Thursday, January 21, 2010

San Diego DUI Attorney DUI Criminal Defense Specialists

San Diego DUI Law Firm

A San Diego DUI Attorney can help defend you against a California criminal DUI conviction.  If you have been arrested for a DUI in San Diego it is very important you quickly take the proper actions to protect yourself from a criminal DUI conviction.  You need a San Diego DUI lawyer in CA that understands the law.  There are possible ways to avoid drunk driving penalties.

The San Diego DUI Specialists is a law firm dedicated to the defense of DUIs. Our main office is located in the heart of downtown San Diego in the iconic Emerald Plaza. We are right next door to the downtown Hall of Justice and the central courthouse where most DUI cases are prosecuted. We defend DUI cases throughout San Diego including the Vista, El Cajon and Chula Vista courthouses.

At San Diego DUI Specialists, our attorneys have tried hundreds of DUI cases. We even have a former DUI prosecutor on staff that is able to provide our clients with a unique look at your case from the governments perspective. You will know exactly what the prosecutor in your case is likely going to be offering and how to attack the weaknesses in the prosecutors case against you. You can take much of the guesswork out of your case with the San Diego DUI Specialists.

If you have been arrested for DUI, the first thing you need to do is request a DMV hearing within 10 days from the date of your DUI. If you do not request a DMV hearing within 10 days, your license will automatically be suspended by the DMV. Even if you lose the DMV hearing, you can postpone your license suspension by up to 4 to 6 weeks by simply requesting and attending the hearing. This often gives people accused of DUI some time to make arrangements for transportation during the period of suspension.

There are many legal defenses to a DUI. One of the most common ways to attack a DUI is to attack the stop. A peace officer must have reasonable suspicion to believe you are driving under the influence to pull you over. The most common thing officers report seeing is swerving or weaving. However, what if an impatient driver is honking their horn? Or they say your tail light is out and it is not? That may not be enough to give an officer reasonable suspicion to believe the crime of DUI has been committed. If the stop is not supported by reasonable suspicion, then anything that happens after the stop is illegal and the case must be dismissed.

There are many ways of avoiding a drivers license suspension or even dismissing a criminal DUI charge.  Just to name a few:

  • Lack of evidence of driving under the influence
  • Failure following the proper breath or blood test administering procedures
  • Improper blood collection
  • Illegal arrest or detention
  • Satisfactory performance on the field sobriety tests
  • Miranda Rights Violations
  • Insufficient evidence of impairment
  • Among many others

Rising blood alcohol is another common defense a DWI lawyer may use. If you drink alcohol faster than your body can absorb it, you will have rising blood alcohol. For example, if you drink several shots of alcohol real quickly, you may not immediately have a blood alcohol level above the legal limit. But your blood alcohol level will start rising. If you are arrested and your blood alcohol level at the station (usually an hour later) is .08, you may not have had a blood alcohol level of .08 at the time you were driving because your blood alcohol level was rising.

If you have been arrested for DUI, let us put our experience to work for you. Call us to speak with a DUI attorney San Diego for a free consultation.

If you are arrested for a driving drunk in San Diego CA you will be given a document by the arresting officer.  This document has information regarding the consequences of the offense, but more importantly it gives crucial information about your right to challenge the loss of your license by requesting an administrative APS hearing.  A DUI attorney San Diego can assist you in protecting your rights.

Attorney Ted Burgess provides aggressive and personalized defense in DUI cases throughout San Diego Ca. He makes himself available to clients and prides himself on providing individualized representation, treating each case uniquely and with the importance that it deserves. You need a criminal attorney who cares, and who gives your case careful attention when the stakes are this high.

chamber-of-commerceFirstly, if you plead guilty or no contest to a DUI in a California court, it could easily cost you over $10,000, taking all the collateral consequences into consideration.  Second, if you are under 21 years of age, you will lose your drivers license for at least one year  if you choose not to fight the case.  Fortunately, in most drunk driving cases, your lawyer can go to court for you.  If you are convicted of criminal driving under the influence the judge is able to order that there be an ignition lock placed on your car.  You can be required to complete an alcohol education program for up to nine months after a first time DUI.  If you are a licensed driver in a state other than California, if you do not request a CA DMV hearing within 10 days you will lose your drivers license in your home state.  At the DMV administrative hearing, a San Diego DUI lawyer can defend you.

Most likely the San Diego Police took your license and issued you a notice of suspension and a 30 day temporary license if you took a breathalyzer test and blew over .08, gave a blood sample, or a refused to do so.

If this is you first criminal DUI offense, you can expect a four month license suspension if you lose or fail to request a DMV hearing. If you are found to have engaged in a refusal, it will result in a one year license suspension. An experienced attorney may be able to successfully contest these suspensions. However, it is vital that the individual or his/her lawyer contact the DMV within ten days of the arrest.  If you fail to properly process this request, the suspension will take effect 30 days after the arrest takes place. Our attorneys will walk you through the San Diego court process for your case while fighting to ensure we achieve the best possible results.

Clients often ask What are the odds of winning the DMV suspension? Our San Diego DUI lawyers best answer is that you have a 100% chance of losing your drivers license if you decide to not challenge the DMV suspension by a hearing. However, defendants who choose to have an experienced attorney represent them at the DMV hearing statistically have a much greater chance of prevailing at the hearing. It is very important you consult a drunk driving criminal lawyer. Read more about our DUI lawyers and their outstanding results.

It is very important that you find a DUI trial attorney in San Diego who has a record of positive outcomes.  Our California DUI Law firm is very aggressive in attacking breathalyzer tests, blood tests, and the handling of blood samples to defend you in San Diego DUI criminal cases. Review our DMV Drunk Driving information or call to discuss your options for saving your drivers license.

By Douglas Gilliland

USD Law School, State Bar of California, NACDL

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