Articles Posted in DUI

Defending a DUI in Orange County is a specialized field of law, which requires an experienced defense lawyer. Understanding the science associated with blood alcohol testing, as well as understanding evidentiary law, combined with criminal and constitutional law, is of key importance when defending someone who has been charged with driving under the influence. Equally as important, is understanding the rules and guidelines that the Orange County law enforcement agencies must adhere to when stopping and ultimately arresting someone.

An attorney who possesses these qualifications will have a good understanding of how to uncover the weaknesses in the evidence and in the prosecution’s case. Every arrest and every DUI case is different, but an aggressive DUI defense lawyer will always strive to minimize the impact that a DUI has on a person’s life, in every case. The focus should always be to attempt to reduce the charges or have them dropped altogether.

While some DUI cases are fairly simple and straightforward, there are those that are more complicated and require review and examination by a good DUI defense attorney in order to determine what, if anything can be done to minimize the negative impact that the arrest, and potential conviction, may bring.

There is an interesting case out of Livingston County where a man was arrested and charged with DUI and then the case later dismissed.  According to the article, the man was involved in an accident and asked to take a breathalyzer test at the scene.  This, after the officer at the scene said he smelled alcohol on the man’s breath.  The man refused and was arrested, taken to the police station, booked and blood drawn.  Apparently, in Livingston County, once someone is arrested and the case submitted to the District Attorney, they must go ahead and file formal charges.  This is unfortunate for the individual in this situation because, even though it was later proved that he was not DUI, he now has an arrest on his record and a history of having a DUI filed in Court.   It is the right of any individual to refuse to take a roadside breath test and to refuse to submit to a field sobriety test.  However, when someone refuses, it usually results in being arrested and taken to the station where you are then required by law to submit to blood, breath or urine testing.  So as is the case with this individual, his blood results did prove that he was not DUI, but he was then faced with having the arrest and charges on his record.

In California, and more specifically Orange County, the District Attorney will usually wait until the results of the blood test are available before deciding whether or not to file charges.  This seems to make much more sense.  For the DA to file charges just based on the police officer’s opinion that the individual was, or may have been under the influence, doesn’t seem to make much sense knowing that if they wait for the results, they will have scientific proof one way or the other.

For someone to refuse to take a roadside breath test or submit to a field sobriety test, may make the individual look guilty or give an officer a reason to doubt sobriety.  So why would someone, who knows that they are not under the influence, refuse to submit to such roadside tests?  There are some who feel that the roadside hand-held breathalyzers are unreliable and may produce false results.  There are those who may refuse to submit to field sobriety tests merely due to the fact that they have balance issues and know that they will be unable to pass the test.  So there are legitimate reasons that people refuse these roadside tests, and as mentioned above, it is their right to do so.

Recent statistics have shown that there are approximately 13,000 DUI arrests in Orange County alone, out of nearly 200,000 in the State of California. In some years, more than 90 percent of Orange County DUI arrests result in conviction.

A conviction of DUI carries severe and long lasting effects on a person’s life. An experienced DUI defense attorney can help to minimize the consequences of being arrested and charged with driving under the influence.

DUI, or driving under the influence, charges are typically charged as misdemeanors. However, some DUI’s can be charged as felonies. A DUI that is charged as a Felony DUI, usually involves DUI manslaughter; DUI causing serious injury; 3rd DUI conviction within 10 years; and 4th DUI conviction at any time. Drunk drivers who cause injury, or DUI with injury is sometimes referred to as a “wobbler” charge, which means that it can be charged as either a felony or misdemeanor. However, prosecutors typically pursue the charge that carries the most punishment. An experienced criminal defense attorney, or DUI defense attorney, will have the knowledge and experience to determine the likelihood of getting the felony reduced to a misdemeanor. A conviction of felony DUI carries a much more serious punishment than a misdemeanor DUI. A misdemeanor first offense DUI can be punishable by up to six months in the county jail, whereas a felony DUI can carry a year or more in state prison sentence.

You’ve just been arrested in Orange County, California for driving under the influence. What happens next?

The most time-sensitive matter you need to address is the DMV Administrative Per Se (APS), hearing. You have ten days from the date you are arrested to request this hearing, in writing.

What many people don’t know is that when you are arrested for DUI, if you fail the blood, breath or urine test, meaning that you had a .08 or higher blood alcohol level, your driving privilege in California is automatically suspended by the Department of Motor Vehicles. The length of the suspension depends upon whether it was your first arrest for DUI and, whether you were under the age of 21 years at the time.

As a DUI defense attorney, practicing law in Orange County California for more than 20 years, I have handled hundreds of driving under the influence cases. My clients come from all walks of life. They include lawyers, doctors, business professionals, college students, as well as the average person who is just living their life comfortably, until one day when they make a mistake and drive after having had a few too many drinks. This is the time when you need an experienced attorney who will look closely at your case and determine whether or not there is a good defense. The following is a list of some defense to DUI that I routinely look for when evaluating a new case.

1. Can the prosecution prove that you were the one driving the car? This may sound obvious, but surprisingly, there are those situations where police officers come upon a car and there is more than one occupant in the car. If no one is in the driver seat, how can they determine who was driving.

2. Did the police officers have reasonable suspicion to stop you in the first place? As most people know, all an officer has to have in order to pull you over is a reasonable suspicion that you have done something wrong. Challenging the stop is extremely difficult because there are so many reasons an officer can pull you over. Obviously any traffic violation, regardless of how minor, gives an officer reasonable cause. It can be something as small as a taillight out, driving too slow, or forgetting to use your turn signal. So, one of the first things I look at is why you were pulled over in the first place.