Most DUI arrests don’t get a lot of attention from the general public or news media unless they involve a celebrity and/or result in a horrendous accident. Over the last two decades, however, there have been several arrests for DUI that have attracted widespread media notice and/or gone viral because they are simply so outrageous or bizarre.
Here’s a sampling.
The family that drinks together…
California driving under the influence (DUI) penalties are harsh. Complex state statutes control DUI driving penalties, with a range of possible sentences. A DUI can result in thousands of dollars in fines, jail time, mandatory alcohol treatment programs, and loss of driver’s license. The maximum penalty for a first DUI conviction in California is $3,600 in expenses, six months in jail, six-month license suspension (10 months for blood alcohol concentration [BAC] levels of 0.15% or more), vehicle impoundment for 30 days, and a mandatory interlock breath device in your vehicle. If you’re about to lose your driver’s license or driving privileges after a DUI in Los Angeles, here’s what you need to know.
Understanding DUI License Suspension Penalties in California
Speak to a qualified DUI attorney to avoid or minimize penalties, such as the following:
A Los Angeles DUI arrest and/or conviction can be a wakeup call for many people. It forces them to confront the fact that they may have a problem with addiction to alcohol or drugs and need to seek treatment.
The problem is finding a treatment program that will be effective in helping them fight and overcome their addiction.
Is AA really effective?
In California, penalties for a first time DUI can take a big chunk out of a bank account—at least $1,800 in penalties and fines, plus the cost of attending DUI driving school (if required), and the expense of installing an ignition interlock system, which courts can now require for even first-time offenders. 
But there’s another expense that some drivers convicted of DUI don’t immediately consider—the huge rise that they’re likely to see in their auto insurance premium rates. According to the financial website nerdwallet.com, average good drivers in California can expect their insurance premiums to more than double if they are convicted of DUI. The nerdwallet research revealed that a 25-year old with a DUI would pay about $1,300, while one with a DUI on record would pay about $4,000. A 50-year-old who normally paid about $1,060 could expect to pay $3,275 after a DUI conviction.
The extra cost of auto insurance as a result of a DUI will depend upon:
When California residents voted to permit the use of recreational marijuana last November, the state became one of eight U.S. jurisdictions (along with Washington, Oregon, Nevada, Colorado, Alaska, Hawaii, Maine, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia) to permit the practice. An additional 20 states have laws allowing marijuana use for medicinal purposes.
While the new marijuana laws may offer some relief to people suffering from painful illnesses—and provide a popular alternative to alcohol for those who want to party or simply relax— they are posing a real dilemma for law enforcement officials charged with keeping DUI drivers off the road. The problem? At present there is no widely accepted test or measurement that defines whether a person is too intoxicated by marijuana to drive safely.
Major differences between marijuana and alcohol
One of the most discouraging aspects of being a police officer on the lookout for cases of DUI in Los Angeles must be the number of repeat offenders that they find on the road. Unfortunately, this phenomenon is not limited to LA or to the State of California, as this case from Tulsa, Oklahoma, clearly illustrates.
The website Tulsa World reports an officer with the Oklahoma Highway Patrol arrested Ivan Ramirez on Thursday, October 20th, for DUI and transporting an open container (among other offenses). The same trooper had just stopped Ramirez three days earlier and arrested him for DUI at that time, too.
Getting picked up twice in one week for DUI is bad enough, but Ramirez made matters worse on that Thursday night. The trooper pulled over Ramirez’s Honda, which had been moving erratically. The trooper recognized Ramirez and smelled alcohol on his breath. He also knew that Ramirez didn’t have a license, because the officer had confiscated it on the night of the first arrest.
With Election Day just a few weeks away, proponents and opponents of California’s Proposition 64 are weighing in on how the legalization of marijuana could impact the incidence of DUI in Los Angeles and other jurisdictions throughout the state.
Proposition 64 would decriminalize the use of marijuana in California by adults 21 years of age or older. The law would allow people to grow up to six marijuana plants in their own homes, as long as the public couldn’t see those plants. The state would reap big financial benefits, collecting a tax on the sale of marijuana (15 percent) and on the cultivation of marijuana flowers ($9.25 per ounce) and marijuana leaves ($2.75 per ounce).
The U.S. Supreme Court ruling last June requiring warrants for blood tests for drivers suspected of DUI has continued to have repercussions throughout the United States. Now the Minnesota Supreme Court has decided that police cannot compel a driver to provide a urine sample for a DUI test unless they have a warrant. This ruling could set a precedent that dramatically changes the way that police in California handle cases of DUI in Los Angeles and other jurisdictions.
The Minnesota Supreme Court handed down a unanimous ruling in two cases: State v. Thompson and State V. Trahan. (Two justices did abstain, however.) In the Thompson case, the judges rejected arguments that a urine test is just part of a Constitutionally-valid search that police can conduct when they arrest someone.
The WalletHub website says that drivers who convicted of a DUI can expect a rate increase of as much as 30 percent on their vehicle insurance. But all drivers who have a DUI in Los Angeles on their driving record may not face that same increase. Different insurance companies handle such infractions differently and consider several factors when making their decisions.
The Consumer Federation of America has released a study saying that one big factor is how rich a driver is. In a study that tested premiums quoted by five large insurers in 10 different cities, the group found that:
• Upper-income drivers with DUI often pay less than good drivers of moderate means with no accidents or tickets on their driving records. (70 percent of the 30 test cases.)
• Moderate-income drivers with perfect records pay more than upper-income drivers who caused an accident in which someone was interested. (53 percent of the 38 test cases)
• Moderate-income good drivers often pay more than upper-income drivers with multiple points on their record. (In more than 50 percent of the 36 cases)
While no one who is DUI in Los Angeles is safe from harming themselves or others, some drivers get themselves in more difficult positions than others. Here are a few examples:
• In Montgomery County, Maryland, a 26-year old man drove his car through a gate, onto a ferry and into the Potomac River around 1:30 a.m. on the night of October 7th. Although White’s Ferry wasn’t open at the time, a ferry captain who lived nearby heard the man’s screams and was able to rescue him. Police charged the driver with DUI.
• A 43-year-old woman from Clearwater, Florida, drove for three miles on the wrong side of U.S. 19 near Tarpon Springs. During her northbound trip in the southbound lanes, Anna Marie Sosa avoided a head-on collision with another vehicle only because the other driver was able to take evasive action. (The other car did suffer minor damage to the bumper.) A police officer finally stopped the woman and charged her with DUI and leaving the scene of an accident.
Los Angeles DUI Attorney Blog