Lisa Gaut: Learn From Her Example

Well, the big news for San Diego this past week was that Lisa Maree Gaut, the woman who was with Chargers linebacker Steve Foley during last year’s incident with the off-duty officer, was charged with assault with a deadly weapon and driving under the influence.

Gaut was the passenger in the car when the off-duty officer tried to stop Foley on the suspicion of drunk driving. They ended up in front of Foley’s home and during a confrontation Foley was shot three times. Gaut got into the car and allegedly drove towards the officer to try and run him down. The officer was a rookie cop who failed to show Foley and Gaut his police badge.

All of this wouldn’t have happened if Foley wasn’t drunk driving and speeding on top of that! Now Gaut must face the consequences as will Foley when he goes to trial on May 7th.

Like many others, these two didn’t think about the consequences when they decided to get in the car that day. It’s my hope that people out there will read this and learn from this example. It’s just now worth it!!

If you’ve been caught drunk driving in San Diego, make sure you hire a professional San Diego DUI lawyer to represent you!

Is the Alcotest Reliable?

Over at the Bob Ingle Blog, Bob asks the question Is New DUI Tester Any Good? He’s referring to the Alcotest which has replaced the Breathalyzer in some parts of the country - more notably New Jersey where 21 counties are using it to some degree.

The Alcotest, developed by Draeger Safety Diagnostics, has two technologies built into it - infrared spectroscopy and electrochemical cell technology. It takes a breath sample and measures a person’s BAC (blood alcohol level) at the same time. The operator, or person administering the test, simply punches in the defendant’s name, birth, the date of arrest and asks the defendant to take deep breaths.

The Alcotest is supposed to be more accurate than the breathalyzer, but of course, there are people who are skeptical. We have to remember that again, this is a man-made machine. It’s not going to 100% perfect, right? However, the director of the National Traffic Law Center says that the science behind the Alcotest is “solid”. She said, "If you have science involved, it's relatively easy to make things look murky. Anyone familiar with the science used in breath tests is very confident in the results."

Well, now 10,000 people in New Jersey are waiting to see if the Supreme Court will rule whether or not the Alcotest is indeed accurate…I’ll keep you posted!

If you’ve been convicted of drunk driving in San Diego, be sure to hire a reliable and experienced San Diego DUI lawyer to represent you!

Source: BusinessWeek

Athletes Still Get Away With Drunk Driving

The San Diego Union Tribune published a list of NFL players who have been arrested or given a citation since 2000. The Pittsburgh Football blog notes that one-third of the incidents involved drunk driving. A significant number? Oh, yes!

Now, some people may argue that what these players do off the field is their business, but let me hear that same argument when it’s YOUR loved one who is killed by one of these NFL players!

However, it’s not only the NFL, it’s major league baseball too! Last month St. Louis Cardinals manager, Tony La Russa was found passed out at the wheel of his SUV after having one too many drinks. His bail? $500!

Ryan Klocke of the The Orion Online (go Chico!) says this about La Russa:

“Just because La Russa managed his team to a World Series doesn't mean he should get a free pass or be greeted with cheers. He broke the law, and like it is always said in so many drunken driving incidents, he could have killed somebody.”

The priorities of the NFL and many of the professional sports leagues are out of whack. As long as we keep going to the games and idolizing these players, I’m sure the commissioners could care less whether or not these players are drunk drivers.

See Related Post:
Celebrity Athletes in the DUI Spotlight

If you’ve been caught drunk driving in San Diego, make sure you have an experienced San Diego DUI lawyer on your side!

San Diego Border Patrol Agent Charged With DUI

Let this post be a warning to those of you who work in law enforcement - that goes for border patrol agents as well…

A border patrol agent here in San Diego was sentenced this past week to three years probation for evading police and driving under the influence. Thomas Joseph Dwyer was off duty when he was pulled over and registered at having a blood alcohol level of .16 percent - which is twice the legal limit in California.

Dwyer requested a misdemeanor charge but it was denied by the judge. Of course! Someone of Dwyer’s position should have known better - ya’ think? It’s like one of those situations where these guys say, “Do as I say and not as I do.” Yes, we’re human and we make mistakes, but when you take on a career as someone with authority, you have to walk the walk - and that means carrying yourself with dignity and integrity both on duty and off duty.

Let me get off my soapbox….

However, isn’t it interesting that these types of stories keep happening more frequently lately? Or maybe I just haven’t paid enough attention. Regardless, it’s time for the government to be stricter about who they hire!

If you’ve been convicted of drunk driving here in San Diego, make sure to hire a professional San Diego DUI lawyer!

News Source: NBCSanDiego.com

Angie's Law Addresses Hit and Run Drivers

There's a new bill that is being proposed that will increase the penalties for repeat hit-and-run drivers. It's Assembly Bill 1200 and is called "Angie's Law". It's named after Angelina Padilla who was killed two years ago by Robin Brady. Brady had numerous DUIs and a previous hit-and-run incident, however the sentence was only four years and eight months in prison. Angelina's mom, Kathy Padilla, wants to see change and I don't blame her. Four years and eight months isn't long enough if you've killed somebody because you decided to run away and not face your responsibilities. Ok, perhaps their intention wasn't to hit and kill somebody, but they did intend on drinking. You have choices and unfortunately some people make the wrong choice - but they should own up to their mistake.

I also came across this little news blurb at The North County Times related to this. An 82-year-old man was jaywalking on the 2400 block of Market Street when he was hit by a car. The driver fled the scene and San Diego police are on the hunt for the driver. In this case - who's to blame? The pedestrian who decided to jaywalk or the person who hit him and fled?

If you need help with your drunk driving case in San Diego, call a San Diego lawyer who specializes in DUIs!

Source: 10News.com

Former San Diego Deputy Sheriff Sentenced For Drunk Driving

A former deputy sheriff has been charged with eight years in prison for a drunk driving incident in which his truck crashed into a tow truck. The tow truck driver and the person he was helping was seriously injured. I'm a little surprised that he received such a long sentence, but perhaps the court wants to make an example out of him? My guess is that he'll get some years shaved off for "good behavior".

James P. Costello was a 12-year sheriff's department veteran. You would think that he would know better than to drive around with a blood alcohol level of .22 percent. Yes, that's almost three times the legal driving limit here in California. However, Costello admits to being an alocholic and is now attending a rehabilitation program.

One of the victim's wife was in court and she expressed her disappointment in the Lemon Grove Sheriff's Department because she felt that they were equally as responsible for not "taking the keys away" from him.

I feel that every person should take responsibility for their own actions - even though Costello's fellow deputies may have been able to do something to help him. You cannot monitor someone 24/7 and if someone wants to drive - well, they will find a way.

It's important to have a good support system if you are an alcoholic. However, if you find yourself in a bind, make sure you hire an experienced San Diego DUI lawyer!

Sources: 10news.com & NBCSandiego.com

Every Fifteen Minutes Could Save a Life in San Diego

Siskiyou County in Northern California has decided to implement a new program to teach kids about the consequences of drinking and driving. The program is called “Every 15 Minutes” and is centered around the statistic that one person dies every fifteen minutes. It started in Canada and Spokane, Washington was the first city in the U.S.

According to Chief Martin Nicholas of the Weed Police Department, “We haven’t had a fatal accident involving a juvenile DUI. Like the DARE program, I feel that 'Every 15 Minutes' has been effective in reaching young people.”

Read more about the program at the Siskiyou Daily News...

I did a search to see if there was any programs in San Diego that are similar to the one in Siskiyou County and discovered this one that was started by Naval Station San Diego. This one isn’t target towards kids, but it has a similar name, “Every 15 Minutes --- Think Before You Drink”.

MADD has put out programs for students which I do support. However, what I do not like is that schools have to purchase these classroom packs. For some reason I always thought that MADD was a nonprofit organization. Shouldn’t they be providing these types of resources for free?
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Remember that you have a professional San Diego DUI lawyer on your side if you ever get caught drunk driving in San Diego!

Steve Olson's Thoughts on Drunk Driving in America

Steve Olson has a great post about America’s Drunk Driving Dilemma. He’s taken on a different perspective than most people and it’s definitely worthy of discussion - as you’ll notice from the many responses he received.

There’s one point he brought up that I never thought of and that is people don’t want a pub within walking distance from the home. Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to just walk to a bar after work, have a couple drinks with the neighbors and then have a nice stroll to the house? Steve mentioned that people in Europe do this - why not America? I do wonder though if this would cut down on the drunk driving. Part of me says no and part of me says yes.

What do you think?

I also agree that mass transit is worthless. Here in San Diego many of the buses don’t run late at night, so if you wanted to go to the club or bar you have to drive. Well, you could take a cab, but who wants to pay $50 for a cab? The majority of the bars are far from residential areas. Another thought that comes to mind is: Will people take mass transit if the city made it available for people who have been out drinking?

Read more over at Steve Olson’s blog...

Remember that drunk driving is a serious issue and if you have been caught drinking and driving in San Diego, make sure you call a professional San Diego DUI lawyer to help you!

Drunk Driving and the Illegal Immigration Issue

There’s an interesting thread over at Patterico’s Pontifications on the subject of illegal immigration and drunk driving. Recall a past post I did asking if illegal aliens causing the most drinking and driving deaths and my thoughts with regards to imposing stricter laws.

You have to check out this heated argument, or should I say, fight between Geraldo Rivera and Bill O’Reilly on the issue of illegal immigrants and drunk driving. It’s a very sticky situation and one that’s not going to be easy to solve.



We can all agree that taken separately, each issue is a problem in and of itself. Some argue that if there were less illegal aliens, then there wouldn’t be such a problem with drunk driving. These people should be deported if they’re caught drunk driving. Shouldn’t they be deported regardless of what they’ve done? I mean, they are here illegally. (I’m playing devil’s advocate here and personally don’t really care too much about the “illegal alien” issue. In a way I believe that there shouldn’t be any borders, but that’s a whole other topic of discussion...)

Overall, what do you think should be done about drunk driving?

If you live in San Diego and need the help of an experienced San Diego DUI lawyer, contact Michael Richmond!

San Diego Votes on Ignition Interlock Device

San Diego is continuing its efforts to stop drunk drivers which includes installing a breath-testing ignition interlock device on the cars that they drive. The bill was voted on by the Board of Supervisors this week. We’ll just have to see whether or not it will work!

Before starting a vehicle, the convicted drunk driver has to pass the breathalyzer test and subsequent breath samples randomly after the car has been started. When I first read the North County Times news article, I wondered how they could prevent someone from simply borrowing a friend’s or family member’s car to go out and drink. Furthermore, does the system ask for a breath sample while the person is driving? Wouldn’t that be distracting?

However, did you know that severe dieting can make you appear as if you are drunk? The Food & Health Skeptic shares a story of a 59-year old non-drinker who registered positive for alcohol after blowing into the ignition interlocking device. It seems that when fat is broken down faster than normal, a chemical reaction takes place which produces isopropanol, a secondary alcohol.

Would this make for a solid defense if someone is pulled over by the police? You would need to talk to a DUI lawyer to get an answer to that. If you are here in San Diego, make sure you contact an experienced San Diego DUI lawyer.