May 2009 Archives

The California State Supreme Court earlier this month declined to review the case of a Lancaster man convicted of second-degree murder stemming from driving drunk in 2004.  Christopher Jon Martinez was driving near the intersection of Avenue K and 40th Street West in Lancaster when he crashed, killing a local resident and injuring two passengers in his own car.  Police determined that he had been driving under the influence of alcohol and that he had had two prior DUI convictions before the collision.  Martinez was convicted of second-degree murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence.  Martinez was sentenced in 2007 to 15 years to life in prison.  In February of 2009, Martinez had filed a complaint that errors had been made in 2006 trial.  
Getting behind the wheel of a car in Los Angeles while under the influence of either drugs or alcohol is a serious act whose consequences can haunt you for the rest of your life.  The best case scenario would most likely be having Los Angeles police pull you over and being arrested for driving under the influence.  Worst case scenario could be taking someone's life in your impaired state and facing the possibility of life in prison.  This is why you need an experienced criminal defense attorney by your side if you have been charged with driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated.  An experienced DUI defense attorney may be able to work with you to get less harsh punishments in the case of a conviction, or, in some cases, even have your charges dismissed.  An experienced DUI lawyer can help you navigate the complicated legal process surrounding a DUI charge by immediately scheduling a DMV hearing so your driving privileges are reinstated and by carefully and expertly combing through the details of your particular case to see if any of the evidence collected against you is perhaps inadmissible. 
With not just your driving privileges at stake, but your freedom and your reputation on the line, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today if you have been charged with DUI.  Our combined 50 years of courtroom experience will guide you through a confusing legal process and fight for you.

In Los Angeles, a DUI conviction will have a serious impact on your life.  However, all Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys know that a felony DUI will have an impact on almost every area of your life for a long time.  Felony DUI's happen all the time, but can often be tracked to specific weekends.
Holiday weekends are full of people drinking at parties then driving home.  This last Memorial Day weekend was no exception.  Two Montana men were charged with felony DUI (driving under the influence of alcohol) this past week, one after a collision with a tree and the other after being pulled over by Montana Highway Patrol troopers.  Eric Lee Sowders, 29, was arrested on Saturday a short distance away from the tree he allegedly ran his Mazda SUV into.  Witnesses to the accident reported to troopers that a second car stopped at Sowder's wreck shortly after and pull a child from the Mazda before driving off.  Sowder's 3 year-old daughter is thought to have been in the car with him at the time of the collision.  Breath samples provided by Sowder estimated his blood alcohol concentration to be .252%, well over Montana's legal limit of .08%.  Sowder is reportedly a convicted felon with three prior DUI convictions since 2000.  He was charged with felony counts of both criminal endangerment and driving under the influence, as well as one misdemeanor charge of driving with a suspended or revoked license.  
Jeffrey A. Loofburrow, 55, was arrested last Friday after reportedly driving his car into a ditch.  A Montana Highway Patrol trooper at the scene smelled alcohol on Loofburrow, who refused a breath test but later admitted to having consumed several alcoholic drinks.  Loofburrow had also been convicted of three prior DUIs and had not had his driving privileges reinstated since 2003.  Loofburrow was charged with one felony count of driving under the influence and misdemeanor counts of driving with a revoked license, driving without insurance, expired registration and reckless driving.  
Montana state law and penalties are different, but here in Los Angeles, felony DUI offenses and those related to them are taken very, very seriously.  In Los Angeles, having multiple prior DUI convictions, having a child present in the car while driving under the influence, having a blood alcohol concentration over .20% and refusing to submit to chemical testing can all seriously raise the stakes and take what might have been a misdemeanor offense up to a felony.  In Los Angeles, felony DUI convictions can follow you around for years, making it more difficult for you to find a new job or place to live.  
A felony DUI conviction also almost certainly means spending time in a state or county jail as punishment.  If you are being charged with driving under the influence, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today.  You do have options.

Holiday weekends prime time for police DUI checkpoints and this past Memorial Day weekend was no exception.  The effectiveness of DUI checkpoints, also known as sobriety checkpoints, is being called into question, though, as statistics for this past weekend come in and are compared to last year's.  State-wide, 31 people died in some form of traffic accident this Memorial Day weekend, with 10 of those deaths occurring in Los Angeles County.  During the same weekend of last year, 19 traffic-related fatalities occurred, with just one of those deaths occurring in Los Angeles County.  
If you look at these numbers in correlation to arrests for driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol, the gap between sobriety checkpoints and public safety gets even wider:  last year, police in Los Angeles County arrested 236 motorists for driving under the influence while that figure went down to 220 this year.  If sobriety checkpoints are supposed to take potentially dangerous drivers who have been drinking off Los Angeles roads, then why did traffic fatalities rise this year while DUI arrests went down?  
Sobriety checkpoints have long been a contentious battle in a city with millions of drivers such as Los Angeles, and this holiday weekend's new statistics prove very little in their favor.  In case you are not familiar with DUI checkpoints, they are temporary roadblocks set up and operated by local law enforcement that are designed to root out drivers that might be driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or to find other violations of Los Angeles vehicle codes.  While stopped, a law enforcement official will examine drivers for any signs of impairment.  If any are detected, the driver will be directed to a designated area for field sobriety tests or breath analysis to determine sobriety.  
To many in the legal field, sobriety checkpoints constitute a violation of our Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure, but in the 1990s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that DUI checkpoints were constitutional as long as police departments warned locals when and where they would be executed, cars and their drivers were checked according to a random formula, they did not create traffic snarls, and drivers were given the option to avoid them by turning out before officers approached their vehicles.  Many believe that sobriety checkpoints take impaired drivers off of Los Angeles roadways before they can harm someone, but as we can see from last weekend's statistics, they do not work quite as well as public safety officials would have hoped.  
If you have been charged with driving under the influence stemming from a sobriety checkpoint stop, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today.  Their combined 50 years of courtroom experience will fight for you.

Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys handle vehicular manslaughter charges on a regular basis for people in various positions in society.  As Los Angeles is made up of movie stars, CEO's, house moms and mechanics, the scope of people represented by Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys is broad and diverse.

Bus driver Quintin Watts was charged with vehicular manslaughter in a California court Wednesday stemming from an accident last October. Watts, 52, was driving a bus with several passengers to a Northern California casino and resort when he reportedly fell asleep at the wheel. Eleven passengers died from the resulting crash. Watts, who is facing up to 20 years in a state prison if convicted, has a history of substance abuse and driving offenses. No mention was made as to whether or not Watts was actually under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash.

Vehicular manslaughter may often stem from an accident, but California law threats the offense seriously, classifying it as a felony criminal offense. Vehicular manslaughter in general is reckless or negligent behavior while driving that results in the death of another person. If the resulting crash and injuries are found to be alcohol-related, then the incident is classified as Vehicular Manslaughter-DUI. Most Vehicular Manslaughter-DUI cases garner up to four years in a state prison if the defendant is convicted. If "gross" or extreme negligence or recklessness can be proved by prosecutors, then a defendant could get as many as 10 years in a state prison. In Watts' case, with 11 potential deaths stemming from the accident means multiple charges, which simply elongates his prison sentence if he is convicted.

If you are being charged with vehicular manslaughter in Los Angeles, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today. Our combined 50 years of courtroom experience is the asset you need when you are facing serious criminal charges and a long prison sentence. Well-versed in both vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence cases, our attorneys know that sometimes poor road or weather conditions can play a bigger part in car accidents than prosecutors would care to admit.

A capable criminal defense attorney may also be able to prove that you were not actually intoxicated at the time of the accident. Call today to see what your options are and begin preparing your defense.

Throughout Los Angeles, many people ask Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys what the differences are between DUI charges and DWI charges.  Usually, the terms are used differently depending upon the state you are in.
University of Michigan reserve running back Kevin Grady was sentenced to seven days in jail last week for probation violations stemming from a July, 2008 misdemeanor Driving While Intoxicated conviction.  Grady's blood alcohol concentration during his arrest last year was .24%, three times the .08% legal limit in Michigan.  The star football player apparently had not complied with the terms of his probation, failing to complete the community service that was required of him and testing positive for opiates.  Michigan football head coach Rich Rodriguez has not yet commented on whether or not Grady's latest legal trouble will affect his eligibility for the upcoming football season.  
Many people have heard of driving under the influence (DUI) or driving while intoxicated (DWI), but may not be clear as to the differences between the two terms.  A Los Angeles DUI, most of the time, is a blanket term that covers most, if not all cases where a driver is operating a vehicle while drunk or under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Cases where DWI is specified more often involve a driver being actually intoxicated by alcohol and usually well over the .08% blood alcohol concentration limit that is legal in Los Angeles, as was the case with Grady.  
Both Los Angeles DUI and DWI charges can be considered either a misdemeanor or a felony criminal offense depending on the particular details of each case.  If another person was injured or dies as a result of DUI or DWI, the case will almost certainly become a felony, with much harsher penalties as a result.  Prior convictions for either offense may also factor heavily into making a case a misdemeanor or a felony.  A typical punishment for a misdemeanor DUI or DWI offense in Los Angeles, especially for a first time offense, might be probation, fines loss of driving privileges and potentially as much as six months in a county jail.  
A felony DUI or DWI conviction might garner several years in a state prison if injury or death is caused to another person.  The Los Angeles DUI and DWI legal process is made all the more complicated with the addition of a DMV hearing.  Once you are arrested for a Los Angeles DUI or DWI, your driving privileges are automatically suspended.  From that point you have just 10 days to contact a criminal defense attorney and schedule a DMV hearing to determine whether or not your driving privileges can be reinstated until your DWI or DUI hearing is completed.  
If you have been charged with DWI or DUI, call the Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today.  Their combined 50 years of courtroom experience in defending against DUI and DWI charges will skillfully and carefully guide you through the legal process and fight for you.

Los Angeles Dui defense attorneys understand the pitfalls of relying on breath-analysis machines (or breathalyzers) as evidence in court.  Former major league baseball player Jim Leyritz experienced just how unreliable breath analysis machines can be this past week. 
Leyritz, who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the (now) Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, had a court-ordered ignition interlock device installed in his car stemming from a 2007 DUI-related collision in which a 30 year-old woman died.  To use an ignition interlock device, a person must blow into a tube on the device in order for the car to start.  If the person's breath analysis yields any alcohol, then the device will lock down the car making the driver unable to start it and drive while under the influence of alcohol.  Leyritz blew into the device after lunch one day last week and the device indicated he had been drinking -which Leyritz claimed he had not.  He tried a second time, with better results, but panicked that his prior positive reading would have him arrested anyway. 
Conditions of his bail required Leyritz to download the device's reports on a weekly basis as well as submit urine samples to determine his alcohol consumption.  A friend of his called local police after becoming fearful that in Leyritz's panic he might harm himself and police took Leyritz to a local hospital.  Urine samples indicated that he had not been drinking and the machine must have made a technical error in its initial reading.   Leyritz's case is just one of a growing number that highlight the difficulties of relying on breath analysis machines to determine a subject's sobriety or level of intoxication.  While ignition interlock devices are supposed to be "fail-safe," they obviously are prone to technical glitches and inaccurate readings.
Another problem is that most ignition interlock devices require multiple re-tests while the car is in motion, which can divert a driver's attention and possibly lead to more collisions.  One DUI offender with an ignition interlock device filed a lawsuit claiming he passed out and crashed while doing a rolling re-test.  Ignition interlock devices and breath analysis machines in general are not as reliable as law enforcement officials or Mothers Against Drunk Driving (M.A.D.D.) would have the public believe.
An experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney knows that, and knows that breath analysis machine readings are not always the evidence that prosecutors can use to get you convicted of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  If you have been charged with driving under the influence, call the Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today.
Our attorneys have years of experience in successfully defending people against DUI charges, or even getting charges dismissed.  Call today to see what your options are. 

Police in Palm Springs conducted a marginally successful sobriety checkpoint Friday night in the 2900 block of North Indian Drive, yielding four arrests for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  Out of the 841 vehicles screened by police that night, 21 citations for non-alcohol related charges such as invalid drivers licenses and impounded 16 vehicles.  Palm Springs offices arrested one person with an outstanding felony warrant and one person on suspicion of methamphetamine possession.  I say marginally successful because statistically, less than one-half of one percent of the cars screened by police that evening actually turned up an intoxicated or impaired driver.  
Out of the 841 cars and drivers screened by police at the sobriety checkpoint, literally .48% were cited for driving under the influence.  In what other industry, if any, would such a success rate be acceptable?  If McDonald's got only .48% of their orders right, they would go out of business.  
One of the freedoms that we enjoy here in the United States, Los Angeles in particular, is the freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.  Law enforcement officials need to have a sound reason for entering your house, searching your car or searching you.  They cannot do it simply because they think you look suspicious.  
Sobriety checkpoints in Los Angeles are legally murky water because they allow police to search your vehicle even when you have not demonstrated behavior that might lead to an arrest for driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.  
The United States Supreme Court ruled in the 1990s that sobriety checkpoints were allowable as long as the public was given advanced notice as to the time and location of the checkpoint, drivers were allowed to turn away from checkpoints before being screened, vehicles were screened according to a neutral formula (such as screening every sixth car, for example), and as long as cars that did turn away before being screened were not unfairly singled out because of their decision to leave.  Ostensibly, sobriety checkpoints are supposed to be to ensure public safety by taking potentially dangerous drivers off the road.  But is driving with an expired driver's license a public safety hazard?   
The sobriety checkpoint in Palm Springs turned up five times as many non-alcohol related citations as DUI arrests.  Sobriety checkpoints actually cost taxpayers in Los Angeles in the form of time and money.  This particular checkpoint was funded by both the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.  Surely there is a better use of tax dollars than weeding four possibly impaired drivers out of 841.  
If you have been charged with DUI stemming from a stop at a sobriety checkpoint, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today to begin preparing your defense.  

Authorities have identified 5 year-old Taane Unga of Sun City as the victim of a collision with an alcohol-impaired driver the past Sunday on the I-215 freeway near Perris, California.  Steven M. Peterson, 53, was attempting to change lanes when he clipped the back end of the minivan in front of him.  Both vehicles drove off the roadway and the minivan flipped over.  The two passengers in the rear of the minivan, Unga and an unidentified 15 year-old girl, appear to have not been wearing seat belts and were both ejected from the car.   The 15 year-old girl suffered major injuries and was rushed to a local hospital, while the driver of the minivan and a fourth passenger suffered minor injuries.  Peterson was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.  He is currently being held on $75,000 bail.  
In Los Angeles, vehicular manslaughter charges are an unfortunate and frequent addition to driving under the influence charges.  Vehicular manslaughter related to DUI is generally classified as a felony offense in Los Angeles and can send you to prison for an average of four years if you are convicted.  If gross negligence or recklessness stemming from DUI can be proved by the prosecution, you might find yourself in prison for as many as ten years.  If you have been charged with vehicular manslaughter related to DUI, the situation may seem hopeless, but a criminal defense attorney with a strong background in DUI cases can be a great help.  Depending on your particular situation, your Los Angeles DUI defense attorney may be able to have your charges reduced or dismissed altogether.  In some cases, poor road conditions or the reckless driving of other vehicles may prove a bigger factor in your collision.  Actually being convicted of DUI in Los Angeles is also not as cut and dried as it might seem.  Several factors pull together in determining a person's actual blood alcohol content during an incident. 
If you have been charged with vehicular manslaughter in a DUI case, call the defense attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today to learn about your options. 

Celebrity DUI cases can teach us a great deal about the charges, because the media usually reports various details of the cases.  In Los Angeles, there have been numerous DUI cases involving celebrities and their families.
Rapper Eminem's younger brother, Nathan Mathers, was arrested by police in Macomb Township, Michigan early Wednesday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol.  Police initially pulled Mathers, who raps under the stage name Nate Kane, over for failing to stop for a passing ambulance.  Police "immediately smelled intoxicants" when they approached Mathers' car and administered field sobriety tests.  Mathers reportedly failed the tests and was arrested immediately.  Mathers' blood alcohol level was tested later and found to be .16% -more than twice the legal limit of .08%.  Mathers was released after posting $10,000 bond.  This is reportedly the second time Nathan Mathers has been arrested for driving under the influence. 
If convicted, Mathers could find shortly find himself in jail. While Michigan's laws and sentencing for multiple driving under the influence convictions may differ, Los Angeles law vigorously prosecutes and sentences recurring driving under the influence offenders.  Typically, a judge hands down between 96 hours and one year in a county jail, as well as the suspension of driving privileges for up to two years for a second driving under the influence offense.  Additionally, a judge may also sentence a defendant with potential probation, fines of up to $1,000 and alcohol classes or counseling in the case of a conviction.  Being charged with DUI in Los Angeles is further complicated by the addition of a DMV hearing.  You're you are arrested for DUI, you and your attorney have just 10 days to schedule a DMV hearing, which will determine whether or not you are able to retain your driving privileges until the outcome of your DUI trial. 
Driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol in Los Angeles is a serious crime that can affect your future and freedom.  Do not go through the complicated legal process alone.  Call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today to begin preparing your defense.

Sobriety checkpoints in Los Angeles have long been a legal sore spot. Technically, Los Angeles sobriety checkpoints, also called DUI roadblocks, are supposed to protect the public by catching drivers who are driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Depending on your legal standpoint, they either keep innocent people safe from drunk drivers or they violate our Fourth Amendment rights by entrapping people who might otherwise not get charged with driving under the influence. In 1990, the United States Supreme Court ruled that sobriety checkpoints were constitutional as long as certain criteria were met. This means that Los Angeles police must follow very strict guidelines as to when and where they may set up and execute Los Angeles sobriety checkpoints:

1. The general public, in Los Angeles or any other location, must be given advanced notice as to when and where the sobriety checkpoint will be.
2. There must be a turnout before the sobriety checkpoint is reached so that drivers can turn around and avoid the checkpoint if they wish. Anyone who turns out before the roadblock cannot be pulled over based solely on their decision to avoid the roadblock.
3. There must be a random and impartial formula for checking vehicles (such as checking every fourth car, for example).
4. Safety conditions must be monitored at the sobriety checkpoint.
5. The location, time and date of the sobriety checkpoint must be reasonable.
6. The length and nature of time spent at the sobriety checkpoint must not be obtrusive.

Once at the sobriety checkpoint, Los Angeles police will look for any sign of intoxication. Slurred speech, bloodshot eyes, poor coordination, the inability to follow instructions, open alcohol containers in a vehicle or the smell of alcohol from within a car will most likely prompt police to administer field sobriety tests or ask for breath samples to analyze for alcohol content. If any of the above criteria are for whatever reason not met and you are charged with driving under the influence, you and your defense attorney have some really good material to fight your charge with.

If you have been charged with driving under the influence stemming from a DUI sobriety checkpoint stop, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today. Their combined 50 years of courtroom experience will fight hard for you.