DUI Legal Penalties

Following your DUI arrest, the law enforcement agents will confiscate your driver’s license. The arresting police officer will give you a pink paper that will be your temporary license for one month. After thirty days, the DMV will suspend your license and bar you from driving. You just have ten days from the date of the arrest to contact the DMV and ask for a hearing to attempt and retain your driver’s license from receiving a suspension.

At San Diego DUI Attorney, we can contact the DMV on your behalf and talk directly to those in charge to ensure you receive your hearing. If you fail to request the administrative hearing within ten days, you will lose a chance to contest the license suspension, even with a viable legal defense.

During the DMV hearing, an official will listen to proof of the alleged DUI case and determine whether to suspend your driving license. The DMV hearing is independent of the criminal case. You are allowed legal representation but at your own cost.

During the hearing, the arresting police officer will detail what happened and file a police report as proof. The testimony will contain info about:

• The reason the police initiated the DUI traffic stop
• Your field sobriety tests score
• Your conduct or appearance while with the police officer
• Whether you declined chemical breath tests

Through your aggressive defense lawyer, you have the legal entitlement to cross-examine the law enforcer and present your narration of the events.

After hearing the evidence, the DMV hearing officer will decide if a preponderance of the evidence proves that you were drunk driving. The burden of proof differs from that of a criminal DUI case, and the threshold is met if the evidence demonstrates that it was more likely than not that you were drunk driving.

Our defense lawyers can help you fight these criminal charges by presenting any of the following legal defenses:

• Intoxication signs like an unstable gait or slurred speech do not necessarily imply drunk driving
• The arresting police officer did not observe you for more than fifteen minutes.
• The police violated Title 17 regulations
• You were not driving your car.

A previous DUI conviction can have a significant adverse impact on your ability to find employment, affordable housing, and educational opportunities and move on in life regardless of when the crime occurred. An expungement under PC 1203 is a form of post-conviction relief that dismisses a conviction’s consequences, giving you a fresh start.

Our team can review the facts about your case to determine whether you are eligible. You qualify if you:

• Have completed probation
• Are not currently charged with, serving a sentence, or on probation for a crime

If you have not completed probation, all hope is not lost. We can take advantage of PC 1203.3 to file a motion requesting the judge to grant you an early termination of probation. Our motion will explain:

• Your reformation and good conduct justify the request, and
• How terminating the probation would serve the best interests

We can also talk to the prosecution and explain why you are eligible for the case closure.

The expungement process starts with filing a petition. You can do it in person or with a lawyer. The process is time-consuming, lengthy, and complicated, increasing the chances of making mistakes and getting your application denied. Our knowledgeable legal counsel knows how to streamline the process and file the proper documents.

The police must read all suspects who they have taken into custody Miranda rights. The Miranda warning involves the police advising you of your constitutional:

• Right to remain silent because the police can use anything you say against you in court
• Entitlement to legal representation and availability of a public defender’s services, even if you cannot afford a private lawyer

It is not necessary that the police read you these rights during your DUI investigation following a DUI sobriety checkpoint unless they have arrested you and started asking incriminating questions. That means it is a misconception that the officers should read you these rights when conducting investigations on the side of the road.

After reading you your rights, the police will ask you whether you have understood every right and if you still want to speak with them. Agreeing to speak waives your right to remain silent. One of the best ways to avoid self-incrimination is to ask for your defense attorney; the police officer should stop questioning you immediately. Our skilled attorney will handle all communications on your behalf.

Some of the ways the police can violate your Miranda rights include the following:

• The law enforcers interrogated you without reading you the Miranda warning
• The officers continued questioning you even after asking for your attorney
• The law enforcement agents coerced you into making self-incriminating statements during your interrogation

If you believe the police violated your Miranda rights, contact the San Diego DUI Attorney. Our legal team will review the case facts before filing a motion to suppress evidence. If the court grants the motion, every incriminating statement you make to the authority will be inadmissible. The court ruling can work to reduce your criminal charges or dismiss them altogether.