Fatal Pileup Involving Bruce Jenner Features Two Suspended Licenses, But No Los Angeles DUI Charges

The Los Angeles DUI community and others initially thought the recent horrendous Bruce Jenner crash might have involved alcohol. The investigation into the fatal accident continues to unfold, providing more details into the sequence of events.

The accident unfolded when Bruce Jenner, 69 year-old Olympic medalist and part of the Kardashian family, allegedly rear-ended two vehicles in his Cadillac Escalade. New evidence based on video captured from a bus camera recently emerged indicates that Jenner first rear ended a Lexus sedan driven by Kim Howe (69). The impact pushed the sedan into oncoming traffic, where it collided head first with a Hummer. Howe died at the scene. Jenner submitted to both field tests and DUI blood tests. The results yielded no proof of intoxication.

During the sequence of events, Jenner also rear ended the car immediately in front of the Lexus, a Toyota Prius driven by Jessica Steindorff (29). Both Howe and Steindorff had been driving with suspended licenses. According to the Los Angeles Times, investigators found proof that Jenner tried to avoid the accident with hard braking and veering to the right shoulder of the road.

Talking or texting on a handheld cellphone is illegal while driving in California. Evidence suggests that distracted driving may have played a role in the deadly sequence of events. Pagesix.com highlights photographs taken of Jenner talking on the phone while driving only days after the accident. Investigators look to phone records for proof of distracted driving when evaluating the circumstances surrounding an accident.

Chain reaction crashes like this one require intensive investigations. Evidence emerging in the continued investigation will likely clarify the cause of the accident and Jenner’s role. Publicly, Jenner holds that he did nothing wrong. Emerging evidence of negligence could lead to charges of vehicular manslaughter.

Do you or a family member need insight from a qualified Los Angeles DUI attorney? Contact Michael Kraut of the Kraut Law Group to set up your free consultation.

Did you get arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles? If so, contact Los Angeles criminal defense attorney Michael Kraut for assistance by phone at (323) 464-6453 or online. We’re located at 6255 Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1480, Los Angeles, California 90028.

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New Concept from Canada: Licenses Suspended “Indefinitely” in DUI Cases

I’ve written in the past about the guilty-until-proven-innocent approach to DUI license suspensions and the almost complete lack of due process.  See, for example, "Due Process" for DUI License Suspensions, Secret Memo: DMV License Suspension Hearings Rigged and Judge: DUI License Suspension Hearings "Unacceptable".      

In California, for example, when a citizen is suspected of drunk driving and is arrested, the cop confiscates the license and gives the suspect a "Notice of Suspension".  The citizen has 10 days in which to call the DMV to demand a hearing, or the right to contest the cop’s automatic suspension is lost.  If a hearing is granted, it will be at the DMV’s offices; the prosecutor will be a DMV employee with a high school degree.  Oh yes, and the judge will be….the same person.  Right: judge, jury and executioner — without any legal training and answerable only to his/her employer — the DMV.

As bad as this is, apparently our northern neighbors in the province of Alberta have gone a step further:  unlike DUI suspensions in the U.S., which are for a specific period of time, those in Alberta are for an indefinite period — until the criminal charges are "resolved" in court.  In other words, the accused — guilty or innocent — is coerced into pleading guilty if he wants his license back.

Lawyers Call Alberta’s Drunk Driving Penalties Unconstitutional

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  June 19 – Civil Liberties Association lawyer Joseph Arvay has been retained by Alberta firm Roadlawyers, which specializes in drunk driving cases, one of several that are decrying the Alberta government’s decision to indefinitely suspend licences of drivers who blow over the Criminal Code limit of .08 blood-alcohol content.

Drivers police deem are over the .08 limit will immediately have their licences suspended without even seeing a judge, a penalty that will remain in place until the charge is resolved in court.

“I think it’s clearly contrary to the Constitution and clearly contrary to the Charter (of Rights and Freedoms),” said Roadlaywer attorney Tim Foster.

“We intend to challenge the legislation as soon as we get retained on a file dealing with one of these — we’re going to bring a Constitutional challenge to try to strike the law down.”…

In what’s being called a first for Canada, Transportation Minister Ric McIver came out Monday saying drivers who blow over .08 will be hit hard with an indefinite suspension starting July 1, one of several get-tough measures rolled out in the Traffic Safety Amendment Act passed last year.

McIver said drivers simply weren’t refraining enough from tipping their glasses before hitting the roads and harsher penalties were needed to ensure “all of us feel more secure when we go out on Alberta roadways.”

Many lawyers, however, say the new penalties are nothing more than a tactic that will strong-arm drivers into issuing guilty pleas rather than challenge their cases in court.

“There’s some good and bad about that from a public policy perspective,” said Alan Pearse, who specializes in DUI cases in Calgary.

“The good news is you will almost certainly force guilty people to plead guilty. The bad news is you’re likely going to force some innocent people to plead guilty as well.”

Lawyer Bob Sawers called it the government’s way to “extort” guilty pleas from Albertans who can’t afford to lose their licences for several months and said he would demanding trial dates be set within two months.

Apparently, Transportation Minister McIver’s idea that "harsher penalties were needed to ensure all of us feel more secure" is to simply force anyone suspected of drunk driving to plead guilty.

I can imagine prosecutors, cops and Mothers Against Drunk Driving drooling over the idea of adopting this approach in the States….

This entry was posted on Saturday, June 23rd, 2012 at 3:05 am and is filed under Duiblog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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