The presence of rain and hail, which is known to occur in San Diego, makes it much more dangerous to drive.  It is beyond debate, and is known to virtually all San Diego DUI lawyers, that the consumption of alcohol, especially in excess, increases a driver’s reaction time.  When driving in rainy conditions, it can often take longer to slow down or stop a car than when driving at the same speed in clear conditions.  Because a driver’s reaction time is slower when impaired by alcohol and it takes longer to stop in the rain, driving under the influence of alcohol is particularly dangerous in stormy conditions.

As it happens, summer is the time of year when people tend to go out to bars and parties because the weather is warmer and because it stays light later.  That’s why there are more San Diego DUI drivers on the road during the summer months.  Another reason for the greater number of DUI drivers during summer months is that people go out with the expectation that other people will be out at bars.  In point of fact, if each person, during the winter, thought that each other person would be out at the bars, then a lot more people would probably be out at the bars. It is not merely the better weather that makes people go out to bars more frequently, but it is people’s expectation that others feel the same way that leads them to go out so much.

This is illustrative of a more general point relating to human behavior.  People’s actions are often determined in whole or in part by their expectations about the behavior of other individuals.  In fact, it is a hallmark of the San Diego DUI defense lawyers, and other members of the human race, that we make decisions based on predictions about the behavior of others.  As an example, many people decide to stay off the road between one o’clock and 3:00 a.m. because they know that there will be DUI drivers on the road at that hour in San Diego.  Taking all this into consideration, a reasonable inference can be drawn that in the wee hours of the morning on a stormy night, especially if it is an out of season summer storm, the roads are a dangerous place to be.

While Mike Adamle was a running back, Vincent Jackson was a wide receiver. It appears that police officers do not discriminate based on position on the football field. One might suspect that police would be more likely to cut a break to a professional athlete or other celebrity. But San Diego DUI defense lawyers know that the pressure on law enforcement officers to make arrests significantly reduces the chances that a patrol officer will play favorites with, or throw a softball (pun intended) at, their favorite athlete.

This wouldn’t be the first celebrity arrest for DUI. In fact, it seems that a whole spate of DUI arrests have occurred lately involving well known individuals. Having said that, it is also true that Hollywood has always had a tendency to produce actors and others in the entertainment industry who drink or use drugs to excess and suffer the consequences later.

What is unusual about Adamle’s arrest is that he is 61 years old. Usually it is younger celebrities that find themselves on the wrong side of the DUI laws and in need of the services of a San Diego drunk driving attorney. Based on the arrest of this sixty-something actor, it appears that this stereotype, like other stereotypes, doesn’t always hold true.

Although stereotypes may not always be reliable, principles generally are. One principle to rely on when it comes to athletes, students, attorneys – or people in any occupation or pursuit – is that perseverance is an essential component of success. So, keep your nose to the grindstone, but don’t get stoned and drive.

Similarly, a San Diego DUI attorney will endeavor to exclude evidence from a trial that may be prejudicial or inflammatory. For example, in a trial for DUI with a prior, the defense attorney will argue that evidence of the prior conviction should not be presented to the jury before the jury makes a decision on the instant case, because the jury’s knowledge of the prior may cause them to return a guilty verdict based on their belief that the defendant is the type of person who would drive drunk. Instead, the jury should make its decision based on the facts of case before it. Fortunately, courts do not permit the jury to hear evidence of prior DUI convictions during the trial on a current DUI case.

In one case, a defendant was charged with possession of an unregistered firearm and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony. The court held that it was not proper to allow the jury to hear about the felony conviction because it wasn’t actually an element of the offense.  A conviction of a felony might at first blush to appear to be more prejudicial than a conviction of a prior DUI. But, at a DUI trial, most San Diego DUI attorneys would argue that a prior DUI conviction would be more prejudicial than a conviction of an unspecified felony because it shows not only moral turpitude, but also propensity to commit a DUI offense.

The lesson to be drawn from all of this is that there are parallels between the area of DUI defense and other types of criminal defense, and that understanding other areas of law can assist San Diego DUI attorney in handling DUI cases by providing insight that may not be available to practitioners who limit themselves to DUI law. Having said that, it is ideal to retain a DUI lawyer San Diego, because such an attorney will have specific knowledge of the intricacies of DUI law and the nuances of the local court culture.