Marin DUI Lawyer Blog

The Marin County Avoid the 13 has County wide drunk driving saturation patrols planned for this weekend. Drivers planning on celebrating Cinco de Mayo by drinking margaritas, tequila, or cerveza should also plan on having a designated driver.

Marin Counties' multi agency DUI Task Force has assigned officers to a special saturation patrol and will be looking for impaired drivers. Funding for this drunk driving enforcement is provided by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Drivers arrested for a DUI face the possibility of jail time, the loss of their driving privilege, fines and mandatory attendance at a DUI school if convicted. The costs of defending a drunk driving case can sometimes exceed $10,000.

Continue reading "Marin County DUI Cops out for Cinco de Mayo Weekend" »

A Petaluma man arrested in September 2012 for DUI has his case dismissed after his attorney, John Stanko, convinces the District Attorney that their evidence was insufficient to support a conviction beyond a reasonable doubt.

The driver was stopped on Northbound Highway 101 in Novato for speeding. After being administered field sobriety tests the Novato Police Officer placed the driver under arrest for drunk driving. The driver submitted a breath alcohol tests with results of .08 and .06 % by volume.

The legal blood alcohol limit in California is .08%. That is, it is illegal for a person to drive with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more. In this matter, the driver's blood alcohol level could not be proven beyond a reasonable doubt to have been greater than .08% at the time of driving. The breath tests were conducted sometime after the Novato Police observed the driving and breath testing is subject to great variation, margin of error and assumptions. Based on those factors it could be that the actual breath results would have a range from a .04 to a .10 and any blood alcohol level at the time of driving would be unknown and based on assumptions.

The driver had suffered two prior DUI convictions in the last ten years and was facing a between 120 days and 1 year in county jail if convicted of a third offense.

Continue reading "Marin County 3rd Offense DUI dismissed" »

The City of El Cerrito Police Department made four arrests for driving under the influence between April 12 and April 15, 2013.

A 32 year old Vallejo man was arrested on April 12 for driving under the influence of alcohol after a traffic stop at Huntington and San Pablo avenues. On Saturday April 13, El Cerrito Police Officers arrested a man from Emeryville for DUI near the intersection of Central and San Pablo avenues. A third DUI arrest was made on Sunday, April 14, 2013 when the police stopped a 26 year old Richmond woman and on April 15, 2013, a driver was arrested on suspicion of being under the influence of a controlled substance at Central and Yosemite avenues. That driver was on probation for a prior DUI and has suffered three prior drunk driving convictions in the past ten years.

Over the same four days police officers also made arrests for theft, robbery and drug related offenses.

In California a person charged with four DUIs in a ten year period can be charged with a felony. A conviction for felony for drunk driving carries between 6 months and 1 year in county jail with probation and up to 3 years state prison time without probation.

Arrests out of the City of El Cerrito are prosecuted in the Contra Costa County Superior Court in Richmond.

Continue reading "El Cerrito Police Arrest 4 for DUI" »

The Law Office of John Stanko, Inc. successfully defends moving violations!

In the Marin County Superior Court a client charged with driving at a speed greater than reasonable or prudent has his case dismissed. Client was charged with a violation of Vehicle Code section 22350, the basic speed law. The citation was issued after a Novato Police Officer using radar clocked the diver at 47 mph in a 25 mph zone. The case was dismissed at court trial.

In Alameda County Mr. Stanko's client facing a red light camera ticket has her case reduced to no point municipal code violation. In the end the client will pay a fine but her insurance rates will not increase and the no point violation will not be reported to her DMV record.

Continue reading "Traffic Tickets Dismissed" »

This law is awful and takes away substantive rights that we all currently have. It is simply a money making machine for the state and may bring about absurd things like photo radar tickets.

Currently traffic tickets are crimes in California and defendants are afforded most of the rights that people charged with misdemeanors and felonies have. This bill proposes to take away the presumption of innocence and to convert red light camera prosecution to an administrative action.

Please protest this bill.

What does AB666 Do?

Eliminates Your Right to a Trial if You Get a Red Light Camera Ticket.
Makes You Responsible for the Ticket Even When Someone Else Is Driving.
Sets up Kangaroo "Administrative Hearing" Courts Run By Those Who Gave You the Ticket.
No Evidence Other than the Ticket Itself is Needed to Convict You.
No Right to Face Your Accuser.
You Are Assumed Guilty and Have to Prove Your Innocence.
You Will Have to Pay a Fee If You Want Your Case Heard in Court
Expands the Use of Photo Enforcement to Other Traffic Violations.

Call California Assembly Member Bob Wieckowski and tell him Stop Selling Us Out to the Red Light Camera Companies. Call (916) 319-2025.
Ask for Ashley Medina, his Legislative Aid or just leave a message.
If the line is busy, keep calling till you get through.

Sign the petition to stop AB 666 and get more info here

http://stopab666.org/

Continue reading "Protest AB 666 - Protect Your Right to a Trial for Traffic Tickets" »

Santa Rosa police officers arrested three drivers suspected of driving under the influence on Saturday, February 23, 2013. That DUI enforcement was one of the periodic checkpoints set up in Santa Rosa to catch impaired drivers and check drivers' licenses.

Approximately 850 cars went through the DUI checkpoint and police officers issued 32 traffic citations. Among those cited, 22 people were arrested for being unlicensed drivers and 8 drivers were arrested for driving on a suspended license.

Continue reading "3 arrested at DUI checkpoint in Santa Rosa" »

The City of Vallejo Police Department will be conducting a DUI and driver's license checkpoint tonight, March 1, 2013. The drunk driving checkpoint take place from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. Vallejo police have not disclosed the location of the checkpoint.

California drivers caught driving under the influence can face punishment including possible jail time and the suspension of their driving privilege. Moreover, drunk drivers face insurance increases, fines, fees, and attendance at DUI school.

Continue reading "DUI Checkpoint tonight in Vallejo" »

The City of Pasadena will be setting up an overnight DUI checkpoint on Friday, March 1, 2013, at an undisclosed location. The Drunk Driving checkpoint, will consist of police officers stopping drivers to look for signs of alcohol impairment. The driving under the influence checkpoint will operate from 7:00 p.m. on March 1, 2013 to 3:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 2, 2013.

Police departments throughout California feel that DUI Checkpoints, along with regularly scheduled high visibility DUI saturation patrols, are proven strategies with the goal of removing drunk drivers from our highways. In the San Francisco Bay Area, Marin County police departments working under the Marin Avoid the 13 multi agency DUI task force, hold drunk driving checkpoints to deter DUI drivers and to keep unlicensed drivers off the streets.

Continue reading "California DUI Checkpoints March 2013" »

Attorney John Stanko successfully defends alleged speeder in Fremont.

Client charged with speeding in violation of Vehicle Code section 22349(a), exceeding the maximum posted speed limit is found not guilty in the Alameda County Superior Court in Fremont.

After filing and winning a trial by written declaration the client will not receive a point on his driving record and his posted bail money will be refunded by the court.

Continue reading "Alameda County Speeding Ticket Dismissed." »

A High School teacher who was arrested in San Rafael last December after a concert at the Terrapin Crossroads music venue has pled guilty to possession of LSD and driving under the influence.

The driver was stopped after allegedly running a red light in San Rafael. The citing police officer conducted field sobriety tests, including a PAS, preliminary alcohol screening device breath test, on the driver and arrested him for drunk driving. The results on the PAS test were .13 and .12 percent blood alcohol concentration by volume. In California drivers are not required to submit to field sobriety testing or to blow into a PAS device. However, if lawfully arrested for DUI all drivers in California have given their implied consent to submit to a blood test or evidentiary breath test to determine their blood alcohol content.

The Berkeley teacher was able to avoid a possible three year prison sentence when he plead guilty to possession of LSD and the charge of bringing narcotics into jail was dismissed. The police found the LSD in the teacher's property when they booked him into the Marin County jail.

Continue reading "Berkeley Teacher Guilty of DUI and Possession of LSD" »

As of January 1, 2013, the Marin County Superior Court has changed the way misdemeanor charges including Driving Under The Influence cases are handled. Prior to 1/1/13 all misdemeanor matters were heard in front of a court commissioner in department M of the the historic Marin County Civic Center and cases only went before a judge for motion hearings and for jury trials.

Now, DUI cases are arraigned in department N or at the clerk's office by attorneys and are then assigned for all purposes to a judge. However, motions to suppress evidence will be calendared to be heard by a commissioner in department M on Friday mornings until the end of March 2013.

Continue reading "Marin County Court 2013 DUI Update" »

Local traffic Attorney John Stanko beats tickets in Solano County and throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

California Traffic Ticket Victories - November 2012

Solano County.
Speeding ticket, violation of Vehicle Code section 22349 on I80 in Fairfield. Violation amended to a not point non moving violation. Client's driving record is not assessed negligent operator points.

Marin County.
San Rafael red light camera violation is dismissed. Client convicted of no point violation.

Solano County.
Out of state commercial truck diver charged with speeding in violation of Vehicle Code section 22406. Case reduced to a no point mechanical violation.

Continue reading "California Traffic Ticket Attorney Keeps Points off DMV Record" »

The San Rafael Police Department reports that Marin County Police agencies made three drunk driving arrests during a county-wide DUI crackdown on Thanksgiving eve.

Marin law enforcement agencies ran a DUI saturation patrol from 6 p.m. and to 3 a.m. on November 21, 2012 and made 28 vehicle stops. Police officers conducted four field sobriety tests and three drivers were arrested. Police officers in San Rafael and Tiburon made the arrests.

A DUI in California is punished as a violation of Vehicle Code section 23140, 23152 or 23153. Depending on the circumstances of the arrest, the blood alcohol level and the driver's prior record the punishment can range from 0 days to 1 year in county jail. A first offender over 21 years of age in Marin County will get probation with mandatory fines and attendance at a DUI program if convicted.

Continue reading "Three DUI Arrests in Marin Thanksgiving Eve" »

Police officers from the city of Pittsburg in Contra Costa County and other agencies throughout the Bay Area will be targeting alcohol and drug impaired DUI drivers this weekend.

Funding for the Contra Costa County drunk driving crackdown is from a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Drunk driving without injury in California is a violation of Vehicle Code section 23152. Section 23152(a) makes it illegal for anyone to drive while under the influence of drugs and or alcohol. For someone to be DUI it must be proven that they were so impaired while driving that they could not use the same care and caution of a sober person. Driving with a prohibited blood alcohol level is a violation of section 23152(b). That section makes it illegal for anyone to drive in the state of California with a blood alcohol concentration, BAC, of .08% or greater.

Continue reading "San Francisco Bay Area DUI Crackdown this Thanksgiving" »

The California Office of Traffic Safety has granted The Novato Police Department $120,000 for a year-long traffic enforcement program focusing on drunk driving patrols, red-light violations traffic citations.

The Novato Police will use the grant money to pay for LIDAR speed-detection devices, DUI saturation patrols and to enforce traffic regulations at certain problem intersections. LIDAR devices are taking the place of or supplementing radar devices in many jurisdictions in Marin County and throughout California. LIDAR uses a laser beam to detect the speed of moving vehicles. Marin County police agencies believe that LIDAR is more accurate than radar. The use of LIDAR is subject to the same officer training requirements and speed trap laws as the use of radar. In many instances if the citing officer cannot show that the use of LIDAR is justified based on a valid traffic and engineering survey a speeding ticket issued based on the use of LIDAR will be dismissed.

Novato's traffic ticket and DUI grant enforcement runs through September 30, 2013 and will include 10 DUI saturation patrols and 10 distracted-driving patrols. Novato Police Officers will also conduct 10 traffic enforcement actions aimed at red-light running and excessive speed.

Continue reading "Marin County DUI - More funding for Novato Police Department" »