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Article
written based on California Law
Every year approximately 250,000 people in California get
arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI).
The arrest is usually terrifying, bewildering, humiliating
and obnoxious. But it is just the beginning of a dizzying
series of procedures which will unfold over the next two
to six months, carrying with it an astounding number of
consequences and penalties. The consequences of the arrest
begin almost immediately. At the time of the arrest, the
police officer will take your driver's license and give
you a suspension notice and a temporary license.
Their form will tell you that in thirty days your license
becomes suspended for four months. The most important
information, however, is either not on the form or is
virtually incomprehensible: you have ten days from the
date of the arrest to request a hearing at the DMV. If you
do so, you protect your rights. If you do not request a
hearing within the ten days, you give up substantial
rights. If you request a hearing and they can't give you a
hearing within the next thirty days (and they can't), they
are required to stay (postpone) the suspension of your
license. It does not start thirty days after the arrest,
and you can continue to drive with a valid license until
the DMV has a hearing and renders a decision.
This may sound like postponing the inevitable, but it is
not. Many people who have hearings win those hearings and
do not have a license suspension at all. More importantly,
by requesting the hearing and obtaining a stay, you
control the timing of the consequences from the DMV and
from the court, and it works in your favor. Remember,
these laws were not written with your interests in mind.
You and your lawyer are the only ones with your interests
in mind. If you have the DMV hearing and win, there is no
suspension from the DMV. If you have the hearing and lose,
then your license will be suspended sometime thereafter
for four months. You are not allowed to drive at all for
four months. If however, you are convicted of a DUI and
ordered into an alcohol program (see below), then it is
possible to convert the four month suspension to a one
month suspension followed by a five month license
restriction, allowing you to drive to and from work,
during the course of your employment, and to and from the
alcohol school. The timing of all of this is critical, and
a lawyer experienced in handling DUI matters can arrange
for the best possible timing. The prosecution of the
criminal case usually begins approximately thirty days
from the date of the arrest.
There are three major aspects in every DUI case: the
officer's observations of your driving (or whatever called
his attention to you), the officer's observation of you
after the detention, which includes the field sobriety
testing procedures, and the result of your blood or breath
test. Although there are so many DUIs handled in each
court every day that, to the prosecutor, they tend to
become routine, every case should be determined by its own
unique set of facts and circumstances. The consequences
that result from the prosecution can vary tremendously,
depending upon the facts of the case and the skills of
your lawyer. Because there are so many DUIs, standardized
treatment by the courts has developed. For the
garden-variety DUI, the law requires four minimum,
mandatory consequences:
1. Three years of informal or summary probation. This is
the easy kind of probation, without a probation officer to
report to. You are on probation to the court, and it is a
promise not to get arrested again for three years.
2. A fine of approximately $1,250.00, and you will have
plenty of time to pay it.
3. A level one drinking-driver program. You must attend
ten weekly sessions of approximately three hours each.
4. A ninety day license restriction, allowing you to drive
to and from work, during the course of your employment,
and to and from the alcohol program mentioned above.
The timing of this restriction from the court and the
suspension/restriction from the DMV is critical, and
failure to time them properly can result in more
suspension/restriction than is necessary. The consequences
discussed in the paragraph above are what I refer to as
the garden-variety, standard minimum first-time
consequences. There are four situations that can increase
those penalties:
1. An accident;
2. A blood alcohol concentration of .20% or greater;
3. A refusal to take a blood or breath test; and
4. A prior DUI or alcohol-related reckless driving
conviction.
If any of these four circumstances exist, the penalties
for the standard minimum first offense go up, and can
include jail time, community service, additional fines, or
a host of other undesirable consequences. It all sounds
pretty dismal. There are always going to be some
consequences, even if you're not guilty of driving under
the influence of alcohol. But the consequences can vary
from minor to severe. A criminal lawyer with experience
handling DUI matters can make a major difference in the
outcome of most cases.
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About
The Author
Steven
Mandell has been a criminal lawyer in
Santa Monica, California for the last 27
years. Mr. Mandell has handled over a
thousand criminal cases, many of them
involving DUI alcohol or drugs. Mr.
Mandell can be reached by telephone at 310
393 0639. Email: SRM6100@aol.com |
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