Lay Charged with DUI

One of the stars of VH1's "Saddle Ranch" reality show, Rachel Lay, has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).  Lay, who works as a bartender at Saddle Ranch, a well-known bar on the Sunset Strip in the Hollywood section of Los Angeles, was pulled over by local law enforcement on March 3rd of last year and found to have been driving with a reported blood alcohol content of 0.22%, nearly three times the legal limit of 0.08% in Los Angeles.  Lay was scheduled to return to appear in a Los Angeles County Court on March 23, 2011.  However, when she failed to appear, a bench warrant was issued for her arrest.

Once Lay learned of the bench warrant, she contacted court officials and was scheduled to appear on May 31st to sort everything out.  This appears to be the first DUI incident for Lay. 

As any experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney can tell you, Lay was in a very precarious position after that bench warrant was issued for her arrest.  As all Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys know, any warrant for a person's arrest is approved and signed by a local judge.  Bench warrants in particular can be tricky because they are standing warrants for your arrest.  If you get pulled over for a broken tail light on your car, you can suddenly be arrested for a scheduled court appearance you may have completely forgotten about or simply couldn't attend for reasons such as illness.  As a Los Angeles DUI defense attorney can tell you, however, a scheduled court appearance is nothing to be casual about.  If you are scheduled to appear in court for a DUI incident, or any other reason, you must attend.  If you cannot, you must make arrangements with the court to reschedule.

Lay's DUI arrest brings up another point that Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys are particularly concerned about:  driving with a blood alcohol concentration of more than 0.20%.  With a blood alcohol concentration of 0.20% or more, a driver is more than double the legal limit of 0.08%, making that person eligible of much harsher punishments if convicted of drinking and driving.  As all good Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys can explain, a first-time DUI offender with a blood alcohol concentration of just 0.08% who does not cause any damage to another person or their property will often be sentenced to probation, community service, court fees and court-ordered alcohol classes.  Factors such as having unusually high blood alcohol content, driving with a child under the age of 14, speeding, or prior convictions can all be serious enough to land you in jail and you might be required to spend some time in alcohol rehabilitation or counseling.  If you have been arrested for DUI, call the Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today at 1-877-781-1570 to speak with a skilled and experienced Los Angeles DUI defense attorney about your case.