Reality star Shayne Lamas has been charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence following an arrest this past Saturday night. Lamas, who has been seen on "The Bachelor" and "Leave it to Lamas," was driving through Venice when she was stopped by police at a Los Angeles sobriety checkpoint. Lamas, who has admitted to having one drink before getting in her car to drive home, was asked to give a breath sample, which revealed that she was over the legal limit of .08%. She was arrested on site and later released from custody. She is scheduled to appear in court on December 9th.
Lamas' case brings up a couple of interesting points to remember about being charged with driving under the influence in Los Angeles. First, you do not actually need to be "drunk" or feel impaired to test over the legal limit: Lamas has stated that she "...willingly drove through a mandatory Los Angeles sobriety checkpoint...with complete confidence of passing...". People have very different capacities for alcohol. Some people, whether they are quite large or incredibly tiny, can have several alcoholic drinks in one evening and still be in sufficient control of themselves to drive home safely. Others can have just one drink and be impaired. In most cases, however, being able to "hold your liquor" has very little to do with having a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or more. Whether or not you are coherent and in control of yourself, if your blood alcohol concentration is more than .08%, you could be arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol.
Los Angeles sobriety checkpoints, such as the one Lamas was arrested at, are also an important factor in many DUI arrests. Many people are arrested for DUI at sobriety checkpoints every weekend. If you find yourself on the wrong end of the law following a sobriety checkpoint, make sure you discuss everything with an experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney. Los Angeles sobriety checkpoints must be run according to a very strict set of procedures, and if anything is amiss, your attorney could have charges against you dismissed. Los Angeles police must give the public some sort of notice before setting up a Los Angeles sobriety checkpoint. If police are not checking every vehicle that passes by, then they must use an impartial formula to determine which vehicles to stop and examine. They are not allowed to single out vehicles or people that they think look suspicious. Drivers are allowed to turn out of the line leading up to the Los Angeles sobriety checkpoint if they wish, and police are not supposed to follow them as they drive away. Little details can make a big difference in many DUI cases. Call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today and let us fight for you at 877-781-1570.
