resulted in an Orange County man being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and manslaughter.

The accident, which occurred at 3:35am on Saturday morning, took the life of 20-year-old Joseph Castro, from Santa Ana and injured two teenage girls, a 19-year-old from the city of Orange and a 16-year-old from Santa Ana. The driver of the vehicle, 22-year-old Victor Martinez from Santa Ana, was allegedly traveling at high speeds when he crashed into a dirt embankment along the side of the road. Martinez was then arrested and booked at the Robert Presley Detention Center on suspicion of driving under the influence as well as manslaughter.

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Being arrested for driving under the influence in Orange County can be stressful, especially if it is during a DUI sobriety checkpoint. As a DUI offender, you are looking at consequences such as heavy fines and lengthy license suspensions. As a multiple DUI offender, you could be facing severe consequences that could include jail time. The only way to get the best representation during both the DMV and criminal court process is to have an experienced Orange County Drunk Driving Lawyer who knows the laws.

This upcoming weekend, Orange County will be conducting at least two DUI sobriety checkpoints, with the potential of others that have not yet been announced. In San Juan Capistrano, residents can expect a DUI sobriety checkpoint to occur on Friday, September 23^rd between the hours of 6:30pm and 2:30am as well as in Costa Mesa on Saturday, September 24^th from 6pm until 2am. Both of these locations are currently undisclosed, meaning that they will be occurring within the city limits but arresting officials are not providing the exact cross streets or location.

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