Reader’s Question:

Is it true that even if the person is not driving, but was found sleeping in the car and believed to have consumed alcohol, can be charged with DUI in Carson, California? How could this happen if the person was not actually driving?

Abby

Carson, CA

Yes, a person who is not really driving but has consumed alcohol and has slept in the car can be charged for DUI in Carson, California. If he/she is in control of a motor vehicle and in possession of the keys, it will be treated as drunk driving. In this case, it isn’t really ‘driving under the influence’ in its literal sense, but it’s gonna be ‘operating a motor vehicle under the influence.’ Even those who have slept in the back seat and may have potentially driven the car can be cited for DUI. But if the keys were not on the person at all, there may be ways to beat the DUI charge.

But in any DUI case, the court should find that there are reasonable grounds to believe for the police officer to believe that the person was operating a vehicle while under the influence. In finding out if a person has actual physical control over the vehicle, such that as person may be charged with DUI, the courts would look at where the person was seated in the vehicle and if the vehicle engine is running. In many DUI cases that the person was found sleeping behind the wheel and the engine was running, courts have upheld DUI convictions.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

I badly need your help because I don’t want to be in jail and I still wanna be able to drive. Is it really necessary for me to hire a DUI attorney after my recent arrest for DUI here in Bellflower, California?

Jane

Bellflower, CA

The solid answer to your question would be yes because experienced DUI attorney could help you understand the DUI charges and all of the issues that are involved. You should take your DUI case in Bellflower, California seriously because if you lose your case, it would require a mandatory jail sentence upon conviction and a driver’s license suspension. After all, you wanna save your freedom and license, don’t you? Having the services of a DUI attorney to defend you could result in the charges being dropped, being reduced to a non-alcohol or non-drug related offense or in some other more favorable outcome to you.

You have to be aware that there are several different types of DUI offenses and prior DUI convictions could substantially increase the penalties. There would also be two separate legal proceedings involved in a DUI case; one involves a criminal case and the other one would be a civil administrative case with the Department of Motor Vehicles. As a result, it would be very important that you understand California DUI laws and receive a favorable outcome the first time you are arrested, and know the things you can do to avoid or minimize the damage on your DUI offense as well as avoiding future DUI arrests.

Tags: driver’s license, DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

Regardless of guilt, what legal rights does a person have during a DUI arrest? I wanna know these things just in case I get arrested for DUI in Alhambra, California.

Vito

Alhambra, CA

If you will be arrested for DUI in Alhambra, California, it would be of great help if you know the legal rights that you have during a DUI arrest. These rights are actually commonly ignored by police officers. First of all, there should be sufficient facts to legally constitute a probable cause to stop your vehicle. The officer should also have enough reasons to legally detain and arrest you for DUI.

You must be advised that submission to field sobriety tests and portable field breath test is not required by law. Furthermore, if you are already in custody or you have already been arrested, you should be advised of your constitutional rights, otherwise known as the “Miranda” warning before any further questioning takes place. You should also be given a choice of breath or blood testing and if you refuse any chemical test, you should be advised of the legal consequences and this would be the “implied consent” advisement. If a breath test is conducted at the police station, since the breath sample is not saved, you should be given a chance to obtain a blood sample for later independent testing by your DUI defense attorney.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

Field sobriety tests on DUI suspects are so popular that they sometimes show it on TV as bloopers. But seriously, why are these tests called divided attention tests and is there an incidence here in Antioch, California that a person who was really drunk has passed more than one of the field sobriety tests?

Cain

Antioch, CA

Field sobriety tests (FST’s) are categorized as standardized and non-standardized. Standardized FST’s are those commonly used by police officers in a DUI investigation and are approved by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration. As we may all understand, standardized FST’s are psychophysical tests that require assessment of a DUI suspect’s appearance and condition, ability to follow instructions, as well as balance and coordination. These tests are often called Divided Attention Tests because they require the DUI suspect to concentrate on more than one thing at a time. He/she would have a divided attention between mental and physical tasks.

There may be an incidence already in Antioch, California that a person who was really drunk has passed more than one of the standardized FST’s but according to studies, a person who is under the influence of alcohol may perform one of the standardized FST’s but rarely more than one. If a person is under the influence of alcohol, he/she is likely to make certain predictable mistakes while attempting to do the FST’s.

Tags: DUI, DUI lawyer, field sobriety tests

Reader’s Question:

I have been driving for a long time and this is the first time that I was charged with a criminal traffic offense that’s why a DUI charge is very new to me. What do you think is the first thing that I would so after being arrested for DUI in El Monte, California?

Daisy

El Monte, CA

One of the fundamental rules that you should do after being arrested for DUI in El Monte, California is to request for an administrative hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) within 10 days upon your arrest. If you miss to request for the DMV hearing, you could lose your driver’s license for four months or so after 30 days. What’s even worse news is that the DMV hearing is entirely different from the criminal court trial. There would be no prosecutor at a DMV hearing and it is more often easier to “win” the defense at the DMV hearing than at the court trial.

With the knowledgeable guidance of a highly experienced DUI defense lawyer, you would be taken through the complicated process of a DUI case step by step. I tell you that you would not miss the deadline by which you must request the DMV hearing wherein you could risk losing your driving privileges for a certain period of time. Also, you would actually know when, where and how to file the required SR22 form from your insurance company.

Tags: advice, DUI, DUI lawyer, SR22 insurance

Reader’s Question:

Is it legal for my auto insurance company to raise my rates without my approval, just because I got involved in a drunk driving arrest in Sacrament, California? Is it also true that my old auto insurance company will provide my drunk driving record to my new insurance company, in case I decide to cancel my policy with them?

Juan

Sacramento, CA

Assuming that you’re involvement means that you were the one pulled over and charged with Driving Under the Influence, then the answer is yes, a DUI case would usually mean the start of a sour and uphill battle with your current insurance company, often involving ridiculously raised monthly premiums or a mail notifying the cancellation of your policy altogether. This is because it would be very risky for the car insurance company to keep you if you have been proven guilty of a DUI charge. You might even be labelled a high-risk driver, further complicating things in the event you do need to file a claim with them in the future.

If you do decide to go with a new insurance carrier or should your current carrier there in Sacramento, California decide to drop you, the best you can do is to look for the lowest rates you can find elsewhere. You may be interested to take a look at the very competitive auto insurance package being offered in this website as well. Finally, it is highly unlikely that a company will share its customer’s records with the competition, and California does have laws protecting your consumer information, however, this doesn’t mean that your new Insurance Company won’t know about your previous DUI charges or driving history. And even if they don’t find out about it for now, most insurance companies run driving record checks at least once every three years or if you get a new policy so it will still come up later.

Tags: auto insurance, drunk driving insurance, DUI, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

My son was arrested for DUI here in Camarillo, California and his case is proceeding to trial since he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. What could we expect to go through during the DUI trial?

Cadence

Camarillo, CA

Just like any other criminal trial, California DUI trial has certain distinct elements. The first phase on your son’s DUI trial in Camarillo, California would typically be the submission of pre-trial motions. The next stage would be the jury selection, where 12 impartial jury members are chosen. During this stage, both sides engage in the examination of prospective jurors, to each individual’s suitability for jury service. After the jury has been selected, both sides would give opening statements which is an opportunity for your son’s DUI lawyer and the prosecutor to give a preview of what is to come in the DUI case.

After the opening statements, both sides would engage in the examination and cross examination of prosecution witnesses and experts and the examination and cross examination of defense witnesses and experts. Both sides would engage in closing arguments once all of the witnesses have testified. This is usually a chance to recap the DUI case that has been presented to the jury. The next stage of the DUI trial would be the jury deliberations and, finally, the verdict. Your son will be sentenced if he will be found guilty for the DUI charge. But it would be very important to keep in mind that defendants in DUI cases can prevail at trial.

Tags: DUI, DUI lawyer, DUI trial

Reader’s Question:

A friend of mine got arrested in Palmdale, California because of DUI. He had a slurred speech according to the police report. Can a slurred speech be used as evidence in a DUI trial?

Alonzo

Palmdale, CA

Just like the odor of alcohol on the breath of a person arrested for DUI, a very few police reports would fail to include an observation by the police officer that the person arrested exhibited “slurred speech” during the DUI arrest. The police officer usually expects to hear slurred speech in a person whom he/she suspects as intoxicated or driving under the influence, particularly after smelling alcohol on the breath. Also, it would be a psychological fact that we tend to “hear” what we expect to hear. And upon hearing a slurred speech, it supplies the police officer with a proof of his suspicions that the person was indeed intoxicated, and thus driving under the influence.

Assuming that the police officer was honest that your friend who was arrested for DUI in Palmdale, California had a slurred speech during the DUI arrest, there is little evidence that this is a symptom of intoxication. For example, impairment of speech, even when sober, is a common reaction to the stress, fear and nervousness that a police investigation would be expected to happen. Fatigue is also a well-known cause of having a slurred speech. A study of phonetician showed that even self-proclaimed experts are not good at estimating people’s alcohol levels by the way they talk.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DUI, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

I did a little research about alcohol because my daughter has been arrested for DUI here in Buena Park, California. One of the reasons my daughter was asked to do the field sobriety tests is because the officer said that he smelled strong odor of alcohol on my daughter’s breath. I found out that alcohol really does not have an odor, so could she use this as a defense on her DUI case?

Piper

Buena Park, CA

Yes, your daughter can definitely use that as a defense on her DUI case in Buena Park, California. I bet you can never see a DUI case where the police officer doesn’t report an odor of alcohol on the DUI suspect’s breath. The officer actually expects to smell it and it is a psychological fact that we see, hear and smell what we expect to see, hear and smell. As a matter of fact, most DUI police reports are formatted for the usual symptoms: there would be a box for “odor of alcohol”, which the officer checks off. There are three boxes labelled as “strong”, “moderate” and “weak.” The “strong” box is usually checked because presumably, the stronger the odor of alcohol, the more intoxicated the person arrested; and the problem with that is alcohol has no odor. Even a non-alcoholic drink can smell like the “odor of alcohol,” when in fact, what the officer smells is not ethyl alcohol but the flavoring in the beverage.

And, of course, there could be a number of causes of an “odor of alcohol” on a person’s breath such as mouth wash, throat spray and cough syrup. Indigestion, illness or simple bad breath has been the cause of more than one officer’s trigger-quick conclusion that the suspect has an “odor of alcohol on his breath.” The main point is that the odor of alcohol has very little relevance in a DUI case. It could or could not indicate that the person has consumed alcohol. It has no evidentiary value as to how much the person has consumed, what he had to drink and when.

Tags: DUI, DUI advice, DUI arrest, DUI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

It may not be a very good idea to represent myself in my DUI case in Costa Mesa, California but I’m still thinking twice in hiring one because of the fees. What could a lawyer actually do in my DUI case?

Zeke

Costa Mesa, CA

You are right, Zeke, it may not be a very good idea to represent yourself in your DUI case in Costa Mesa, California. You could actually do that but you would have to think it over a million times because a lot of things are on the line. California DUI laws are very much complicated and you need someone to help you understand the intricacies of California DUI laws and a DUI lawyer has experience in trials as well as constitutional rights and sentencing issues.

A qualified DUI lawyer could review the case for defects, subpoena field sobriety training manuals and cross-examine the officer on his failure to follow his training, suppress evidence, compel discovery of such things as calibration and maintenance records for the breath machine, obtain expert witnesses, have blood samples independently analyzed, negotiate for a lesser charge or reduced sentence and may be able to win your DUI case at trial. A California DUI lawyer who primarily handles DUI cases would know the best strategies to employ to give you the best possible defense.

Tags: DUI, DUI advice, DUI lawyer