Driving Under the Influence

July 27, 2016

Golf Cart DUI Results in Death

When the media reports on a death involving a Los Angeles DUI, the victim is usually a pedestrian or the driver or passenger in one of the vehicles that crashed. But deadly DUIs can also result from incidents involving much smaller, off-the-road vehicles.

Police in Gallatin, Tennessee, charged Lori Doyle, 55, with vehicular assault and DUI first offense after her husband fell off a golf cart and hit his head at the Foxland Harbor golf course. Although emergency responders took Doyle to the hospital, he died two days later.

The officers reported that they saw three open beer cans in the golf cart and one on the roof. Investigations are continuing, and Doyle could face additional charges.

July 8, 2016

Crusader for Tougher DUI Laws Faces DUI Charges

by Michael Kraut

Most people charged with DUI in Los Angeles never intended to break the laws against driving while intoxicated. But one drink too many can cloud their judgment, and they get behind the wheel not understanding that they really shouldn’t be driving.

Dr. Stephen Miller of Plymouth Township, Pennsylvania, may not have realized his condition when he got behind the wheel of the family vehicle one evening in June. But he should have been more attuned to the dangers of DUI than most people. Miller lost his five-year-old son Kevin in 2012 when a DUI driver stuck the child as the family was crossing a road. Instead of stopping to assist, the driver fled the scene.

After Miller learned that the driver could spend only a year in jail for his crime, he and his wife spent the next two years advocating for stronger penalties for those who flee the scene of fatal accidents. In 2014, the state legislature passed “Kevin’s Law,” raising the minimum penalty for that crime to three years. The Millers and their extended family were present to witness Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett signing the bill in June 2014.

June 28, 2016

Riding Under the Influence Okay In Kansas

by Michael Kraut

Drivers who lose their licenses after a conviction for DUI in Los Angeles have several alternative forms of transportation they can use to get around. But if they’ve been drinking to the point of intoxication, one choice they don’t want to make is getting on a bicycle. Under California Vehicle Code 21200.5, riding a bicycle under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a misdemeanor; while the maximum fine ($250) is a lot lower than it is for driving a motor vehicle under the influence, anyone arrested for this offense may still lose their driver’s license.

But the State of Kansas doesn’t take the same dim view of riding a bicycle while intoxicated. A recent story in the Wichita Eagle noted that under state law, devices moved by human power aren’t considered vehicles, so the laws on DUI don’t apply. In the City of Wichita, however, ordinances do define bicycles as vehicles, so the city’s DUI laws do apply. Operating a bicycle under the influence of drugs or alcohol in Wichita can get you two days in jail or 100 hours of community service plus fines ranging from $750 to $1,000 for a first offense.

June 27, 2016

Georgia Supreme Court Rules DUI Arrest Unlawful

by Michael Kraut

Is an arrest for a DUI in Los Angeles valid if the arresting officer happens to be from San Francisco? If the California Supreme Court had the same reaction as the Supreme Court in Georgia, the accused DUI driver would go free.
According to 41 NBC in Macon, the Georgia Supreme Court ruled on June 20th that police officers in that state can’t make arrests outside of their jurisdictions. The case that prompted that decision involved the arrest of Bajrodin Silke for DUI by Officer Decari Mason, a Kennewa State University police officer who was POST (Peace Officer Standards and Training Council) certified.

Back Row L-R David Nahmias, Robert Benham, Carol Hunstein, Keith Blackwell and Harold Melton. Front Row L-R Presiding Justice Harris Hines and Chief Justice Hugh Thompson. Handout Photo 7-14-2014

Mason was on his way back to the University on May 5, 2013, but 10 miles off campus when he noticed Zilke was swerving in and out of his lane and driving without lights. He pulled Zilke over and noticed that the young man smelled of alcohol, had bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet. Zilke, who said he had drunk two beers, blew into a breathalyzer which registered .08, which is just at the state limit for DUI. Mason charged him with two counts of DUI and operating a vehicle without lights.

June 10, 2016

Crazy Strange DUI Cases Making Headlines

by Michael Kraut

Celebrity arrests for DUI in Los Angeles attract a great deal of attention, but they are not the only DUI-related incidents making the news. Here’s what’s happening in other areas of the country.

• In Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a judge ordered Thomas Candler Felts, 25, to serve from 30 days to six months in jail after he pleaded guilty to providing alcohol to a group of Amish teenagers. According to Fox 43 News, Felts had pulled into a parking lot of a convenience store next to the young men, who were riding in a horse-drawn buggy. He talked to them about “Rumspringa,” which is the time when Amish adolescents have more freedom to explore the world outside the Amish culture.

The buggy left the parking lot and traveled down a road, but Felts eventually passed them yelling “Rumspringa.” He then stopped his car abruptly, causing the buggy to crash into his vehicle’s rear. Police called to the scene measured Felts’ BAC at .126.
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May 25, 2016

In Emotionally Charged Case, Judge Throws Out DUI Driver’s Plea Agreement

by Michael Kraut

Many drivers charged with DUI in Los Angeles end up taking plea agreements – they get charges and penalties reduced by agreeing to admit guilt to lesser offenses. Judges usually accept such deals, but occasionally a new piece of information can change a judge’s mind.

A report on Fox2 in Detroit, Michigan, gave Judge Cynthia Gray Hathaway a different perspective on an accused DUI driver. Hathaway had seen a story about 34-year-old Mlinzi McMillian, who was DUI in 2014 when he hit a semi-truck. The accident killed McMillian’s 12-year-old son as well as the younger McMillian’s 16-year-old stepbrother.

Although police originally charged McMillian with DUI causing death and reckless driving causing death, the results of the accused driver’s blood alcohol test were inconclusive. So prosecutors arranged a plea deal; McMillian would have to serve five years of probation. He never spent a day in jail, and he kept his license.

May 16, 2016

NJ Supreme Court: No Jury Trial for Repeat DUI Drivers

by Michael Kraut

Under California law, drivers charged with DUI in Los Angeles have the right to demand a jury trial. That’s not the case in every state. In a May 12th ruling, the New Jersey Supreme Court said that defendants facing trial for repeat DUI driving charges should not be entitled to jury trials.

According to an article in the New Jersey Law Journal, the New Jersey Supreme Court justices decided 5-1 in State v. Denelsbeck that the penalties faced by drivers charged with third and subsequent DUIs face penalties are not serious enough to warrant jury trials. Those penalties include up to six months in jail as well as fines. The court stated that “the need for a jury trial is outweighed by the state’s interest in promoting efficiency through non-jury trials.”

April 27, 2016

DUIs Hit Your Pocketbook

by Michael Kraut

Ever wondered how much a conviction for a DUI in Los Angeles will really cost you? A recent study from InsuranceQuotes.com provides some insights.

The website took a look at the average increases in vehicle insurance rates after drivers get a ticket for a moving violation. Insurers raised their rates the most for drivers arrested for DUI/DWI; the average premium for the entire country almost doubled, increasing by 94 percent.

Insurers in California, however, are even tougher on their customers. California has the third highest average rate increase after a DUI–a whopping 189.34%! (But Golden State drivers can be glad they don’t live in North Carolina, where the average increase is 333.85%, or in Hawaii, where they’ll pay an average 293.79% more for auto insurance after a DUI.)

Reckless driving will also get you a hefty increase in your auto insurance costs. The average rate increase for California drivers is 189.34%, second only to Hawaii’s 290.68%. Speeding apparently does not cause the same degree of concern for insurers, since the average premiums in California increase by 37.83% for that offense. (California has the eighth highest average premium increase in the U.S.)

April 25, 2016

Interesting Court Decisions in DUI Cases

by Michael Kraut

Prosecutors sometimes use a “relation-back” calculation to determine blood alcohol content when charging someone with a Los Angeles DUI. The theory is that chemists or other experts can look at the results of a blood test taken a few hours after an arrest and calculate what the BAC content would have been at the time the police officer pulled the driver over.

Now a judge in Vermont has ruled that the state can’t use such evidence.

According to WCAX and NECN (New England Cable News), Judge Howard Van Benthuysen of the Orleans County Criminal Court ruled that the “relation-back” calculations are unreliable. He cited scientific evidence that shows alcohol leaves people’s bloodstreams at very different rates.

With his decision, Judge Van Benthuysen threw out the BAC in 25 DUI driving cases before the court. There’s no word yet about whether or not the prosecutor will appeal the ruling to a higher court. In Michigan, meanwhile, the state’s appeals court has ruled that operating your car in a driveway while under the influence does not constitute DUI.

April 20, 2016

Navy Hero [Who Claims He Killed Osama Bin Laden] Gets Nabbed For DUI

by Michael Kraut

Police officers are not selective about who they arrest for DUI in Los Angeles and other cities. Celebrity, political figures—even people who have distinguished themselves for their courageous actions—may find themselves facing these charges.

According to media reports, former Navy SEAL Rob O’Neill faces DUI charges in Montana after police officers in Butte-Silver Bow County found him passed out in a car in the parking lot of a convenience store. O’Neill claimed that he was the person who killed Osama bin Laden when the Navy Seals cornered him in a house in Pakistan.