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A bill that would have substantially increased penalties for DUI convictions was watered down before being passed out of the Assembly Appropriations Committee. The proposed law, authored by Jerry Hill (D-San Mateo), would have given judges the authority to impose a lifetime ban on driving after three DUI convictions. Instead, the bill gives judges the ability to revoke a license for 10 years. Current state law suspends driving privileges for three years after a third DUI conviction. Also removed by the committee was language that allowed consideration of a driver's lifetime record for DUI conviction. Current law limits consideration to the previous 10 years. Hill claimed that budget limitations were the primary reason the bill was amended. It was estimated that the bill would have cost $10 million a year to house the additional people who would have been sent to prison due to conviction for felony DUI, which comes after a fourth DUI conviction. Felony DUI convictions would hav...

  A report by California Watch and UC Berkeley's Investigative Reporting Program documents the growing number of car impoundments at police checkpoints throughout the state, and presents compelling evidence that this increase has been motivated in large part by the resulting revenue that flows to cash strapped local governments. Checkpoints conducted by the CHP and local police have increased dramatically in recent years as a means to combat DUI. But many police agencies don't just check drivers' sobriety. They also ask to see a driver's license, and if they find an unlicensed driver, they impound the car for 30 days. The constitutional problem is this: the Federal Ninth Circuit Court ruled in 2005 that such impoundments constitute an "unreasonable seizure under the Fourth Amendment . . . if the only justification is that the driver is unlicensed." CHP has ceased impounding vehicles since that ruling, but many police agencies - including the Sacramento Police ...

  The California Health & Safety Code lays out the penalties for use, possession, and sale of marijuana. Depending on the nature of the violation, charges can be filed as either misdemeanor or felony, and penalties can include fines and time in county jail or state prison. Having a qualified criminal defense lawyer is crucial when facing drug charges. Simple possession charges can often be increased to possession for sale, and the presence of drug paraphernalia can result in additional charges. On the other hand, people facing simple possession charges for marijuana may have the option of having their cases go through drug court, which can result in a dismissal of charges. (See the explanation below for more details.) Contact an experienced defense lawyer for review of the details of your case. These Health & Safety Code sections pertain to marijuana. H&S; 11357 Simple possession of marijuana is considered a misdemeanor. Possession of an ounce (28.5 grams) or less comes...

  The new state law that increases the amount of time a jail sentence may be reduced for good behavior continues to be the subject of an ill-considered legal battle in Sacramento County. (For a review of the law's provisions, see our previous post.) The superior court judge who last week issued an order blocking enforcement of the law yesterday reversed himself and said that the law must be implemented until county jail inmates are able to bring their legal concerns before the court. "While county jail inmates may not be indispensable parties in the technical sense," Judge Loren McMaster wrote, "they are real parties in interest since the resolution of this matter directly affects them and their status." While we're pleased that McMaster has temporarily allowed the law to be implemented, we still disagree with his original ruling. The legislature clearly meant for the new law to merely amend a previous state law that already allowed state prison and county j...

  Two trials from southern California this month highlight the dangers of bicycle riding on California's crowded roads and the consequences for motorists who injure or kill bicyclists. One incident, from 2008, involved Christopher Thompson, a doctor from the wealthy Los Angeles enclave of Brentwood. While driving to work on Mandeville Canyon Road, Thompson apparently became angry at a group of bicyclists, pulled his car ahead of them and then slammed on his breaks, causing serious injuries to two of the riders. Thompson claimed that the cyclists were making it hard for him to pass and making obscene gestures toward him, and he was stopping merely to get a photograph as evidence. The jury nonetheless found him guilty of assault with a deadly weapon and mayhem, and the judge sentenced him to five years in prison. The other incident, from 2009 in San Diego County, involved a man who was driving his BMW in a bike lane and hit and killed a cyclist. Since the driver claimed to have never...

  The Sacramento Police Department has announced that it will have a DUI and drivers license checkpoint tonight, Saturday, February 12. Business Commercial Litigation lawyer . It will take place near the intersection of 24th Street and Florin Road, and start at 8:30 PM and last until early Sunday morning. Uniformed Sacramento Police Department officers will check for valid drivers licenses, as well as look for signs of drivers who are under the influence of alcohol or drugs. As always, we encourage people who plan on going out drinking to arrange for designated drivers and keep handy the phone numbers of cab companies.

  A Truckee man who pled guilty in Placer County Superior Court to a straight DUI has been sentenced to 25 years to life under California's three strikes law. Douglas Doyle's prior criminal record included five misdemeanor convictions, four felony convictions, and four sentences to state prison. Violent crimes lawyer . In 1987, he was found guilty of vehicular manslaughter involving alcohol after killing a Tahoe City teacher on Highway 89. Doyle and his attorney had attempted to have two prior convictions removed from his record. The judge, however, denied that motion.