Reader’s Question:

My teenage daughter has been charged with DUI here in Central Contra Costa, California and this is actually already her second arrest. The first charges were actually dropped but we know that it’s not always gonna be the case. If she gets convicted, what are the possible penalties that she could have?

Izza
Central Contra Costa, CA

The penalties for minors (under the age of 21) who are convicted for DUI are stiffer. The State of California strictly implements its zero tolerance law wherein a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.01% for a minor would get him/her arrested for DUI. Because of your daughter’s DUI in Central Contra Costa, California, if she gets convicted, her driver’s license would be suspended for a period of one year and this would be before the court penalties would be imposed upon conviction, but she could get a temporary license for 30 days. She is entitled to request for a hearing at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to see if the evidence would confirm that her BAC has been at least 0.01% at the time of driving.

Since this would still be considered as her first DUI if she gets convicted, she would have a mandatory alcohol education that would be ordered by the court. If she gets enrolled with the program, she could apply for a restricted license that would allow her to drive to and from work and to and from her DUI program classes.

Tags: DUI, DUI lawyer, DUI penalties, teen DUI, underage DUI

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:

What are the criminal penalties for a DWI charge in San Diego, California? How do the administrative proceedings take place? If convicted, what are the possible penalties?

Sandy

San Diego, CA

You will receive a pink slip from the arresting officer upon your arrest for driving while intoxicated. You’ll have ten calendar days from receiving the pink slip to call the DMV and ask for a hearing. If you’ve already hired a DWI attorney, he can also contact the DMV and make arrangements for a hearing. Please note that the time period for requesting a hearing is very strict. If you fail to call within ten calendar days, you will be denied a hearing and your suspension will start once your 30-day temporary license has expired. Your San Diego DWI attorney can also request for the DMV to grant you a stay since your hearing may not come up before the 30-day period ends. A stay means that the validity of your temporary license is extended beyond the original 30-day period.

If you have had more than one conviction, the penalties for DWI in California can be harsh. The penalties can include jail time, fines, court costs, probation, and other penalties designed to prevent offenders from committing the same crime in the future. With every additional conviction, the level of these penalties increases. A fourth offense committed becomes a felony and the mandatory minimums for jail time increase and the other penalties for DWI increase as well with felony charges. Considering how serious this crime is that can impact your life in a negative way, having a San Diego DWI attorney to represent you during your trial and any subsequent proceedings is very important.

Tags: drunk driving laws, DWI advice, DWI lawyer

Reader’s Question:

Do you know if there’s a difference between the traffic school fee I paid to the court when I was charged a DWI offense and the fees for online traffic school registration? Why is that I have to pay again when I tried to take a course online? Also, if my county required me to take the final exam somewhere, how do I know where to go?

Jim

Anaheim, CA

Thanks Jim for your question. Yes, there is a difference between the fee that you paid in your court for your DWI conviction and the fee that is being asked when you take a traffic course online. The court’s “traffic school” fee is actually only an administrative fee, so it does not cover the cost of your tuition for the online traffic school course. Online traffic school programs are not run by the courts but is privately owned and operated. They have their own fees separate from the court’s fees. Usually, the fee for online traffic school course is just minimal and cheaper than having to attend a standard course in a classroom. Not only it can consume most of your time, it can also be inconvenient.

As for your other inquiry, most counties in California do not require you to go anywhere to accomplish your Final Exam. You may have the option to take your Final Exam online at home or at work or anywhere with a use of computer that has Internet. However, there are a few counties in California that requires you to take your Final Exam in an “Approved Testing Location”. So it will best to go to your county and find out if they require you to take your Final Exam at an Approved Testing Location.

Reader’s Question:

I have a history of DWI arrest in California. Recently, I was required by the court to attend a traffic school course. If I took a traffic school course online, how long will it take me to complete the course?

Megan

Concord, California

Interesting question, Megan. Though traffic school course lengths differ from state to state, typical courses are usually within 4 to 6 hours in length. Since it is an online course, you have the freedom to start and stop the course as much as you want to. It should not actually take longer to complete an online traffic school course for your DWI arrest than it would with a traditional sit-down traffic school class, which is normally 8 hours. Online program allows you to work at your own pace. You won’t have to rush or panic, since you will be informed if your court deadline is near. Otherwise, you may stay in the program for as long as you want. The best thing about online traffic school course is that you are not required to go through the course all at once, though you can do that if you want. Normally, the program is broken up into several sections to give you the convenience to move at your own pace. Since the program can keep a record of your development, you can easily go back to where you left off. Usually, there are no limitations on how often you can log on and off.

The California Traffic School Course is arranged to take 8 hours to complete. Because the program is self-paced, however, the length in which it takes to complete a course may vary from individual to individual.

Reader’s Question:

If I try to run around to sober me up first before driving, will I be safe in taking a breath test for a DWI arrest in California if in case I was caught by a policeman? How long after consuming an alcoholic drink can they detect it with a breath tester?

Samuel.

Bakersfield, CA

As we know, alcohol does not remain in the blood long enough for most tests to detect recent use. That is why breathalyzers and oral fluid tests are now being commonly used by law enforcement officers in California to easily and conveniently detect current use of alcohol on a DWI subject. Exercising won’t help you sober up faster after drinking too much alcohol. Thus, it will not be safe but it will just be tiring for you if you do that.
Detection of alcohol with a breath tester, depends on how much the person had to drink, and how long ago they drank. Alcohol is eliminated in the body at the constant rate of about .015% BAC per hour, that is about one drink per hour. If a person had only one drink, the maximum intoxication level they might have would be about .02%. This means that within one hour, their alcohol level would possibly be about zero. On the other hand, if a person had an alcohol level twice the legal limit for drunk driving in most states, for example, .20%, it would take13 hours or more for their alcohol level to reach zero after they stopped drinking. Breath alcohol testers measures blood alcohol level, which is an actual measure of intoxication. Therefore, a person who is not intoxicated has no alcohol in their bloodstream, and a breath alcohol test will provide a negative result.

Reader’s Question:

How many drinks does it take to have a 0.080 alcohol concentration and what must I do to avoid a DWI in California?

Payton

Bakersfield, CA

How many drinks do you need to have a 0.08 alcohol level in your blood? Well Payton, to tell you frankly, the response to your question is not pretty as clear cut as you may imagine. Alcohol is a very toxic substance. The moment you place alcohol into your bodily system, your body will begin to get rid of it. Alcohol levels will only go up when you drink further alcohol or at a more rapidly rate than your body can do away with it. The most excellent response is by exemplar. If a common one hundred fifty pound man drinks four typical beers in sixty minutes, his alcohol level at the end of the sixty minutes would be 0.080. This is the identical whether the drink is a twelve ounce beer, four ounce of wine or one ounce of 80 proof whiskey. This evaluation will differ from person to person and has many other factors that have an effect on it.

For your next question on how to avoid DWI in California, the best advice I can give you is not to drink and drive. If you are planning to drink, drink sensibly or plan a ride if you are not. If you will border your drinking to one drink per hour, you ought to be fine.

Reader Question

Living a life here at San Francisco, California comes with a price. Engaging with the top executives of companies and establishments led to a much needed socializing that involves alcoholic beverages, which of course I can’t say no to it. This has taken its toll, and has led to my first DUI conviction.

A lot is at stake here, my career, my family and eventually my social status. It can ruin the life that I had before such conviction. I had heard of expunging a DUI conviction and somebody told me that it can solve my problem and that I can regain the life that I had before. Is there such thing as expungement?

Edward, San Francisco CA

Edward,

You got same questions from most of first offenders of DUI or even those who are convicted of DUI more than once. In the state of California, like other states in the US do allow you to expunge record of DUI conviction.

What expungement does, it seals your DUI conviction. All you need to do is to file a petition in court asking to expunge your DUI conviction record. The court will replace your plea into not guilty and then eventually dismisses your case. The effect of which is that when you are going to apply for another job that you want, there is no need to disclose any information pertaining to your DUI conviction.

To make it easier for you, try to contact an expungement lawyer who will do the hassle of filing a petition in court to expunge your DUI conviction.

If you’re going to get a fee agreement with your Fresno DUI attorney in CA–and you absolutely have to–then you probably might not be completely clear on what it is. If you are going to have a fee agreement written up, which is something that should happen in your first consultation, then you will need to know a few questions so that you can ask them and guide the drafting of your agreement.

• Services. Your fee agreement should have a list and description of everything that your Fresno DUI attorney in CA will do for you, or will be able to do.
• Your end. There will also be a list of what you have to do to keep the lawyer-client partnership up and your case going.
• Interests and extra charges. There should be a break down of the individual charges which will be part of the fee, and also an explanation of how they can change. And, of course, you should know how you will pay in a payment plan and the interest rate you will pay at.
• Ask your Fresno DUI attorney in CA what is in your power to do to make sure you keep your case as inexpensive as possible.

Most of all, you shouldn’t forget that the fee agreement that you are being given isn’t completely certain most of the time. It’s your first consultation and more information will likely be needed, and things change. It’s an estimate, but it should give you an idea of the range you are dealing with.