Outrageous Mug Shots: Part 2 — More Crazy Mug Shot Analysis from the Los Angeles DUI Community

Even Los Angeles DUI attorneys appreciate the comic relief of a funny mug shot. Mug shots have a history of use dating back to the 19th century for record keeping, identification, and investigation purposes. Most mug shots appear benign. Occasionally, however, we come across some doozies. Below we’ve detailed some of our favorites:

•    Heavy heads. A Texan man required assistance keeping his head upright for his mugshot. The photograph depicts Sean Carl Payne with a wide-eyed expression as law enforcement personnel hold him upright to get a clear picture of his face. He faced public intoxication charges after a night out on the town. The Houston Press detailed the incident with an equation, “too many mugs, too many shots = a mugshot requiring assistance.”

•    Thumbs up. Michelle Watson, a young Arizona woman, smiles and gives two thumbs up to the camera for her mugshot. Watson faced charges in 2011 for DUI, aggravated assault of a law enforcement officer, and resisting arrest. She appears strangely proud of her accomplishments.

•    Happy Birthday in poor taste. On Scott Disick’s (Courtney Kardashian’s long-time partner) 31st birthday, Khloe Kardashian posted pictures of his and her mugshot from past DUI charges online. Both appear disheveled in their mugshots, and the posting received public backlash for making fun of a serious matter.

•    Too much of a head tilt. Photographers will tell you to tilt your head slightly for a more flattering picture. Erica Garcia tilted her head a little too much. Her off-center mugshot features her head leaning over to one side with her mouth open, as though she’s in the middle of a conversation. She faced felony DUI charges after wrecking her car in Sacramento.

Law enforcement uses mugshots for arrest files, but they also post the images for public knowledge. If you face arrest, standing out in a mugshot can hurt your credibility and reputation even if the courts clear you of all charges.

How should you respond to your recent and disarming charges? Call a qualified Los Angeles DUI defense lawyer (and ex-prosecutor) with nearly two decades of relevant legal experience.

If police stopped you for Los Angeles DUI, you may be worried and anxious. Contact Harvard Law School educated, ex-prosecutor Michael Kraut for assistance at (323) 464-6453 or online. Our team is located at 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1480, Los Angeles, California 90028.

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I’rm Jush Tipsy! Speech Analysis Could Outsmart Drunk Drivers

Computer scientists at Queens College and Columbia University have developed software to identify if someone is drunk based on their speech. They believe someday the technology could be added to cars to keep people from driving while under the influence of alcohol.

The software is based on the work of researchers in Germany. Over a two-year period the researchers collected data from 162 participants in various states of drunkenness. They identified speech patterns often associated with intoxication, such as stammering, stuttering, and slurring.

The U.S. scientists believe their software could be used as a preventative measure to keep a car from starting if it determines a driver is impaired. However, they acknowledge the technology is several years away from practical use—in its current state the software correctly identifies a driver’s drunkenness or sobriety less than 75% of the time.

The drunken speech software is another component in the trend to use in-vehicle technology to outwit would-be drunk drivers. All 50 states have laws that require ignition interlock devices for some DUI offenders. And in 2015, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) starts the third phase of research on the Driver Alcohol Detection System for Safety (DADSS) in hopes of developing passive, non-invasive alcohol detection sensors that could be added to all cars.

While NHTSA statistics for 2013 show that the numbers are once again decreasing, annual deaths from alcohol-related crashes still top 10,000. Is creating technologies that allow vehicles to stop people from driving while intoxicated a step in the right direction?

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