Los Angeles DUI Lawyer Blog

With the costs and expenses associated with a DUI, it is a natural concern to have questions regarding how it will affect your auto insurance. Not only can a Criminal Defense attorney specializing in DUI answer any questions you may have, but can also use their experience and knowledge to fight hard to keep the costs as low as possible.

There are many potential consequences to your auto insurance depending on the final decision of the officer at your DMV hearing and the company you use for your coverage. It is common to lose your auto insurance after being convicted of a DUI. Your driver's license may also be suspended by the DMV, and therefore being covered by your auto insurance company may not be an immediate concern. With the help of a Southern California DUI attorney who will strategically defend your case during your DMV hearing and in court, it is possible to avoid revocation of your driving privileges, even if it comes in the form of a restricted license.

Additionally, many auto insurance companies maintain that they do not cancel your insurance on a first time offense, but do deal with it in a harsh manner. You can assume that your insurance premium will be increased. Whether it is increased by a significant amount, or something more manageable will depend on your specific insurance provider.

In the state of California you are also required to file an SR-22 insurance form with the DMV to reinstate your driving privileges after you have been convicted of a DUI. An SR-22 is a vehicle liability insurance document which provides proof that the driver has the minimum liability coverage required for California.

Once charged with a DUI, the costs of legal help, court fees, and fines start adding up. The last thing you need is additional costs to your auto insurance. An experienced DUI specialist, like Ronald Hoffman, not only provides you with reasonable rates and a payment plan that works for you, but also fights hard to get you the best possible outcome at your DMV hearing. Such results can only come with over thirty years of experience and a solid reputation among the criminal courts in Southern California. Contact our office today for your free consultation with one of our highly trained attorneys!

Your driving record is a very important indicator in the eyes of a prosecutor or judge as to how responsible the driver has been There are a number of factors that are considered in interpreting your driving record. These include the number of moving violations, traffic accidents,( where the driver is deemed to have been at fault) other infraction or misdemeanor violations like driving on a suspended license, driving under the influence of alcohol, hit-and-run, and other potential violations which can affect the outcome of your current case.

DUI cases can be dramatically affected by one's driving record and prior convictions of certain types of offenses. Typically, persons facing potential penalties for a first offense driving under the influence case without aggravating circumstances are not required to do any jail time, which is a very good thing.

Those drivers who have been convicted of driving under the influence offenses within the last 10 years face a mandatory minimum jail sentence between 96 hours and one year in jail. Anyone convicted of a third DUI within a 10 years face incarceration of between 120 days in jail and one year in jail.

It becomes clear based upon the above legislative guidelines that the law mandates substantially increased penalties based upon the driving record of the person arrested for a DUI.

Another consideration for prosecutors in determining their offer to settle is the frequency of prior offenses and other violations on one's driving record, as well as the recentness of prior offenses. For example, a driver who has recently been arrested for a DUI faces a much harsher penalty if his prior DUI conviction was very close to the conviction on his first offense. The typical Of probation on a DUI case is three years. If a second or third conviction occurs within this period of probation, potential penalties are far greater than they would be for cases outside of probationary term.

Prosecutors also add penalties which often include jail time for those drivers whose licenses are suspended at the time that they are arrested for a driving under the influence case. Further, even greatly increased penalties have been legislated for those drivers previously convicted of driving on a suspended..

Drivers convicted of hit-and-run, and other traffic related infractions and misdemeanors can be considered by a prosecutor and judge to increase the potential penalties the driver faces on his or her present case.

An experienced drunk driving defense lawyer, can use his skill and expertise in minimizing or eliminating the necessity of clients in these going to jail.

At the Law Offices of Ronald N Hoffman, we have represented thousands of clients in these circumstances and successfully eliminated or reduced the necessity of jail time.

A DMV hearing is a hearing held before the DMV regarding your driving privileges. It helps to determine how long your license will be suspended or revoked. The DMV hearing is held separately from your DUI hearing before the judge so as to ensure that you are not deprived of your rights without having been heard. The DMV hearing is an administrative hearing and will not determine whether or not you were guilty of a criminal act and is independent from your case in front of the judge in the criminal court.

At the DMV hearing the issues that will be raised will depend on whether or not you took a test at the time of your arrest. If you took a blood, breath or urine test the issues decided upon at the time of the DMV hearing will focus on the factors driving the arrest. The officer will discuss whether the officer had reasonable cause to believe that you were driving in violation of appropriate vehicle code sections, whether it was a lawful arrest, and if you were driving with .08% or more alcohol in your blood by weight.

If you refused to take a test at the time of arrest the issues discussed at the hearing will be similar for the most part. The officer will consider whether the officer had reasonable cause to believe you were driving in violation of appropriate sections of the vehicle code and whether it was a lawful arrest. In addition, it will be determined if you refused to take the test after you were asked to do so by an officer and when refusing you were informed that a refusal or failure to complete a test will result in your license being suspended for a year or revoked for two to three years when you refused to take the test.

A DMV hearing is not required, and is done at the request of the defendant. The request must be made promptly and in a timely manner as dictated by law, otherwise the right to a hearing is lost. Due to the urgency of the situation it is best to consult a California DUI lawyer immediately following your arrest so you don't miss the opportunity to be heard.

The hearing will determine where you stand with your driving privileges. During a DMV hearing, the officer has the power to set aside a suspension or revocation and in certain situations a restricted license may be granted. Therefore, a strong argument and defense must be prepared in order to ensure the least possible suspension or in certain cases revocation. Experience in dealing with DMV officers and administrative hearings is valuable when it comes to something as significant as your driving rights. Go into the hearing well equipped with all the facts and a strong defense and after consulting someone who has the knowledge and skill to help you keep your license.

Information taken from:
California DMV

As a DUI specialist with over 30 years of daily courtroom experience defending thousands of cases I am always dealing with clients' concerns over their "out of state prior DUI convictions."

For many years those clients who were convicted of DUI's in other states, were "lucky" because California rarely saw these "out of state DUI convictions." With the advent of the internet, states frequently now have information they never had before regarding prior convictions. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) has become part of an Interstate compact having mutal access to other states driving records.

California also shares its driving records with most other states. This recent change has created issues for some of our clients who have been arrested for DUI's in California, but who have previously been convicted of DUI's in another state. When prosecutors become aware of these "out of state priors" they have the discretion to alledge these as prior convictions. The purpose of doing this is to enhance and increase penalties for the current California DUI charge.

Secondly, clients may face enhanced license suspension problems in California (even for those with out of states licenses), as a result of prior DUI convictions in other states.

This new policy of interstate reciprocity, although not universally accepted, can cause some drivers who have been arrested for a DUI in California to face increased sanctions in the Court, as well as longer possible periods of driver's license suspension.

Our firm specializes in representing drivers who have been arrested for drunk driving charges. Many of our clients run into legal trouble when visiting California for business or pleasure.

A skillful lawyer with an understanding of these potential issues and consequences of out of state priors and out of state driver's licenses, can minimize or eliminate these often unpleasant surprises when handling a DUI case.

Every driver arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in California with a blood alcohol level of .08% or greater, or those refusing to take a chemical test by a peace officer, face suspension of their driving privileges between four months on a first offense DUI, to three years for a third offense.

Every driver arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence with a .08 or over, or those refusing to take a blood-alcohol test are all subject to the Department of Motor Vehicles commencing immediately allow action to suspend your driving privilege. This action which is called an administrative per se suspension proceeding gives notice to drivers of the departments intent to suspend a driver's license as a result of their arrest.

For over 10 years the Legislature has enacted what is commonly referred to as a stop and snatch law. This law authorizes police officers to physically snatch or take a DUI suspects Drivers License and forward it to the DMV to commence suspension proceedings.

A temporary drivers license is issued to the driver which contains important notice about DMV laws and procedures including the most important which is the requirement drivers request a hearing within 10 days of the date of arrest to contest the impending suspension action.

A DUI and DMV attorney can protect your valuable drivers license from being suspended. There are many legal and procedural defenses which are attorneys use to fight the DMV every day and save our clients freedom to drive.

The decision to suspend or not suspend your drivings license is based uopn whether the police had probable cause to stop you and whether you had a BAC (Blood Alcohol Level) of .08% or more. An experienced Dui And DMV Specialist can fight the DMV to save your license.