What Is DUI?
DUI; driving under the influence, often referred to as DWI; driving while intoxicated, or OUI; operating under the influence of alcohol or drugs, are the legal terms for drunk driving. Driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08% or above is now regarded as a serious criminal offense in California. A drunk driving conviction can impose severe and debilitating penalties such as imprisonment, revocation of driving priveleges, heavy fines, mandatory community service commitments, and required attendance in expensive and lengthy drunk driver re-education programs.
How a person responds to being pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving, as well as being subjected to any one or combination of various field sobriety testing methods, and subsequently arrested for any DUI related crimes, is
critical to their legal perspective. Accordingly, we provide this DUI information
so you can understand your rights and protect yourself as much as possible
in the event you have been, or will be, pulled over and arrested for DUI.
The DUI Stop Whether you are subject to questioning due to a sobriety checkpoint or roadblock, or pulled over because an officer alleges that you exhibit the behaviors or signs of impaired driving, you will inevitably be asked if you have been drinking. What should you do?
Do you say yes and claim that you only had two, say nothing, or refute that you've been drinking at all? How honest you feel you need to be with the officer is a personal choice, however in many cases your best
strategy will be to say as little as possible and to ask for an attorney
before answering any questions. Below are listed the implications resulting from how you respond to your DUI stop.
Submission to Preliminary Field Sobriety Tests In California, the implied consent laws provide that if you drive
a vehicle, you are automatically deemed to consent to the testing of your
breath, blood, saliva, or urine when you are stopped for suspicion of DUI. Also, per California legislature, if you refuse to submit to field sobriety testing upon request by a police officer, your driver's license will be subject
to an immediate or summary suspension. Regardless of your answer to whether you've consumed alcohol,
you will likely be given at least one of several tests to determine if
you have been drinking and to measure your blood alcohol content (BAC).
The officer will most likely be asking you questions while he or she is observing you and smelling for alcohol on your breath. If the officer becomes more suspicious that you are driving under the influence,
he or she will administer any one, or combination of, a variety of field sobriety tests such as a Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus Test (Eye Test), a Walk and Turn Test, a One Leg Stand Test, a Walk a Straight Line Test, etc. in an attempt to determine signs of impairment based on your coordination.
Subjection to Breath and Blood Alcohol Tests If the initial field sobriety tests serve to further arouse the officer's suspicion that you are driving drunk, you will then most likely be subject to a breathalyzer test which measures your blood alcohol content by measure of the alcohol in your
breath. If the breathalyzer test results indicate that you have a blood alcohol level at or above the .08% legal limit for driving a motor vehicle in California, the police officer will have grounds to formally arrest you
for driving under the influence. At this point, you will most likely be handcuffed, read your Miranda rights, and transported to a police
station or medical facility for a blood alcohol test. Once your blood is drawn by a medical professional, it will be analyzed for its blood alcohol content to determine whether you are legally intoxicated while driving. If so, you will be formally charged with DUI. Once incarcerated, you will be given the option to post bond and granted the right and means to contact an attorney.
Charges of Driving Under the Influence Once you have been formally charged with a DUI crime, you will be summoned to court for a pretrial hearing.
Depending on the amount of alcohol in your blood at the time of your arrest, along with any extenuating or aggravated circumstances surrounding your alleged DUI crime, the prosecution for the State may offer the opportunity to plea bargain your case instead of putting you on trial. If a resolution to your case is not reached, the State will attempt to prove their case against you for DUI in a court room trial, You are entitled to a discovery process to examine the State's evidence against you.
Trial for DUI At your DUI court trial, the prosecution will call its witnesses to your DUI; the officer
who arrested you, any other witnesses to your conduct, and the medical
professional(s) who administered your blood alcohol test, which the State will put forth as evidence against you.
You will
be given the option to testify on your own behalf, however you will not be required to take the stand. Your defense attorney
may call on any witness who will testify advantageously on your behalf, and can cross examine the prosecution's witnesses. Your attorney is entitled to present testimony from expert witnesses
to dispute the blood alcohol test's validity, the legality of your arrest, and any other evidence presented by the State.
DUI Verdicts At the conclusion of your court trial, the jury will deliberate and either acquit you of the DUI charges against you or convict you as guilty. If found to be guilty as charged, you could be sentenced to jail, fines, community service, drunk driving classes, and other penalties. If the prosecution is successful in proving their case against you, you have the legal right to appeal your conviction on DUI. In California you may be entitled to expunge a first offense DUI conviction from your record.
DUI Case Summary If you have
a DUI or DWI case, it is highly probable that the technicalities and scientific facts of your case can be successfully fought if they are contested by a experienced and qualified DUI Specialized Attorney. Mr. Casey will provide you with a free initial consultation in which he will be able to answer all of your questions regarding your DUI charges. You may contact us 24-hours a day at
(619) 237-0384 to obtain an evaluation of your DUI case.
You may also remit our
dui consultation formonline. Simply complete and submit the secure online DUI questionnaire about your
case in our secure online form and we'll get back to you shortly to answer any questions you may have and discuss the possibility of
representing you.
Mr. Casey has won numerous awards in the field of DUI and heads a premier DUI Defense firm in San Diego, CA, successfully representing San Diego DUI clients and routinely attaining favorable verdicts such as not guilty, hung jury, dismissed cases, and greatly reduced penalties. Contact Us Today to achieve the most favorable results in your DUI case.
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