Sunday, April 19, 2015

Long Beach DUI Arrests Up During Grand Prix Week

The number of arrests for DUI is always increased during special events such as the Toyota Grand Prix but this year the police were out in even greater force due largely to increased budgets for drunk driving enforcement.

The authorities report that arrests for other criminal offenses were also up this year.  Crimes such as public intoxication, urinating in public and assault increased greatly compared to recent years.  According to one local Long Beach a Criminal Defense Attorney , the statistics are in line with other communities such as Torrance and the beach cities in the South Bay.

The good news is that no deaths were reported during the event and the participants spent a record amount of money in the community which will go far to help the city fund other events and increase public safety.

The city prosecutor will be busy filing those cases in the coming weeks.

Friday, April 10, 2015

My Temporary License Will Be Expiring, Can I Continue To Drive?

When you were released after your DUI arrest you were given a pink temporary license.  That paper has allowed you to continue to drive  pending a DMV hearing.  But here is the problem, the paper reads it is only good for 30 days.  What do you do?

As long as you hired an attorney within the first 10 days or set a hearing then the DMV will stay the suspension which means that the temporary will remain valid until a decision has been rendered.  Often the state is slow to issue a secondary temporary or send a renewed license so in the mean time you can continue to drive on the pink license without worry.  Eventually the department will mail you a white piece of paper that will supersede the pink document. Many times the reason for the delay is that paperwork may be slow in arriving or the lawyer may be seeking a change of venue.

 In the interim it may be a good idea to obtain a CA ID card which will have a picture on it that can be used as an official ID card.

If you are pulled over and the officer runs your license it will come up valid.  However, the last thing you need is another ticket or violation so be be careful and do not get pulled over while the APS hearing is pending.