October 30, 2018 | DUI Defense
A California judge has ordered “Ray Donovan” star Marion Hall to take part in an addiction program and have an ignition interlock device installed in his Chrysler 300 sedan. The order was handed down on Oct. 26 during a bail hearing in Los Angeles. The 44-year-old actor will also be required to attend at least two Alcoholics Anonymous meetings a week until his drunk driving case is resolved. He faces child endangerment and felony DUI charges stemming from an Oct. 3 accident in Burbank.
Hall’s legal problems began when officers from the Burbank Police Department responded to the scene of a motor vehicle collision on North Buena Vista Street at approximately 7:30 p.m. Eyewitnesses are said to have told responding officers that they saw a Chrysler sedan swerving in and out of traffic being driven by a man with a young boy sitting on his lap. One of the witnesses claimed that the child had his hands on the steering wheel at the time. Police say that Hall was taken into custody without incident after striking a parked car.
However, officers allege that Hall showed clear signs of intoxication at the scene and was unable to successfully complete a series of field sobriety exercises. A breath test is said to have revealed the actor’s blood alcohol concentration to be .08 percent. Reports indicate that Hall’s 2-year-old child was in the vehicle at the time and not properly retrained as required by California law.
Attorneys with DUI defense experience may urge prosecutors to be lenient when presented with facts like these. The penalties for felony drunk driving are severe and may be inappropriate when property damage is minor and no innocent bystanders were injured. Attorneys could add weight to these arguments by pointing out mitigating factors like a previously unblemished criminal record, a supportive family and genuine remorse.