DUI

If you have been arrested for drunk driving or driving under the influence (DUI or DWI), you need legal advice and assistance of an experienced attorney to protect your rights and save your driver license privileges. The laws in California are very strict, without the proper representation, you could be facing mandatory jail time and license suspension.

• It is a crime for anyone with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or higher to operate a motor vehicle on a public roadway.
• It is against the law to drink any alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle upon a public roadway.
• It is against the law to have an opened container holding any amount of alcoholic beverage in a motor vehicle on a roadway.
• Anyone arrested for driving under the influence must submit to a chemical test (blood or breath) to determine the alcohol content of the blood. Failure to complete or refusal to take the test will result in suspension of the driver's license for one year. YOU MUST CALL THE DMV WITHIN 10 DAYS TO SAVE YOUR LICENSE.
• If you are arrested for driving under the influence and your blood alcohol level is .08 percent or more, your driver's license will be taken away by the arresting officer at the time of your arrest. A 30-day temporary permit will be issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles to allow for review and appeal. After that, your license will be suspended for four months. If you refuse to take a test, your license will be suspended for one year.
• If it is your first conviction, you will be fined $390 to $1,000 and serve 96 hours to six months in jail with three to five years of probation. With each subsequent conviction, these penalties are increased. Also, it is important to remember that a previous DUI/DWI conviction in any state is considered to be a prior conviction in the state of California .
• If you exceed the maximum speed limit by 30 mph on a highway, or 20 mph on any other roadway, an additional 60-day penalty will be added to your sentence.
• Your penalties will be extended up to 90 days for DUI if there is a minor child under the age of 14 in the vehicle at the time of arrest. If you are convicted of a DUI while driving with a minor child under the age of 14, you may also be convicted of child endangerment, which is a misdemeanor and is punishable by imprisonment in the county jail for up to one year, or in the state prison for two, four or six years.
• The state of California has a “zero tolerance” policy for drivers under the age of 21. This means that you can be convicted of a DUI if your blood alcohol level is as low as .01. Your penalties are different and often stiffer.

WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS IF YOU ARE STOPPED

• Remember, you are not obligated to respond to any questions and you have the right to speak to an attorney. The police may try to ask you any incriminating questions such as “how much have you had to drink”.
• You are not obligated to submit to a field sobriety test (walking straight line, touching finger to nose) without speaking to an attorney first.
• You must be read your Miranda rights during your arrest. If you have not been read your Miranda rights, any incriminating conversation between you and the officer is inadmissible.
• You are required to submit to a chemical test, either a blood test or breath test (urine tests are no longer eligible evidence in the state of California ). Blood tests are more accurate than breath tests. Blood tests must be saved and made available to your attorney for independent testing. Breath tests are less reliable and cannot be saved for future scrutiny. If you are CERTAIN that you have not exceeded the legal limit for DUI, you should demand a blood test.