Driving under the influence stops by Los Angeles police just got a little more complicated. Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys are taking a close look at a recent Supreme Court decision that may radically change Los Angeles DUI defenses. Legally, a police officer has to have what's known as "probable cause" to pull you over for driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. What that means is that he or she must actually see you driving badly or breaking some traffic law. They are not allowed to pull you over simply because you have a really nice car and you are young.
Up until recently, if a Los Angeles law enforcement officer arrested you for driving under the influence, he or she could also legally search your car for under the pretense that they where securing their safety. The thinking goes that if a suspect has a weapon of some type in the car, he or she may grab it and use it against the arresting officer. In the process of searching your car, if police found anything else inside, such as drugs, alcohol or actual weapons, their findings could be presented against you in court, making a conviction much more likely. Los Angeles DUI defense lawyers have seen cases turn from DUI arrests to weapons charges and more.
A recently decided court case, Arizona v. Gant, is going to change all that. Rodney Gant was arrested in 1999 after Tucson, Arizona police were tipped off that he was driving on a suspended license. They handcuffed Gant and sat him in the back of the police cruiser. They then proceeded to search the car he had just driven up in, which happened to hold a plastic baggie full of cocaine and a weapon. Gant was charged with possession of both drugs and drug paraphernalia and convicted. Gant appealed the decision, claiming that since he was already secure in the back of the police cruiser, he posed no threat to police officer's security and they should not have legally searched his car.
Sounds like splitting hairs, right? Well, Gant appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court and they agreed with him. They overturned his three year prison sentence and set new legal precedence for police search and seizure. Now Los Angeles police can only search a suspect's car only if the suspect still has access to the car, or if police have "reasonable cause" to believe that the car has evidence relevant to the arrest. Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys have now another avenue to defend their clients, which will benefit may Los Angeles residents.
They cannot pull you over for a traffic violation and automatically search your car for drugs or alcohol unless they have a really good reason. Tiny details like this can mean the difference between a prison sentence and walking free. A good criminal defense lawyer knows that.
If you have been charged with driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol, call the Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today to begin preparing your defense.
