Sacramento Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog

The Folsom and Roseville police departments have announced DUI and driver license checkpoints for this weekend.

The checkpoint in Folsom will take place on Saturday, April 30, near the intersection of River Rock Drive and Greenback Lane beginning at 7:00 PM and continuing until early Sunday morning.

The checkpoint in Roseville will also happen on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 PM and continuing until 2:00 AM. Its location has not been disclosed.

The purpose of these checkpoints is to look for signs of intoxication and check that drivers have valid licenses. See also our recent post on vehicle impoundment, which can happen when drivers can't produce valid license documentation. In 2010, over 17,000 vehicles were impounded statewide at DUI checkpoints.

As always, we encourage people to take the steps necessary to keep themselves and others safe if they plan to drink. Find a designated driver, be sure to have cash for a cab, and keep taxi phone numbers in your phone.

Some Alco-Sensor V breathalyzers used in Ventura County have been found to give inaccurate readings in a number of DUI cases in January through March of this year. The breathalyzer, which was put into use in January as a replacement for the previous generation Alco-Sensor IV, was used by all law enforcement agencies in the county as a "preliminary screening device" to determine in the field if a person was at or over the blood alcohol limit of 0.08%. Eight of the 128 devices purchased exhibited erratic readings.

The sheriff's department and other law enforcement agencies in the area have gone back to using the previous generation breathalyzer until the manufacturer - Intoximeter - comes up with an appropriate fix for the problem. Ventura County apparently paid over half a million dollars for the devices using monies from the California Office of Traffic Safety and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The District Attorney's Office is reviewing DUI cases involving the breathalyzers and will makes adjustments in the charges if necessary. Defense attorneys in the county say that this incident highlights the problematic nature of using devices like the Alco-Sensor because of inaccurate or inconsistent readings.

A California appellate court has issued a ruling that limits suspects' expectation of privacy pertaining to warrantless searches by law enforcement. In People v. Magee, the court stated that a person who flees from police and takes refuge in a home that is not his - but is instead one he goes to periodically for social visits - cannot claim a right to privacy that would bar the police from entering as part of an investigation.

In 2008, four Vallejo officers were on patrol in an area known to have narcotics trafficking when they observed the defendant, Deemario Bomone Magee, approach a car as it moved down the street. Officers knew that Magee was suspected of dealing drugs. When the officers left their unmarked vehicle to investigate, Magee ran into a nearby house. Officers entered the house and found the defendant in a bathroom flushing cocaine-like material down a toilet. Based on evidence found on the defendant and in his car, Magee was charged with a variety violations, including possession of cocaine base for sale.

Magee sought to suppress the evidence, claiming that he had an expectation of privacy because he knew the occupant of the house where the arrest took place and visited socially a few times each week. The trial court agreed with this argument, but the appellate court overturned, stating that because the suspect ran into the house after seeing the police, his expectation of privacy did not apply. The reason he entered the house was to elude the police, not to visit with the occupant of the house.

A report by California Watch documents the dramatic increase last year in the number of vehicle impoundments by California law enforcement agencies.

2010 was dubbed the "Year of the Checkpoint" by law enforcement throughout the state. With funding support coming from the California Office of Traffic Safety, police agencies conducted more than 2,500 checkpoints, which require drivers to stop and show their licenses.

The primary purpose of these controlled traffic stops is to check drivers for signs of intoxication. The data show, however, that for each person arrested for DUI, six vehicles were impounded.

The California Watch report claims that part of this increase - over 17,000 vehicles were impounded last year - can be explained by the financial incentive local agencies have to impound cars. Often, municipalities will charge drivers a fee to have their vehicles released from impound and will get a portion of the towing fees.

It should be noted that several cities - including San Jose, Oakland, and Berkeley - have changed their checkpoint policies to try to lessen the difference between their figures for DUI citation and vehicle impoundment.