If you have been arrested for driving under the influence, you should contact an Orange County DUI or DWI 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.
During your arrest, was your car searched by the police, and if so, did they find anything?
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 an 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. 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.
There are many components to a DUI charge and arrest. Law enforcement officers observe the physical characteristics of any person under 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 representation from an Orange County DUI attorney who may find 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 blood alcohol concentration. An experienced Orange County DUI attorney will assuredly advocate his or her client with regard to these potential chemical incompatibilities.
A Costa Mesa woman has been charged with driving under the influence and causing injury after she allegedly 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. Records show that in 2005, Lippincott pleaded guilty to theft, burglary and obtaining prescription drugs by fraud.
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 2nd, 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.
A Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department deputy has been accused of driving under the influence after he allegedly caused a DUI-related accident. 38-year-old Richard J. Patterson of West Covina was off duty when he is accused of having 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 Patterson’s blood alcohol level was at 0.15 percent, two hours after the accident occurred. Patterson’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, Patterson could be facing probation or up to several years in state prison.
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.
A Garden Grove man has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after he allegedly 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.
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.
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.
The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog