Driving under the influence of marijuana (DUIM) is certain to become the new watchword on California highways. Medical marijuana has been a presence in California for many years and the use of recreational marijuana may become legal if California voters approve a proposed November 2016 ballot initiative. But at…
A couple of month ago I blogged about the difficulty law enforcement has proving that someone is driving under the influence of marijuana. The cops may suspect the person of driving under the influence of marijuana but because there is not a readily available and reliable chemical test as there…
The Marijuana Laws Are A-Changin’ Back in 1964 when Bob Dylan sang “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” marijuana was called the “killer weed” and even simple possession was a felony in California carrying a sentence of one to ten years. Now over 60 years later, the citizens of California will…
Every day, approximately 30 people are killed by a drunk driver in this country. That translates into somewhere around 11,000 people killed every year by a drunk driver. That’s almost one-third of all traffic-related deaths in this country. If you drink and drive, you could be this country’s next…
Its springtime and Daylight Saving Time is back on the clocks — time to take the bikes out of the garage and head down to the beach. One of the joys of living in California is cruising on the many bike paths, stopping along the way for a beer…
Let’s say you have a party and one of your guests becomes obviously intoxicated. Your intoxicated guest then leaves the party and on his drive home causes an accident where another person is injured. Are you responsible? Is a bar responsible if one of its patrons gets drunk, drives…
Many people don’t know that a DUI conviction may have other consequences beyond the driver’s license suspension, probation, and mandatory DUI classes. In California, there is a huge body of administrative law, much of it quasi-criminal. The immediate administrative per se suspension of a DUI arrestee’s driver license is…
Your parents or grandparents might remember the days when a drunk driver was given a warning and then escorted home by the police and told to sleep it off. Maybe you watched Mad Men and wondered if drunk driving was just a way of life back in the 60s.…
CAN A BREATHALYZER DEVICE BE TRICKED? You may have heard the “tricks” to defeating a breathalyzer test: place a copper penny under your tongue when you blow into the device, drink mouthwash before being tested (surreptitiously, of course), eat breath mints, hold your breath or use other breathing techniques before…
Did this Napa school bus driver take a wine tasting detour? A school bus driver in Napa was recently arrested for driving under the influence after she damaged the undercarriage of her bus with 28 students on board. Fortunately, none of the students were injured. As hard as it…