Getting involved in a DUI related charge is prevalent among motorists at least once in their lifetime. Therefore, facing these charges should not be a cause of high alarm, especially when you are involved in a minor DUI related offense. Driving under the influence is classified as a traffic offense. The danger arises mainly because of the risk that a drunk motorist exposes to himself/herself as well as to other road users. As a result, the California Vehicle Code makes exclusive regulations to prevent drivers, cyclists, and other motorists from operating their vehicles after consuming alcoholic drinks.

Dealing with a DUI arrest in La Jolla Amigo can be quite stressful and confusing, especially as a first time offender. You require to be aware of the several processes that come after your arrest, as well as legal representation in a subsequent hearing. Thus, you need the help of a qualified DUI attorney to enhance your chances of winning your case. Our San Diego DUI Attorney team is made up of dedicated lawyers with numerous years of experience in dealing with DUI client representation. We dedicate ourselves to offering the best assistance we can to our clients and ensure that you get the best result you can after a DUI hearing.

What To Do After Getting Arrested for a DUI Crime

The primary criteria that a police officer uses to make an arrest is checking whether you have unlawfully violated the rules prohibiting drunk driving. In California, section 23153 makes it illegal for anyone with an alcohol concentration above 0.08% to drive a car. Therefore, when the officer who has stopped you successfully determines your disregard for the law, she/he proceeds to arrest you.

It is necessary to know what to do after an arrest because it is crucial to the development of your case. Knowledge of what to do after also promotes a faster resolving process. Firstly, we recommend remaining calm after the police apprehend you and take you to the station or detention facility available. It does not help to cause an uproar, notably if you are still highly intoxicated. Such behavior is disadvantageous to you because the testifying officer or DMV officer representing the state will use it as evidence against you.

Contact Your Lawyer as Soon as Possible

Once you arrive at the police station, you can request to call whoever you need to inform that you have been arrested. You should not find it challenging to make this request, particularly because it is your constitutional right to make the call at the earliest convenience. At this point, it helps to contact the San Diego DUI Attorney, and inform him or her of your location. Moreover, you should notify your lawyer of the time of arrest, the reason for it, and your full contact details. It will also be beneficial to include the details of your loved ones, to make them aware of the arrest.

Calling your lawyer is helpful because it enables us to promptly begin our follow up procedures, like ensuring that you have a DMV hearing booked on time. The DMV offices have time restrictions available for the application of a trial, which is ten days from the time of the arrest. Consequently, any delays in making proper contact with the department of motor vehicles in California could call for a more complicated and aggravated hearing process. Prompt communication with your attorney also gives time to adjust his/her schedule, so that there are no conflicting duties on the day of your hearing.

Cooperate With The Officers at The Station

The process that follows a DUI arrest involves booking you into the facility. The booking process is marked by the officers taking down your full name, fingerprints, mugshots, and other essential details that point them to your criminal record. You stand a better chance of having a smoother time during the booking process if you do what the officers require. However, you should know that you are not under any obligation to give any information that leaves you in a disadvantaged position. For example, you can respectfully decline to answer a question that insinuates your drinking habits.

What Happens to Out of State DUI Offenders?

Sometimes, you may have visited family or friends in La Jolla Amigo, San Diego, and are caught up in a DUI apprehension. In such a situation, there are several outcomes to your case, one of them being escaping the process of undergoing a detention penalty. However, if the judge issues probation or payment of fines as a penalty for your DUI offense, your home state can follow up on these orders and ensure that you adhere to them. The process becomes possible because of the interstate compact rules that bind all states that are party to the agreement to avail any information of offending residents in a different state. Therefore, if, for example, a judge finds you guilty in committing the DUI offense in California, the authorities responsible for the communication will notify your home state of the crime and carry forward any penalties you should fulfill. Thus, your home state acquires the power to oversee your execution of the probation requirements.

It is essential to get in touch with a La Jolla Amigo DUI attorney, who will provide any relevant information regarding your case. For example, some states have varying penalties for the same DUI offense. Thus, our legal analysis will equip you with the knowledge of whether you will serve an adjusted sentence in your home state or not.

Can a DUI Offense Lead To The Title of a Negligent Operator?

The term negligent operator refers to a motorist who regularly breaks traffic offenses. Acquiring such a title is detrimental to your record, and is sure to reduce your chances of credibility, especially when applying for a job. Indeed, a DUI offense can bring about the attainment of the title, but only if you are a repeat offender. Each traffic offense attracts different points that cumulatively qualify you to become a negligent operator under California law. For example, if you are guilty of driving recklessly or DUI offenses, you will earn two points in your record. When you accumulate a total of four points within a year, your report will suffer the inclusion of a ‘negligent operator’ in your information.

While the requirements may seem straightforward in leading to the inclusion of such a title, you must undergo a DMV hearing that will approve or reject the request to issue you with the title. Subsequently, seeking the help of a La Jolla Amigo DUI attorney may enhance your chances of averting the penalty of inclusion of the title in your record. Your DUI lawyer can challenge the following in the hearing:

  • Whether or not the alcohol you consumed was enough to key in a DUI offense

  • Whether the aggravating factors raised against you are accurate and relevant to the DUI offense to ensure there is a fair trial

  • The relevance of including your previous criminal record in determining the punishment you will receive after the hearing, especially if it is entirely unrelated to the DUI offense. This factor is necessary to consider, especially where the previous misdemeanor was expunged from your record.

Moreover, your DUI attorney should include any mitigating factors that will help reduce the severity of the charges you face. For example, If you were completely compliant with the police officer’s requirements during or after the arrest, you could include that in your plea. Additionally, where the cause of drunk driving was an emergency response, and the BAC indicated is not highly accurate, your lawyer can successfully challenge the issuance of the ‘negligent operator’ title.

Defenses Available after a DUI Arrest

Commonly, the process of issuing an oral test to a suspected DUI offender comes with numerous slip-ups and mishandling of equipment that results in errors. While such actions are mistakes on the traffic police’s side, you have every right to use the faults as defenses to your charge. Working hand in hand with your La Jolla Amigo DUI attorney will help you increase the chances of winning your case. You can play your part by giving an objective narration of the procedure that the officer used to administer the test. Your DUI lawyer will provide a submission highlighting all the flaws and further, unlawful methods that the officer in question included while deciding to make an arrest. Some of the available defenses to a DUI offense are:

  1. You Suffer From a Confirmed Medical Condition

Sometimes, you might raise a genuine claim to raise as a defense if you have a severe condition that causes exposure to a significant BAC (blood alcohol) level. For example, if you use medication that has alcohol-based products as an essential ingredient, you can successfully use it to prove your genuineness in front of a judge or a DMV officer. Additionally, you may also suffer from a rare complication that makes your body produce too many alcohol-based chemicals in your bloodstream. Therefore, if you undergo a simple blood test, the results could be highly inaccurate because of the wrong sources of data used to conclude. Lastly, some dental conditions like tooth decay may cause a higher indication of alcohol content, especially in a breathalyzer test. The microorganisms that break down the food stuck in your teeth also release alcohol-based gases in your mouth as a by-product, which causes the common symptom of bad breath.

You should remember to include certified documentation from a professional doctor who will confirm that your claims are valid. A failure to do so creates doubt for your entire presentation.

  1. Confirmed Faulty Equipment Used To Administer The Test

While they may not always admit it, a police officer in the traffic department may sometimes use substandard equipment to administer the DUI tests. For example, the monitor on the breathalyzer equipment may be faulty in displaying the numerical percentage of a suspect’s alcohol levels. In other cases, the entire gadget may malfunction, causing the officer to enter arbitrary figures in the records based on the last displayed number. Such an action is not ethical nor accurate because the future of the DUI suspect may become unfairly compromised based on the officer’s guesswork. Thus, you should raise any concern you have regarding the validity of your arrest records. While it may be challenging to prove your claim in court, your DUI attorney can get in touch with a professional technician who will confirm that the testing tools were faulty at the time of their use.

  1. The Officer Used Coercion To Extract a Confession

Unfortunately, sometimes you may land in the custody of malicious police officers who are determined to make a DUI arrest. While California laws are strongly related to the conduct of all law enforcers, a few will differ and cause trouble on the road. If an officer forces you to give a false confession of your drunk nature, you can use it as evidence in court to support your defense. The officer may also force you to take additional field sobriety tests, even after politely declining the orders. It is paramount to remember that you are under no obligation to take on any of these tests, as they may become self-incriminating evidence. Also, if the officer who arrests you makes any threats of violence or further punishment, you can inform your lawyer as soon as you can. Such information is useful in building your defense.

  1. There Was Non-Compliance To Set Procedural Standards

This defense becomes relevant where you were subjected to blood tests that involve laboratory procedures. Once your sample is drawn, it should be stored in a safe container to prevent contamination with other samples that may alter the results, giving an inaccurate conclusion. Besides, the professionals handling your sample should exercise extreme caution according to the set guidelines and confirm the accuracy of your DUI results. If you have a valid reason to believe that any of these set requirements were compromised, you can request for a court order to investigate the process the toxicologists and their lab technicians used to derive the results.

While this is a valid claim, you should consider the hectic nature of the investigative procedure, and weigh it against what you have to lose by pleading guilty. Sometimes, you may work overboard just to get the same result, if the judge or officer still finds you guilty of driving while intoxicated by alcohol. Your La Jolla Amigo DUI attorney will advise you on the best step to take if you are in such a situation.

Can a DUI Charge Be Expunged?

The process of expungement involves striking out any record of arrest and detention from a prior offender’s criminal record. It is not available for severe offenses like felonies, because they involve more aggravated actions that require a permanent criminal record. However, in DUI offenses amounting to a misdemeanor, you could be eligible to receive an expungement to your case. The advantage of having an expungement is that your record is ridden of any criminal information. Such action is highly advantageous in protecting you from any prejudice, especially when seeking employment. Your employer will also be unable to dismiss you based on a previous DUI offense if you get it effaced.

Applying for such an action does not yield results quickly because the approval duration may last for some months. Consequently, we advise you to reach your La Jolla Amigo DUI attorney promptly, for he/she to begin the application. Your lawyer will require the following information for a successful application to proceed:

  • Your full name should be provided

  • You should also include your case number in the details

  • Ensure that you indicate your car charge number

  • It is also important to inform your lawyer of the duration your probation penalty lasted

  • Lastly, it is helpful to include your date of birth

After your DUI attorney gathers all this information, your expungement application is forwarded to a judge. While your charge may be minor, the judge may deny your request if you have not met the set requirements. Thus, you should ensure that you have done the following:

  • Make all necessary payments of fines to ensure that you have completed your sentence

  • Undertake all probation requirements, including attending any DUI classes or driving with an IID as required by the law

  • Ensure that you do not make an application with any other criminal case in court at the same time

If your La Jolla Amigo DUI attorney gives you the green light upon finding all these requirements, you can make the expungement application. Your chances of success are close to guaranteed if all the requirements are met.

Contact a DUI Attorney Near Me

Typically, facing any arrest, including a DUI charge, can be hectic for you. It helps to have a competent lawyer who will guide you through promptly meeting all the requirements. Additionally, it is often very difficult to undergo all the pressure that comes with facing arrest. On top of offering our services, we are available to provide encouragement and support during this trying time, until we get to the desired goal. If you are around the La Jolla Amigo area and are facing DUI charges, contact the San Diego DUI Attorney at any time. Call us at 619-535-7150.