Veteran attorney William “West” Seegmiller is scheduled to begin hosting a new hour-long weekly radio show on KFWB NEWS TALK 980 on Sunday, January 1, 2012 at 1:00 pm. Each Sunday, WEST OF LEGAL will focus on legal issues in the news, new laws, and advice for everyday legal problems.
“There are so many laws out there which the average Joe doesn’t know about, and we want to let them know how these laws impact their lives,” said Seegmiller. “I’d like WEST OF LEGAL to look at the issues at hand, explore legal options that are available, and to provide listeners with resources that they can use to protect and educate themselves about their rights. Sometimes people are afraid to look at their legal rights because of misconceptions about the law and lawyers, and I want to dispel those myths.”
January 1 marks the first day a new law in California targeting repeat drunk drivers goes into effect, and the premiere edition of WEST OF LEGAL will examine this new law and the drunk driving in general. Under this new law, drunk drivers caught a third time in 10 years for driving under the influence could lose their driver’s license for up to 10 years. Previously, according to the Department of Motor Vehicles, the penalty for a third driving under the influence (DUI) offense in California is a three-year license suspension, and since July 1, 2010, it has been a six-month suspension followed by a restricted license used in conjunction with an ignition interlock device. The show will also examine the cost of a DUI, the effect on insurance and the cost to society.
According to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, in California, there were 791 people killed in
traffic accidents in 2010 attributed to drunk drivers. Overall there were 2,715 people in California killed in traffic accidents in 2010. Nationwide, there were 10,228 deaths attributed to alcohol impaired driving, a decrease of 4.9% from 2009. There were 32,885 people killed in the US. According to Mothers Against Drunk Drivers (MADD), about a third of all drunk drivers arrested or convicted of DUI are repeat offenders. These drivers are about 40% more likely to be involved in a fatal crash than drivers without prior DUIs.
WEST OF LEGAL will discuss two cases that occurred in the past that could have been affected by the new law. Additionally, the show will address DUI checkpoints, protecting victims of drunk drivers, preventing drunk driving, and a driver’s rights if pulled over for drunk driving. Social host laws will also be examined. People who are hosts at parties in their own private homes are now being held accountable for minor’s drinking and car accidents in which they are involved.
Seegmiller founded The West Seegmiller Law Firm over 30 years ago and is focused on tackling a variety of personal injury and wrongful death cases, including premises liability, product liability, auto accidents, dog bites, nursing home negligence, medical malpractice, at-work injuries and more. The California law firm has offices in Irvine, Riverside, Los Angeles and San Bernardino, California, and Las Vegas, Nevada.
Seegmiller served as a Pro Tem judge for the California Supreme Court for 10 years in addition to serving as a mediator. He is also a member of the Professional Association of the Consumer Attorneys of Los Angeles, The American Bar Association, The Consumer Attorneys of California, and the American Association for Justice. Seegmiller earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of California Davis and his master’s degree from the University of Southern California. Additionally, Mr. Seegmiller earned his Juris Doctorate from the McGeorge School of Law University of the Pacific in Sacramento, where he was selected to compete in the highly competitive Traynor National Moot Court Team and was a member of the prestigious Pacific Law Review. Since establishing his own firm in 1981, Mr. Seegmiller continues to educate himself and expand his knowledge in the legal field. He has refined his skills in the practice by attending both the Harvard Law School Program of Instruction for Lawyers, as well as, The Jerry Spence Trial Lawyers College.
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