DUI or DWI refers to driving while under the influence of alcohol or while intoxicated. It also includes driving while under the influence of any drug. It is not limited just to driving a car, for an individual can be charged and convicted for operating a boat, bicycle, airplane, tractor or even a wheelchair while impaired.
Most offenses occur in motor vehicles. A driver is considered impaired if the drug or alcohol has impaired that person’s ability to drive. Usually, a patrol officer spots a vehicle that is weaving, or the driver has violated a traffic law. If the officer suspects the driver is under the influence, usually by observing the person’s speech, movements or breath odor, the office can request the person to take a series of field sobriety tests and/or blow into a portable breath device, and to later take a breath or blood test.
Lindsay Lohan
Celebrities have been notorious for being arrested for driving while impaired. Lindsay Lohan was arrested for DUI in 2007 and placed on probation. In 2010, she missed a probation hearing on that charge because she was in Cannes and claimed her passport had been stolen. She was ordered to post a $100,000 bail bond on the arrest warrant issued by the Los Angeles judge who increased it to $200,000 when she apparently violated her probation again when her SCRAM or alcohol monitoring device detected the presence of alcohol. Her ability to avoid any jail time to date has been put in serious jeopardy.
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland was arrested in 2007 for DUI and served 48 days in jail after pleading guilty. He had been sentenced to 30 days with an additional 18 days for violating the probation terms of his previous 2004 drunk driving conviction.
Mel Gibson
In July 2006, Mel Gibson was stopped by patrol officers and greeted them with an anti-Semitic tirade along with a string of profanities while being arrested for drunk driving. He was given probation and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings as this was his first offense. He did admit to being an alcoholic. Gibson’s conviction was expunged after he successfully completed his three years of probation.
Jim Leyritz
Some drunk driving charges do involve tragic circumstances. Jim Leyritz, a former world series star with the New York Yankees, was arrested in 2007 following a car crash that killed a woman in Ft. Lauderdale. Leyritz had a blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit and was charged with DUI/manslaughter.
