Marin DUI Lawyer Blog

The California Highway Patrol arrested 24 drivers for suspected driving under the influence over the Martin Luther King Holiday weekend in Sonoma County.

CHP officers made traffic stops resulting in DUI arrests for speeding and making an illegal left turn. One driver was also arrested for drunk driving after crashing his car on Heather Land in West Sonoma County.

Four children were in the car of one suspected drunk driver and he will likely also be charged with child endangerment by the Sonoma County District Attorney. A conviction for a DUI while having passengers under the age of 14 in the car can result in enhanced penalties including additional jail time. Further, a person convicted of child endangerment will be placed on 4 years of probation and must attend mandatory parenting classes.

A 24 year old man arrested over the weekend was found to be driving without a license and was determined to be on probation. That driver fought with police officers and refused to get out of the police car. He was booked on charges of resisting an officer and violating his probation.

Continue reading "Sonoma County - CHP Arrests 24 for DUI Last Weekend" »

For the third time in the last month Marin County based DUI attorney John Stanko beat a DUI administrative license suspension today. The Oakland driver safety hearing officer had not choice but to set aside the driver's suspension when it was shown that the facts of her arrest were almost identical to those in the recent California Court of Appeals case, Brenner v. DMV, (2010) 189 Cal.App.4th 365. Breath test accuracy check logs indicate high readings on the breath machine and the DMV was unable to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the driver's blood alcohol level was greater than .08%.

In a hearing held at the Santa Rosa DMV an administrative license suspension on a 1st offense DUI was set aside when it was shown that the arresting officer did not properly observe the driver prior to administering the breath test. Video introduced by the driver clearly showed that the officer was not with the driver during the required 15 minute observation period. The California Code of Regulations requires that a subject be observed for 15 continuous minutes prior to submitting to a breath test to ensure that the subject does not eat, drink, burp, smoke, regurgitate or do anything else that might compromise the breath sample. In this case, the officer was unable to see, hear or otherwise observe the driver as he had left her in his vehicle and stepped away to conduct other business during the observation period. The DMV had no option but to set aside the suspension due to the violation of Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations.

The third set aside of a DMV APS suspension came out of the San Francisco DMV driver safety office. In that matter the DMV called a witness in an attempt to prove that the licensee had actually been driving the vehicle. Due to the witnesses inability to identify the subject as the driver the DMV hearing officer agreed that a set aside of the suspension was appropriate.

Continue reading "San Francisco Bay Area DMV DUI License Suspensions Set Aside" »

The Marin County Avoid the 13 DUI task force has received funds for the next year, its 11th, to continue its battle against drunk driving. The money was awarded by the a California Office of Traffic Safety directly to the San Rafael Police Department, which will administer the one-year grant for the entire county.

Marin County DUI Police Officers will use the newly awarded funds to run DUI and driver's license checkpoints, drunk driving saturation patrols and courthouse stings. The 13 Marin County Police Departments involved in the Avoid the 13 campaign will also target repeat offenders and scofflaws by conducting warrant and probation sweeps.

DUI and Driver's License Checkpoints aimed at deterring people from driving impaired and driving while unlicensed, have become commonplace in recent years. Although these checkpoints amount to a warrantless intrusion and their effectiveness can be questioned, the courts have ruled that checkpoints are legal provided that the police follow guidelines including the giving of advance notice to motorists, the use of proper warning signs and lighting and a neutral based formula for stopping cars.

Drivers in Marin County can expect to see DUI campaigns during the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend and Christmas holiday season as well as on Super Bowl Sunday, St. Patrick's Day, and Cinco de Mayo. Traditionally those holidays see and increase in DUIs.

Continue reading "San Rafael Police Get Grant to Administer Marin County DUI Campaign" »

Motorist in the City of Vallejo will likely come across more drunk driving checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols will be increasing in Vallejo in the near future. The California Office of Traffic Safety has awarded a grant of $172,700 to the Vallejo Police Department in order to target driving under the influence offenses.

The grant money will also be used for warrant searches, DUI stakeouts for repeat offenders, and courthouse stings where officers wait outside for convicted drunk drivers with suspended or revoked drivers licenses who drive away from court.

Drunk driving cases in Solano County are prosecuted in the Superior Courthouses, located in Vallejo and Fairfield. Which Courthouse a case goes to depends on whether the DUI arrest was made in the Northern or Southern part of the County. Typically drunk driving cases originating in Vallejo and Benicia are handled in Department 24 of the Vallejo Courthouse while cases stemming from arrests in Vacaville, Dixon, Rio Vista and Fairfield begin in Department 21 of the Fairfield Court.

Continue reading "Vallejo Police To Bolster DUI Enforcement With New Grant Money" »

Fourteen Police Officers from the San Rafael, San Anselmo, Novato and Tiburon Police Departments working DUI enforcement over the Halloween weekend arrested one driver on suspicion of drunk driving. In all, officers acting as part of the Marin Avoid the 13 DUI enforcement operation funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety made 137 DUI traffic stops and administered field sobriety tests to 18 drivers.

The San Rafael Police Department said that the success of the Halloween 2011 drunk driving enforcement can be measured in the fact that there were no major alcohol related injuries deaths in Marin during the weekend.

Driving under the influence enforcement operations will continue with the Marin Avoid the 13 in November and December through the 2011 Holiday season. Those operations will likely include DUI saturation patrols and drunk driving/driver's license checkpoints.

Continue reading "Marin County Halloween DUI Crackdown Nets One Arrest" »

The San Rafael Police Department and the twelve other Marin County police agencies comprising the Marin Avoid the 13 DUI Task force will be joining a nationwide effort called "Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over" aimed at cracking down on DUIs through the Labor Day Holiday. As part of this effort to stop drunk driving the SRPD will be conducting DUI checkpoints on Thursday, September 1 and Friday, September 2, 2011, from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. on both nights. The location of the checkpoints has not been announced.

In addition to next weeks drunk driving checkpoints in San Rafael the Avoid the 13 will be running a DUI/driver's license checkpoint in San Anselmo on Saturday, August 27, 2011 from 6 p.m. to 1 a.m. Sunday, August 28, 2011. Also, there will be a drunk driving and driver's license checkpoint on Sept. 3 in Novato and the Avoid the 13 will be running roving DUI patrols throughout Marin County from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. on various nights.

While driving under the influence checkpoints are aimed at deterring drunk driving and keeping unlicensed drivers off our roads, they have been subject to recent scrutiny for being held in areas with high populations of illegal immigrants as undocumented residents cannot obtain driver's licenses in California. However, despite some public backlash against the use of checkpoints, the courts have ruled that they are legal provided that the police follow guidelines including the giving of advance notice to motorists, the use of proper warning signs and lighting and a neutral based formula for stopping cars.

Continue reading "San Rafael Police Among Marin County Agencies Involved In National DUI Crackdown" »

San Rafael Police Officers have scheduled a drunk driving and driver's license checkpoint for Friday, August 12, 2011, starting at 6:00. The San Rafael Police spokeswoman indicates that the DUI checkpoint will held on Southbound Grand Ave. at East Francisco Boulevard and may later move to Eastbound Bellam Blvd. at Castro Street.

Once again the San Rafael Police are targeting drunk drivers and unlicensed driver's in the Canal area. There has been backlash in recent years over checkpoints in the Canal and other areas with high populations of undocumented immigrants due to the fact that people without social security numbers cannot obtain a driver's license in California. However, the San Rafael Police Department indicates that they chose the location in the Canal area due to a high number of DUI related accidents, 55% of all drunk driver related accidents in San Rafael so far in 2011.

Friday night's DUI checkpoint will be funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Continue reading "DUI checkpoint planed in San Rafael this Friday, August 12, 2011" »

The City of San Rafael Police Department will be holding a DUI checkpoint tonight, from 6:00 p.m. to 2:00 a.m. The checkpoint will be conducted on East Francisco Boulevard at Morphew Street in both directions.

Police departments throughout Marin County and the San Francisco Bay Area run DUI checkpoints in an effort to deter DUI drivers and to keep unlicensed drivers off the streets. Drunk driving checkpoints are legal provided that the police follow guidelines including the giving of advance notice to motorists, the use of proper warning signs and lighting and a neutral based formula for stopping cars.

Friday night's DUI checkpoint will be funded by the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Continue reading "San Rafael DUI Checkpoint Tonight, July 22, 2011" »

Four traffic court trials result in four victories in Oakland, San Rafael and South Lake Tahoe.

On Tuesday, June 1, 2011, a speeding ticket on the Oakland Bay Bridge, an alleged violation of Vehicle Code section 23336, was dismissed at trial in the Alameda County Superior Court, Wiley Manual Courthouse. The client had been charged with violating the posted speed limit signs on the Oakland Bay Bridge and was alleged to have been driving 60 MPH. A conviction for California Vehicle Code section 23336 would have resulted in one point on the client's driving record and increased insurance costs.

In the Marin County Superior Court in San Rafael two cases were resolved at court trial on June 1, 2011. A speeding ticket for allegedly violating Vehicle Code section 22350, the basic speed law, was reduced to a Novato Municipal Code violation and an alleged violation for making a u turn in a San Rafael business district, Vehicle Code section 22102, was also reduced to a municipal code violation. Neither client will receive a point on their record but both must still pay fines.

On June 2, 2011, a ticket for violating California Vehicle Code section 22400(a), issued when a client allegedly stopped on a highway to take pictures in South Lake Tahoe, was resolved a court trial by a plea to a lesser offense. As such, the client will not receive a point on his California DMV record.

Points are assessed on a driver's record in California as a result of convictions for Vehicle Code moving violations. In most cases those points remain a a driver's record and can affect their insurance rates for a period of three years. Further, a driver that gets too many points can have her license suspended by the DMV for being a negligent operator.

Continue reading "Marin Traffic Attorney 4 Recent Victories " »

Last Friday the San Rafael Department deployed an eight officer strike team from 4p.m. to 1:30 a.m. on Saturday, to look for Drunk Drivers. At the conclusion of their DUI saturation patrol, after making 30 traffic enforcement stops, San Rafael Police Officers made only one arrest for driving under the influence. However, nearly half, 14, of the drivers pulled over were given field sobriety tests. Officers issued an additional sixteen moving safety citations, three citations to unlicensed drivers and arrested one person on an outstanding warrant.

The driver arrested for DUI was stopped for a loud music violation and subsequently found to have an alleged blood alcohol concentration of .10%. In California the per se legal limit for drunk driving is .08% or greater. As such, it is illegal for any driver with a blood alcohol level of more than .079% to drive a motor vehicle. Further, drivers under the age of 21 and drivers on probation for driving under the influence are prohibited from driving with any alcohol in their blood.

Police officers in Marin County and throughout California are trained to detect impaired drivers pursuant to standards set forth by the National Highway Traffic Administration (NHTSA). The first phase of DUI detection involves the Police Officer's observations of the vehicle in motion. NHTSA lists 24 visual cues for DUI detection and among them would be inappropriate or unusual behavior. Arguably, driving with amplified or loud music could be considered inappropriate behavior and could provide cause for an officer to make a traffic stop.

Continue reading "San Rafael DUI Saturation Results" »

Police in Petaluma, Sonoma County, stopped approximately 900 cars at multiple DUI checkpoints set up throughout that city on Saturday night. Of those 900 drivers only one was arrested for driving under the influence.

Police officers detained a total of twenty-four drivers for further questioning. One of those drivers was arrested for an outstanding DUI warrant and two drivers were arrested for d driving without a license.

Drunk driving checkpoints aimed at deterring people from driving impaired and driving while unlicensed, have become commonplace in recent years. Although these checkpoints amount to a warrantless intrusion and their effectiveness can be questioned, the courts have ruled that checkpoints are legal provided that the police follow guidelines including the giving of advance notice to motorists, the use of proper warning signs and lighting and a neutral based formula for stopping cars.

Additional DUI and driver's license checkpoints are planned throughout the remainder of the year to raise awareness of impaired driving in Petaluma and Sonoma County.

Continue reading "Petaluma DUI Checkpoint nets Four " »

Forty seven year old Michael Helms from San Pablo and forty five year old Larry Hernandez from El Sobrante were arrested Tuesday when Detectives saw them taking a catalytic converter from a truck in Marin County. Helms and Hernandez were arrested last week in Sonoma County on possession of stolen property charges and were being watched by detectives from the Sonoma County Sheriff's Property Crimes Investigation unit.

Mr. Helms and Mr. Hernandez are suspected of stealing at least three vehicles, breaking into a truck and stealing tools, along with stealing catalytic converters. Detectives conducing the surveillance of both men followed them from Rhonert Park to a park and ride lot in Novato where they observed Mr. Hernandez saw the catalytic converter off of a pick up truck in the lot.

Police officers approached both suspects who fled but were apprehended about a mile from the park and ride lot. Mr. Helms was arrested on charges of grand theft, conspiracy, possession of a controlled substance, possession of burglary tools, and driving on a suspended license. Mr. Hernandez was arrested for grand theft, conspiracy and possession of burglary tools. Both men were booked into the Marin County Jail.

Possession of a controlled substance can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the drug, the quantity possessed and the suspects prior criminal record. Grand theft is also a wobbler offense punishable by up to three years in state prison as a felony and by up to one year in the county jail as a misdemeanor.

Continue reading "Two Suspects Caught Stealing a Catalytic Converter in Novato" »

The Vallejo Police Department will be conducting a DUI crackdown tonight and Saturday, February 5, 2011, to keep drunk drivers of the street, police said. The location of Friday night's checkpoint has not been disclosed. Officers will be screening motorist to ensure they are not driving while impaired from 6 to 11 p.m.

Vallejo Police Corporal Kevin Hamrick said that officers will also be conducting a DUI saturation patrol across the city on Super Bowl Sunday along with the Solano County Sheriff's Office.

Suspended license and DUI checkpoints are a common sight in Solano County and throughout California. Recent studies, including one at the University of California Berkeley, have found that these Drunk Driving checkpoints have become extremely profitable for local municipalities as they are far more likely to seize cars from unlicensed motorists than catch drunken drivers.

In Solano County ten Police agencies participate in the AVOID THE SOLANO 10 CAMPAIGN, a program funded by a grant from the State of California Office of Traffic Safety. Participating police departments use state funds to conduct DUI checkpoints and DUI saturation patrols in each of the cities in Solano County.

Continue reading "Vallejo DUI Checkpoint Tonight and Saturday " »

The City of San Rafael Police Department will conduct a checkpoint this Friday, February 4, 2011, beginning at 6:00 p.m. Officers acting under a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety will start the DUI and driver's license checkpoint on on East Francisco Boulevard at Morphew Place, operating in both directions. The drunk driving checkpoint may relocate later in the evening to the northbound Irwin Street at Fifth Avenue.

Checkpoints aimed at deterring drunk driving and keeping unlicensed drivers off our roads have become commonplace in the last several years. The courts have ruled that these checkpoints are legal provided that the police follow guidelines including the giving of advance notice to motorists, the use of proper warning signs and lighting and a neutral based formula for stopping cars.

However, driver license checkpoints have come under scrutiny in recent months as many people believe they target low income and immigrant neighborhoods with many illegal residents. In California an illegal immigrant cannot obtain a driver's license.

Friday night's DUI checkpoint will take place in a mainly industrial area near the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge.

Continue reading "Marin County DUI Checkpoint in San Rafael this Friday" »

The San Rafael police department will be running a state funded drunk driving and driver's license checkpoint tonight beginning at 6:00 p.m. and ending at 2:00 a.m. on New Year's Eve. The DUI Checkpoint will be conducted in connection the Marin Avoid the 13 DUI campaign.

San Rafael police officers said that the checkpoint will start on A Street and Andersen Drive and may later move to Irwin Street and Fifth Avenue. DUI Checkpoints have been a common sight in Marin County during 2010 as officers throughout California seek to crack down on drunk driving and to get unlicensed driver's off the roads.

Driver's suspected of being under the influence will be asked to pull over for further investigation and may be asked to submit to field sobriety testing. Submission to field sobriety testing and/or a PAS breath testing device is voluntary and not required under California Law. However, if a police officer has cause to arrest a person for DUI they must submit to a chemical test to determine their blood alcohol concentration. Refusal to take a chemical test can result in a drivers license suspension for one year on a first offense or a two or three year license revocation on a second or third offense.

Continue reading "Marin County DUI Checkpoint in San Rafael Tonight" »