Actor in T.V.'s "Heroes" Arrested for DUI

Actor, Adrian Pasdar, television star of the hit show "Heroes" was arrested on Wednesday morning on suspicion of driving under the influence (DUI). According to reports, he was going more than 90 mph at approximately 3:00 a.m. on the 405 Freeway in Los Angeles. He was also, reportedly, weaving outside of the lane lines. He was arrested based upon the odor of alcohol and his performance on the field sobriety tests. He also, allegedly, refused to take a chemical test, in this case a breathalyzer. If he did refuse all chemical tests- he could face a one year suspension of his driver's license, with no restricted driving privilege, and he could face increased jail time.

Contact Michael E. Mitchell today for a free consultation, (559) 222-2424.

Fresno Attorney Michael Mitchell assigned to represent Woman Accused of Homicide and DUI involving Great Bodily Injury

The Fresno Bee recently ran an article regarding the Fresno County Public Defender refusing its first case last week due to the recent lay offs in its office. The article points out that the Public Defender, Ken Taniguchi, declined to represent Ms. Seneca Turner, a twenty-eight-year-old Fresno resident who is charged with homicide and DUI involving great bodily injury. In turn, the Fresno Superior Court asked me to accept appointment on the case and I accepted. Due to the complexity of the case and the lack of attorney's available to handle serious cases of this nature, the Public Defender was forced to turn it down. While the Public Defender's Office claims that the county will pay more in the long run by assigning cases out to private attorneys such as myself- that remains to be seen. The entire article can be viewed at the following link:

MONEY PAID TO VICTIM IN DUI/GREAT BODILY INJURY CASE

In a case decided March 4, 2008 by the Third District Court of Appeal entitled People v. Short, the court of appeal decided that money paid to the victim for restitution as a result of a DUI involving great bodily injury must be offset by any money paid to that victim as a result of a personal injury settlement. In this case, the Defendant, Short, was convicted of causing great bodily injury while driving under the influence. The crime occurred while Short was driving his employer's vehicle. The victim filed a personal injury civil action against Short and his employer. To settle that lawsuit, the employer's insurer paid the policy limits of two insurance policies totaling $3 million dollars, and the victim entered into a settlement with Short and his employer. The third district court of appeal found that any money that the criminal court ordered Short to pay for restitution to the victim as a result of the DUI with great bodily injury had to be reduced by the amount of thes ettlment. The terms of the insurance policy covered Short while he drove his employer's vehicle, and the insurance settlement listed Short as being released from any claims as a result of the accident. The insurance settlement was viewed by the Court of Appeal as coming directly from the defendant.

Click one of the links below to find out more information about Michael E. Mitchell:

Fresno DUI Attorney
Fresno DUI Lawyer
Fresno Criminal Attorney

New DUI Laws for 2010

We've got some surprising new laws on the horizon for the new year. As of July 1, 2010, a new DUI pilot program has been established for 4 counties- Los Angeles, Alameda, Sacramento and Tulare. This program requires that as a condition of obtaining a restricted driver's license following a conviction for driving under the influence, that the driver install an ignition interlock device (IID).

Also on July 1, 2010, we'll have a bit of sunlight in the dim arena of DUI laws. It appears that driver's convicted of second time DUI offense (within 10 years), will now be able be able to obtain a restricted driver's license after a 90 day suspension as long as they are enrolled in a DUI program (presumably the 18 month program) and they have an IID installed on their vehicle. This is a huge change from the flat one year hard suspension that was previously imposed, before a driver could get a restricted license on a second time DUI.

Lastly, driver's convicted of a third offense within 10 years will be able to get a restricted license, now after a 6 month hard suspension. Again this is a huge change, since the previous law imposed a 2 year hard suspension on a third offense before the driver could apply for a restricted license. So I guess this years theme is that the legislature taketh away and giveth at the same time.