John Stamos’ DUI hearing, originally scheduled for Friday, October 16th, has been postponed by nearly a month to November 24th, only two days before Thanksgiving. When the L.A. County District Attorney issued the delay, it was somewhat of a surprise, but it was no more unusual than the Beverly Hills Police Department waiting four months after his arrest, till October 14th, to formally file charges.
The charge brought against John Stamos is one count of misdemeanor DUI, specifically involving drugs rather than alcohol. Because it is a misdemeanor allegation, Stamos does not have to be physically present during the arraignment, California law allows him to have his lawyer, Blair Berk, represent him instead of appearing personally. Because the charge is for a first-time offense, it would be unusual for Stamos to actually serve jail time, though the law does provide for the possibility of up to 6 months behind bars. Since Stamos has not yet entered a plea and his case remains under investigation by the Beverly Hills PD, we can be sure there will be further updates yet to come, and John Stamos will have more to think of this November than his turkey dinner.
The case began when, on June 12th, Beverly Hills police received a call from a concerned citizen that a sliver Mercedez-Benz was behaving “strangely and erratically” on the highway. Police soon followed, pulled Stamos over, and quickly assessed his condition. Reportedly, he was so visibly deteriorated that police, concerned for his safety, called in the paramedics to immediately rush him from the pull-over scene straight to the hospital for treatment.
Police followed Stamos to the Cedars Sinai Medical Center and issued the notice to appear DUI during his treatment. It was also at the hospital that a drug test was taken to establish intoxication. In July, Stamos voluntarily checked himself into drug rehab, which along with the lack of a past DUI record, is another factor in his favor should his defense attorney seek leniency from the presiding judge.
The DUI incident has gotten some bad publicity for John Stamos, but it has not at all phased Fox and Netflix in regard to his career potential. The star of Grandfathered and Full House is still working on the new series Fuller House and the new comedy The Grinder, and he received additional scripts and work only hours after his “almost-arraignment” on Friday.
While the John Stamos case is somewhat out of the ordinary in that a celebrity is involved, the circumstances of his arrest, and the multiple months the case has already taken, Stamos must go through the same court process as everyone else. And like everyone who faces a DUI, whether for drugs or for alcohol, he must rely heavily on a skilled Los Angeles DUI defense attorney. To obtain the best possible outcome to his case, his acting skills will be of no help- only legal skills provided by an experienced lawyer will avail. While the unusual delays in the Stamos case might cause some to suspect preferential treatment, the other facts involved speak loudly in the opposite direction – “When charged with a DUI in California, everyone is equal and everyone needs a lawyer!”