A DUI in Santa Rosa may land you in jail but it will not be counted as a violent felony according to the Supreme Court in the USA Today Newspaper.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that convictions for drunken driving do not count as violent felonies for enhancing prison sentences.
The justices, by a 6-3 vote, said that even though great harm can result from drunken driving, it is different from other crimes that involve purposeful action. Justice Stephen Breyer wrote the majority opinion.
Larry Begay had three felony convictions for drunken driving in New Mexico. He pleaded guilty to possessing a gun, which is illegal after having been convicted of a felony.
The Armed Career Criminal Act makes defendants eligible for longer prison terms if they have three prior criminal convictions for crimes that are either violent felonies or serious drug offenses.
Justices Samuel Alito, David Souter and Clarence Thomas dissented.
Definition: ag⋅gres⋅sive/əˈgrɛsɪv/Show Spelled Pronunciation[uh-gres-iv]: making an all-out effort to win or succeed; competitive
Sometimes people feel that aggressive is not a positive word. When it comes to your DUI in Santa Rosa, the word aggressive is the difference between winning or losing and at Taxman Wakeford losing is not an option.
We are aggressive against the rigors of what is perception and reality when it comes to the facts of a case. We make sure that the results are presented in such a way that our clients (You) have the best chance to win your case. We have won numerous cases over the years for our clients and our fair representation will allow you to be with your loved ones instead of the other option – in jail.
We provide a thorough and systematic analysis of every case. We expose the weaknesses in the prosecutors’ cases to obtain the best possible results for our clients. We also create a personal relationship with each one of our clients because we understand how lonely this process can be for a Sonoma County DUI defendant. We do everything to help you through the entire process before, during, and after your court appearances.
TAXMAN WAKEFORD
(415) 578-3510 San Francisco Office
(707) 758-2030 Santa Rosa Office
Michael Phelps, great guy, good person and record breaking Gold Medalist. Yep, drove drunk and got probation read about it here – MICHAEL PHELPS DWI
Actor Shia Labeouf (Indiana Jones, Transformers and Eagle Eye) made the DUI List recently – CLICK HERE
There’s more but why dwell…
If you have gotten a DUI and you’re not a Hollywood Star but want Attorneys who have won numerous DUI cases in Santa Rosa and Sonoma County through Aggressive Representation – See Taxman Wakeford – 707-758-2030 or email us at; sbt@taxmanwakeford.com
In most states a first time DUI offender will be charged with a misdemeanor offense and not a felony offense. As the saying goes “there are exceptions to the rule” and DUI is no different, in fact there can be a lot of exceptions depending on the case.
In some states a misdemeanor offense can be raised to a felony DUI offense if a person other than the intoxicated driver sustained injuries during the accident. This of course does not apply in every state. Even in states that allow this charge, it is not always used.
In most states a misdemeanor DUI offense can be raised to a felony DUI offense if another person was killed during the accident. You should always check your state’s drunk driving laws to find out what applies.
Another reason that a misdemeanor can be raised to a felony DUI offense would be in the case of a person with multiple drunk driving offenses on their record. A person who has received multiple drunk driving offenses is referred to as a “habitual offender”.
For a person to be classified as a “habitual offender” in most states, that person will have been convicted of at least three drunk driving offenses over a specified period of time. When a person has been labeled as a habitual offender, the state has basically deemed that that person will never learn their lesson and will be punished to the full extent of the law.
Following are common procedures when a law enforcement officer has reason to suspect a driver is intoxicated.
Reasonable Suspicion to stop
There are several situations in which the officer will come into contact with a driver, some examples are:
The driver has been involved in an automobile accident; the officer has responded to the scene and is conducting an investigation.
The driver has been stopped at a sobriety checkpoint (also known as roadblocks).
The police have received a report, possibly from an anonymous citizen, that a described car has been driving erratically. The officer should verify the erratic driving before pulling the driver over. In some cases, the driver will no longer be in the vehicle.
The officer on patrol has observed erratic, suspicious driving, or a series of traffic infractions indicating the possibility that the driver may be impaired. This is by far the most common reason for stopping a suspect.
A police officer has stopped a vehicle for a lesser traffic offense, notices the signs of intoxication, and begins the DUI investigation.
The following list of DUI symptoms, from a publication issued by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (DOT HS-805-711),[5] is widely used in training officers to detect drunk drivers. After each symptom is a percentage figure which, according to NHTSA, indicates the statistical chances through research, that a driver is over the legal limit.
Turning with wide radius
65
Straddling center or lane marker
65
Appearing to be drunk
60
Almost striking object or vehicle
60
Weaving
60
Driving on other than designated roadway
55
Swerving
55
Slow speed (more than 10mph below limit)
50
Stopping (without cause) in traffic lane
50
Drifting
50
Following too closely
45
Tires on center or land marker
45
Braking erratically
45
Driving into opposing or crossing traffic
45
Signaling inconsistent with driving actions
40
Stopping inappropriately (other than in lane)
35
Turning abruptly or illegally
35
Accelerating or decelerating rapidly
30
Headlights off
30
If the officer observes enough to have a reasonable suspicion to legally justify a further detention and investigation, he will ask the driver to step out of the vehicle.
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