Our Irvine intoxicated driving criminal defense attorneys wrote last fall about a proposal by the city of Huntington Beach to post pictures of DUI offenders online. The proposal attracted a lot of attention, but also attracted criticism for the implication that the city wanted to shame the drivers publicly. As the Orange County Register reported Jan. 19, Huntington Beach's city council has bowed to that criticism and asked the city's police department not to follow through on the plan. The originator of the idea, Councilman Devin Dwyer, said he thought it was a good plan. But other council members objected that it could be bad for tourism in "Surf City," and that public humiliation would affect relatives more than habitual drunk drivers themselves.
Huntington Beach has seen a rise in DUIs and drunk driving accidents in the past few years, leading the police department and city government to look for solutions. After the Huntington Beach Independent decided last fall to stop publishing names of arrestees, Dwyer proposed to post all DUI arrestees' names and pictures, but dialed it back to "habitual" drunk drivers after talking to the police chief and community. That ended up causing problems too; the chief said "habitual" was not well defined. Dwyer explicitly said he was trying to shame drivers, attracting both criticism and support from the community. In voting against the proposal, however, Councilwoman Connie Boardman said she thought repeat DUI offenders are often addicts or alcoholics, so their loved ones were more likely to feel the shame than they were.
We're glad that the city decided against this plan. As we've written before, the Independent decided to stop publishing names and photos of people who were arrested because it could be misleading -- it could lead readers to believe that those people had already been found guilty. As Long Beach drunk driving criminal defense lawyers,we can assure you that being arrested for driving under the influence does not necessarily mean you're guilty. Police officers exercise bad judgment sometimes, and our legal system gives everyone a chance to defend themselves. We also believe the police chief was right to ask whether posting pictures would improve public safety. Regardless of whether the community approves of shaming the drivers, it's not at all clear that public humiliation would work, especially with addicts.
If you're accused of drunk driving in Orange County, you should call Howard Law, P.C. right away. Based in Anaheim, we represent Californians from all backgrounds who have been charged with a drunk driving crime. As this article suggests, public opinion is so strong against people who are accused of DUI that their civil rights sometimes fall by the wayside. In California, a first conviction with no accidents or special circumstances can mean months without a driver's license, jail or probation, alcohol education classes and thousands in fines and fees. Our San Diego DUI criminal defense attorneys help clients defend themselves against this type of severe penalty. If we take the case very soon after an arrest, we can even help clients defend their driving privileges at the a DMV administrative hearing, heading off months of trouble getting to work or school.
Howard Law, P.C. offer free, confidential case evaluations, so you risk nothing by speaking to us about your case and your rights. To set up a meeting, send us a message online or call toll-free at 1-800-872-5925.
