Phoenix DUI Abogados

The Tennessee Supreme Court has decided to hear an appeal in a DUI case. The issue involves the Field Sobriety Tests. David Bell was stopped and he agreed to do some field sobriety tests to see if he was driving under the influence of alcohol. Mr.Bell passed all 6 tests.  Police  were still  not satisfied and arrested him for DUI and made him submit to a blood test which came back over the legal limit of .08.Later the trial court threw out the arrest because he passed the field sobriety tests which was upheld by the Tennessee Court of Appeals. I expect the Court to reverse the prior rulings.

First , the Court is eroding all citizen protections on search and seizure issues. While this case is not a true search and seizure issue under the Fourth Amendment , it does hold that the police should have some evidence in order to arrest someone. My guess is the Court will rule the bad driving and the smell of alcohol is enough to arrest. However , the question is the validity of the standardized field sobriety tests. Once one reads the studies , it does not determine if someone can operate a car safely of determine impaired driving, it only gives an officer some data if their blood test is over .08 BAC. Even then , the field sobriety tests have a huge margin of error.

So what should a citizen do if asked to do field sobriety tests ? Refuse them all. Your stopped for suspicion of DUI. Why give the police any evidence ? Field sobriety tests are voluntary. Exercise your rights. Stay tuned for the Court’s ruling.

A woman faces felony hit and run charges for a fatal Malibu DUI crash that took the life of 40-year old tow truck driver.

According to local reports from KABC, the woman hit the driver, who was rendering aid to a stranded vehicle. She then fled the scene. She made it two miles before she smashed into a parked car by the Malibu pier.

Police took her to the hospital, and they later arrested her for DUI in Malibu as well as felony hit and run. The tow truck driver died at the scene. He had been working for Platinum Tow, a company based in Westlake Village. Police closed the PCH all night to deal with the aftermath of the accident. They reopened it around 5 a.m. the next morning.

If you or someone you love was recently arrested for similar crime — e.g. driving under the influence in Malibu or DUI elsewhere in Los Angeles — hopefully your situation was less tragic.

But even if you “only” face a misdemeanor DUI charge, you can still wind up with a substantial jail sentence as well as strict probation terms, mandatory alcohol education classes, a long-term California driver’s license suspension, fines and fees and court costs, and sundry other punishments. On top of that, you could also face the indirect consequences of these punishments, including jacked up insurance rates, trouble getting to work or school, ostracism and judgment from friends and family, and on and on.

And obviously your legal challenges can be much harder if you left the scene of the accident (committed a hit and run) or hurt someone in the crash. For instance, you might face a felony DUI in Malibu charge, pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23153. (Misdemeanor events are generally pursued according to a separate CVC statute, 23152.)

So where does this leave you?

First of all, take a break and give yourself a little compassion.

You’ve been through a tremendous amount of pain and stress. You obviously didn’t want to get in trouble or to hurt anyone. Even if you were involved in a serious wreck, you can begin today to set yourself on a path towards rehabilitation and cleaning up your life.

The team here at the Kraut Law Group can help you make decisive, smart, and strategic plans to build your Malibu DUI defense.

Attorney Kraut is a former city prosecutor, who spent 14-plus years in the DA’s office and who rose to the position of Senior Deputy District Attorney. He is renowned in the Southern California legal community for his excellent work, aggressive service, and ethical, thorough treatment of cases.