Marin DUI Lawyer Blog

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" »

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" »

The San Rafael Police Department has announced that the Marin County Avoid the 13 DUI Task Force will be working overtime to prevent drunk driving on city streets throughout the county on May 5, Cinco de Mayo. At the same the California Highway Patrol will be conducting a DUI saturation on local freeways and in the unincorporated areas of Marin.

The Marin Avoid the 13 is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

DUI enforcement officers will be looking for signs of a drunk driving in order to effect a traffic stop and will conduct tests on suspected impaired drivers. Police officers will arrest those drivers whom they believe have had too much to drink.

The National Highway Safety Administration has approved a three test battery of standardized field sobriety tests for DUI investigations. Those three tests, horizontal gaze nystagmus (HGN), the one leg stand, and the walk and turn test have been scientifically validated. However, CHP officers and local Marin County police officers often give additional non validated field sobriety tests to DUI suspects. Those non validated tests include the Rhomberg test, finger count, hand pat and the alphabet.

Drivers in California are under no obligation to submit to field sobriety testing. However, drivers under twenty-one years of age and drivers on probation for DUI, must submit to a preliminary alcohol screening device (PAS) if requested to do so. Further, all California drivers have given their implied consent to submit to chemical testing to determine their blood alcohol level if arrested for driving under the influence. Refusal to submit to a chemical test can enhance punishment if convicted of drunk driving and can result in a driver's license revocation for one year on a first offense.

Continue reading "Marin County Avoid the 13 DUI Saturation Planned for Cinco de Mayo" »

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 " »

Thirty year old Clinton Hornsby of Novato was arrested last Sunday night after failing to stop at an intersection near Penngrove in Sonoma County. A CHP officer stopped Mr. Hornsby just after 9:00 p.m. after observing the stop sign violation.

After contacting Mr. Hornsby the CHP officer believed he was under the influence and conducted a DUI investigation including field sobriety tests. After concluding his investigation the officer arrested Mr. Hornsby for driving under the influence and a violation of probation. He has suffered two prior DUI convictions.

A third offense DUI carries a minimum of 120 days in county jail, a driver's license revocation for three years and mandatory attendance at an eighteen month long DUI program. A third time offender may apply for a restricted driving privilege after six months provided they install and ignition interlock device on any vehicle they own or operate.

Continue reading "Novato man arrested for 3rd DUI in Sonoma County" »

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" »

The San Rafael Police Department will be conducting a DUI and driver's license checkpoint this Friday from 6 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Saturday, August 7, 2010. The location of the checkpoint has not been disclosed.

This weekend's checkpoint will be funded by a DUI mini grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The last checkpoint conducted under the same grant in San Rafael on July 23, 2010 resulted in 17 drivers submitting to field sobriety tests but no drivers were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.

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 "DUI Checkpoint in San Rafael set for this Friday" »

45 year old Primitivo Piceno of Santa Rosa was arrested on May 30, 2010, by the CHP in Cloverdale. Police officers contacted Mr. Piceno after being notified that a driver was traveling well under the speed limit and impeding other drivers.

Responding officers found Mr. Piceno parked on the shoulder being detained by other drivers. He was apparently so drunk that was unable to speak coherently and fell to the ground while attempting to perform field sobriety tests.

Mr. Piceno was arrested and booked in to the Sonoma County jail for numerous counts including felony drunken driving and driving with a suspended license. Anyone charged with their fourth DUI in a ten year period or who has a prior felony DUI within the last ten years can be charged with a felony for driving under the influence. Mr. Piceno was charged with a felony due the number and recency of his prior DUIs.

Police officers said that Mr. Piceno had an order to drive any vehicle not equipped with an ignition interlock device installed in it. The Vehicle he was driving did not have an IID in it.

Continue reading "Marin County DUI lawyer, Santa Rosa man arrested for 6th DUI since 01'" »

The Santa Rosa Police Department will be conducting a DUI and driver's license checkpoint beginning this evening at 7:00 p.m. and ending at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday. The checkpoint will take place at an undisclosed location where police indicate a significant number of DUI-related collisions and DUI arrests have occurred.

Police checkpoints aimed at stopping people from driving under the influence and getting unlicensed drivers off the roads have become more common in recent years. Police Departments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and California have been receiving grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to fund such checkpoints. This Friday's DUI checkpoint is being funded by such a grant.

Court cases dealing with the legality of checkpoints mandate that cars entering a checkpoint will stopped based on a predetermined mathematical formula. If a driver who is stopped appears to the police to be driving under the influence they will be asked to pull into a screening area where officers will conduct a DUI investigation. The driver may then be asked to exit the vehicle and submit to field sobriety testing which may include the administration of a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) device. 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.

Continue reading "DUI Checkpoint Tonight in Santa Rosa" »

The California Highway Patrol announced on Monday, January 4,2009, that they made 18 arrest for suspected driving under the influence over the New Year Holiday. Officers stated that the number of DUI arrests made between December 31, 2009 and January 3, 2010, is up 8 from the New Year Holiday last year.

Arrests for DUI can be made for the suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, California Vehicle Code 23152(a), or for driving with a blood alcohol level of .08% or more, VC section 23152(b). Drivers contacted by police officers and suspected of DUI or driving with a .08 or more will likely be asked to submit to a series of Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs) to determine if there is cause for the officers to a make an arrest. In California drivers are not required to submit to FSTs or road side Preliminary Alcohol Screening breath tests.

However, all California licensed drivers have given their implied consent to submit to a chemical test of their blood or breath if requested by a peace officer on suspicion of DUI. Refusal to submit to a chemical test, blood test or evidentiary breath test, can result in enhanced punishment if the driver is convicted of driving under the influence. Further, a refusal can result in a driver's license suspension or revocation of one year or more depending on whether the driver has prior DUI convictions.

Continue reading "18 arrested for DUI in Marin County over the New Year" »

The San Rafael Police Department will be conducting a DUI and driver's license checkpoint beginning this Friday at 6:00 p.m. The checkpoint will take place at an undisclosed location in San Rafael and will end at 2:00 a.m. on Saturday.

Police checkpoints aimed at stopping people from driving under the influence and getting unlicensed drivers off the roads have become more common in recent years. Police Departments throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and California have been receiving grants from the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to fund such checkpoints. This Friday's DUI checkpoint is being funded by such a grant.

Cars entering a checkpoint will stopped based on a predetermined mathematical formula. If a driver who is stopped appears to the police to be driving under the influence they will be asked to pull into a screening area where officers will conduct a DUI investigation. The driver may then be asked to exit the vehicle and submit to field sobriety testing which may include the administration of a preliminary alcohol screening (PAS) device. Submission to field sobriety testing and/or a PAS breath testing device is 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.

Continue reading "San Rafael DUI Checkpoint Friday November 20, 2009" »

The City of Napa Police Department will be out in force looking for people driving under the influence this Saturday night. This DUI saturation patrol is being funded by a grant from the Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Napa police officers will concentrate their anti DUI efforts on areas of the city with a history of traffic accidents and large numbers of arrests for driving under the influence. They are cautioning residents to take public transportation or to use a designated driver. Remember that driving under the influence is illegal.

In California it is not illegal to drink and drive but it is illegal under Vehicle Code sections 23152(a) and (b) to drive while under the influence and to drive with a .08% or greater blood alcohol concentration. Although it is legal to consume alcohol and drive a car it is best not to take the risk.

Continue reading "Napa DUI saturation Saturday Night November 14" »