Los Angeles DUI Lawyer Blog

If you are arrested for a driving while intoxicated charge you will have to appear before a criminal judge and enter a plea. You may enter a plea through an experienced San Diego DUI attorney that is representing you, or you may enter it yourself before the judge.
If you enter a plea of guilty or no contest, you will be asked to initial and sign a DUI Advisement of Rights, Waiver and Plea form. This Advisement informs the signer of the possible consequences they may face for their plea of guilty or no contest. Among those consequences, there will be several affecting your rights as a driver and will be addressed by the DMV.

The person making the plea will be notified that if the Court determines that they are a risk to traffic or public safety if they were allowed to drive during the period of license suspension, they will not be allowed to obtain a restricted license. A restricted license allows a driver to drive to and from work and to and from alcohol or drug rehabilitation programs.

The form also advises that a separate civil hearing will be held with the DMV to determine driving privileges. This DMV hearing has no bearing on the criminal proceeding and vice versa. However, any penalty imposed by the DMV will be in addition to the penalty imposed by the Criminal Court and cannot be counted towards the other.

The DMV will also refuse to allow you to operate a commercial vehicle for one year if it is a first offense DUI, or there was a refusal, even if it occurred in a non commercial vehicle.
Additionally, the DMV will revoke your driver's license for 4 years if you have a prior felony conviction in the past ten years of certain sections of the California Vehicle Code, or the California Penal Code. When deciding a proper penalty, the DMV will also take into consideration any other DUI convictions or reckless driving convictions and may impose a more severe suspension or revocation.

In order for a license to be restored after the mandated time of suspension has been served, the driver must provide proof of insurance as well as a successful completion of an alcohol/drug program, even if it is not required by the criminal court.

The DMV consequences you may face for pleading guilty or no contest to a DUI are as serious as the criminal court sentences. A Los Angeles Criminal Defense lawyer can represent your interests and protect your rights during a DMV hearing. Do not enter a plea before considering all the available options and defenses by discussing it with a DUI specialist. With the help of a professional, you may be able to reduce your penalties or possibly even have your case dismissed.

If you are arrested for a driving while intoxicated charge you will have to appear before a criminal judge and enter a plea. You may enter a plea through an experienced San Diego DUI attorney that is representing you, or you may enter it yourself before the judge.
If you enter a plea of guilty or no contest, you will be asked to initial and sign a DUI Advisement of Rights, Waiver and Plea form. This Advisement informs the signer of the possible consequences they may face for their plea of guilty or no contest. Among those consequences, there will be several affecting your rights as a driver and will be addressed by the DMV.

The person making the plea will be notified that if the Court determines that they are a risk to traffic or public safety if they were allowed to drive during the period of license suspension, they will not be allowed to obtain a restricted license. A restricted license allows a driver to drive to and from work and to and from alcohol or drug rehabilitation programs.

The form also advises that a separate civil hearing will be held with the DMV to determine driving privileges. This DMV hearing has no bearing on the criminal proceeding and vice versa. However, any penalty imposed by the DMV will be in addition to the penalty imposed by the Criminal Court and cannot be counted towards the other.

The DMV will also refuse to allow you to operate a commercial vehicle for one year if it is a first offense DUI, or there was a refusal, even if it occurred in a non commercial vehicle.
Additionally, the DMV will revoke your driver's license for 4 years if you have a prior felony conviction in the past ten years of certain sections of the California Vehicle Code, or the California Penal Code. When deciding a proper penalty, the DMV will also take into consideration any other DUI convictions or reckless driving convictions and may impose a more severe suspension or revocation.

In order for a license to be restored after the mandated time of suspension has been served, the driver must provide proof of insurance as well as a successful completion of an alcohol/drug program, even if it is not required by the criminal court.

The DMV consequences you may face for pleading guilty or no contest to a DUI are as serious as the criminal court sentences. A Los Angeles Criminal Defense lawyer can represent your interests and protect your rights during a DMV hearing. Do not enter a plea before considering all the available options and defenses by discussing it with a DUI specialist. With the help of a professional, you may be able to reduce your penalties or possibly even have your case dismissed.

A felony DUI charge is a very different offense than a misdemeanor DUI charge. A misdemeanor DUI offense covers a wide variety of factual situations, involving a multitude of facts. For starters, driving under the influence cases involve hundreds of difference violations which give rise to the officer justifying the stop. This requirement of good cause, is required to be a valid stop.

Frequently our firm represents clients who have been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, drugs, or the combined influence of both. Those drivers who have been involved in accidents are exposed to greater potential charges, if an accident resulted in injury to a passenger or other party.

People arrested, often don't understand that the term accident can describe a very broad spectrum of circumstances, not just a simple issue. It is critical to our clients defense, to carefully study the accident report to determine a strategy to minimize, if possible, the severity of the accident, thus mitigating, or lessening, the impact of the accident on the possible consequence to the driver.

Accidents, can range from minor impact to major impact, from no injury, soft tissue injury,to multiple fractures, internal injuries, which can result in long-term or permanent impairments or disability.

It is always important, at the earliest possible time after a DUI related accidents, to have your attorney begin to assess whether or not there was injury, and the extent and severity of the injury. Some victims truly suffer minor injuries as a result of an accident, while others seek to magnify or exaggerate the nature and severity of their injuries recover a potentially large settlements from the driver's insurance policy.

Our firm of DUI specialists carefully evaluate all medical bills and reports to check for the real injury to the victim, and the full extent of any claimed injury for accuracy and legitimacy.

Recently, our firm represented a client on a felony DUI case. Because we carefully evaluated the nature and extent of the acclaimed soft tissue injury turned out to be significantly less serious than the officers summary in the police report. We obtained all the records, and proved to the district attorney that the apparent injury to the victim was far less serious than was painted in the police report by the arresting officer. The results was the prosecutor agreed to reduce the charges to a plain misdemeanor, resulting in no jail time.

Aggressive, and detail oriented attorneys love to carefully scrutinize all police and accuracy records, as well as talking to all victims. Frequently information obtained in this manner often leads to the reduction of felony charges and/or minimizing or eliminating our clients from being incarcerated.

Anytime, we can save our clients from having a felony charge on their record, is a huge and important effect of an experienced attorneys work.

Many of our clients have been asking us regarding the Ignition Interlock Device law that went into effect on July 1, 2010. Nothing much has happened since it went into effect, leaving many people wondering how and when it would be enforced.

This law is a part of DUI law and is separate from Court order. The DMV is the one that will enforce and implement this new law. When you go to the DMV after having completed you license suspension, you will be required to install the ignition interlock device before you can receive a restricted license.

According to the law those that are convicted of a first time DUI offense will have to install the device for 5 months. Those with a second time DUI offense will install the device for 12 months, third time for 24 months and fourth time offenders for 36 months. Those with more enhanced or aggravated DUIs convicted under Vehicle Code 23153 will be required to have the device in their vehicle for a longer period of time.

The law itself is a pilot project launched in only four out of the many counties in California; Alameda, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Tulare. Having never implemented such a program before, especially in such a large metropolis such as Los Angeles, we anticipate a lot of glitches and unplanned consequences. The DMV lacks a concise plan of enforcement and therefore leaves room for a knowledgeable Los Angeles Criminal Defense attorney to prepare a strong argument and defense against installing the device.

Los Angeles DUI Attorneys are not created equally. There are vast differences in and attorneys skill, expertise, and years of experience. When you have been arrested for a drunk driving case in Los Angeles, it is essential to have the protection and representation of a highly experience DUI Attorney.

Not only do attorneys have vastly different levels of skill, there is also a wide range of legal fees being charged. In general, the least expensive lawyers, typically have the least experience. When your freedom is on the line, going for representation by an attorney with little experience is never a good idea.

It is attorneys experience that makes the big difference between and an excellent result and a so so result. That being said, paying a very high attorneys fee does not guarantee a dismissal either. Carefully screening an attorney, and asking important questions, allows a potential client to develop a fuller understanding of the attorneys real level of experience in a courtroom, handling cases similar to yours.

There is no substitute for years of courtroom experience. Potential clients should query the attorney they are considering hiring by asking how many years they have been practicing, how many drunk driving cases have been handled, how frequently they go to the courthouse where your case is scheduled, and how familiar they are with the prosecutors and judges in that courthouse. It is always a good idea to take detailed notes when interviewing potential attorneys, so you can compare and contrast this information, as well as their relative fees.

Besides those factors mentioned above, there is one other essential subjective factor that plays a very important part in your decision. The lawyer -client relationship can certainly last a number of months or longer. It is vital that you feel comfortable talking to the attorney, and get a good sense that they are willing to take the time to explain legal concepts and strategies of how they would proceed in defending you, should you choose to retain them.

Your choice of an attorney to defend you when you have been charged with a DUI, is the most important decision you can make towards successfully resolving your legal problem.

There is a well-known expression that perception is reality... what does that mean? This phrase as many different applications and contexts. The scope of this blog is to try and explain that being arrested for a driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs carries with it many negative connotations. For example, the term drunk driving gives the impression that the person arrested was in fact drunk. In fact, the law does not require a driver to be drunk, but merely to be driving a motor vehicle with a .08% of alcohol in their bloodstream.

At a trial of a DUI case, prosecutors and even judges present police officers, and their statements as impartial, and unbiased parties. In fact, police officers have an agenda, and that is to build a case against a driver to support their impression that they have been violating the law by driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. They are not neutral, and their observations are colored by their own perception, and by their own need to support their opinion that this driver has broke the law.

Clients of our lawfirm of DUI defense attorneys, frequently our surprise when we are reviewing the air police reports of their arrest, of how negatively they are portraying by their arresting officers.

It's quite interesting, then only negative conduct by the driver is reported and noted, when any positive conduct is rarely documented. For example, almost all police reports describe the driver as smelling of alcohol, having red, bloodshot and watery eyes. Slurred speech, lack of coordination or balance. Good performance for example, on field sobriety tests, is rarely reported.

Fast forward to the courtroom where your Los Angeles DUI case is being heard. Picture the only information about you case # xxxxxxx being a 100% negative report written by the police officers. They are in lies the problem of how to change this image.

An essential component of our defense strategy on every DUI case is to request that our clients complete a written explanation of the events of the night they were arrested. We also request lines to provide as within work resume, letters of reference or recommendation, and any other positive information about who they really are.

Presenting this positive information to the prosecutor has a powerful effect on demonstrating a more fair and balanced account of what happened the night that they were arrested. It is essential to show the prosecutor a more accurate and fair picture of what really happened.

This legal strategy, called mitigation, is critically invaluable to educate the prosecutor and judge to see our clients in a much more positive lights, thus achieving a much more favorable result.

Knowing when to accept a plea bargain is a very critical decision which requires analyzing objectively the prosecutors case, including any and all evidence they have, and any witnesses.

There are three possible outcomes of a DUI prosecution. The rarest is after the prosecutor in a courtroom finds an obvious error or other critical weakness in their case, theydecide to dismiss all charges. Keep in mind that prior to filing charges, a prosecutor office reviewed the entire contents of the police report and determined that there was sufficient evidence in their opinion to convict the defendant beyond a reasonable doubt.

The second is a more common scenario, where based on the merits of the case, and after a careful evaluation of both positive and negative evidence, the defense lawyer and prosecutor agree upon a reduced charge or terms of a case settlement. This process is called plea-bargaining.

A plea bargain is a stipulation or agreement between the parties to settle the pending criminal charges. In most courts this put in writing, and presented to the judge to officially settle the case by reading the terms of the agreement into the court record.

The next way to resolve a criminal case, if a plea bargain has not been reached, is by the clients exercising their constitutional right to a court or jury trial. At a trial, the prosecutor has the burden of proving the defendants guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If found guilty, any previous offer or agreement to settle the case will be null and void. The judge at that point, makes the decision after arguments by both parties to pronounce a sentence based upon the facts of the case, and the legal sentencing guidelines for that charge.

Anyone facing a DUI charge, is faced with this dilemma. An experienced attorney can assist his clients to evaluating the merits of the charges against them, and weigh the pros and cons of each of these important decisions. The number one obligation of an attorney representing clients on DUI charges is to protect the client.

For over 30 years, our firm has been a valuable resource to thousands of clients facing DUI charges, and these important decisions as to whether or not to accept a plea bargain. Some plea bargains are exceptionally favorable, and recommended. Other plea bargains offered by the prosecutor in a particular case, are not.

The unique facts and circumstances of each client's case must be looked at. Having a trusted advisor skilled in these types of matters can help you evaluate and decide what's in your best interest. Protecting your legal rights, good record and freedom is always our firm's number one concern.

Police officers are always right... wrong! At Hoffman and Associates, our law firm has successfully defended thousands of driving under the influence cases. One of our effective strategies is to attack and challenge the credibility of the officers observations, statements and conclusions being used against our clients.

You may be unlucky enough to have been stopped by the police for allegedly committing a vehicle code violation, but it is not necessarily true. The main thrust of an officer's education at the Academy is how to build a case against suspected violators. Officers are taught from the beginning that they must always justify and build a case.

One of the major areas of challenging the officers observations is to point out to the prosecutor, judge or jury, that although the officer will testify from the witness stand, or by the statements in police reports, that his credibility must be established like any other witness, despite the fact that he is a police officer.

Prosecutors, like police officers, like to act like these observations are completely objective, and accurate without question. Nothing is further from the truth. An officers observations and conclusions are really nothing more than subjective. The difference is very significant. Clearly subjective opinions by all people, including police officers, must be considered by looking at their personal influence that could motivate anyone to color their opinion. These types of statements he are much more susceptible to error.

An example of these concepts is the fact that in defending thousands of drivers stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence, I have rarely ever seen an arrest report where the driver successfully passed all of these coordination or field sobriety tests. Since the officer has probably never met the suspected driver before the night of the arrest, she has no idea of that persons coordination or ability without any alcohol to compare his coordination at the time of his stop.

Considering the diversity in alleged DUI drivers performance on different field sobriety tests, why is there a common and universal type language, used in almost all police reports. Slurred speech, red watery bloodshot eyes is always present.

Showing the similarity of the officer's statements in a majority of his arrest attack the accuracy of his observations and erodes the credibility of the officers testimony. It is essential that you or your legal counsel carefully scrutinize the accuracy of this critical evidence being presented against you.

The credibility or believability of an officer saw summations and statements should never be considered totally accurate or correct. It is essential that all statements declare fully scrutinized and challenge by her attorney in a DUI or other criminal case.

Very often when our attorneys are reviewing police reports with our clients, major and minor factual discrepancies appear with no rational explanation. Although it's easy to assume that the clients, or person being charged with the offense is lying or fabricating to make themselves look better. There is often another reasonable explanation.

Although police officers are employed to protect and serve the community, and hold themselves out as neutral and unbiased people, that is not always the case. Police officers also have an agenda... that is to build a criminal case against a suspect who he has determined to be guilty.

Unfortunately, that is often not true. Officers frequently make errors in judgment, make flawed observations, as well as mistakes in identification. Officers are subject like anyone else to make the same kind of errors, and their conduct should always be carefully scrutinize by the same standard any other witnes

For example, in a DUI case, once a police officer suspects someone as a DUI driver, he rarely considers any other alternative explanation for their impairment. Sickness or other physical disabilities are rarely considered as an explanation for their conduct or unsatisfactory performance.

Police officers are goal oriented, and strive to build a case against a suspected drunk driver, often making errors in observations, as well as interpretations of what they see. In truth, they are not unbiased, or neutral observers. This is critical when your face with a serious ramifications of arrests. We feel that a drivers recollection of the events are just as valuable, as that of any officer. It is critical that you consult an experienced Los Angeles DUI lawyer who can challenge the truth of any observations or conclusions, and fight for truth to prevail.

When a person is charged with a Los Angeles DUI case they are required by state law to be placed on a minimum of 3 to 5 years of Summary Probation along with a fine to be paid and a rehabilitation program to be completed. In some cases jail time will also be required.

There are two types of probation, informal and formal. Informal probation is generally the case for first offense misdemeanor DUI charges. It is unsupervised whereas formal probation requires the supervision of a deputy probation officer and is usually part of a sentence in more extreme felony charges of DUI.

There are two type of probation violations: external and internal. An internal probation violation results when a person fails to complete the required rehabilitation classes or pay the required fine. An external violation results when a similar crime is committed within the probationary period.

When probation has been violated a warrant is put out for the person's arrest. Sometimes the court will send out a notice, but oftentimes there is no notice, just an arrest. The judge is not required to reinstate the probation and has the discretion to add additional sanctions for the violation, including jail time.

An experienced Los Angeles DUI attorney has appeared on hundreds of probation violations cases. At Hoffman and Associates, we appear on your behalf in front of the judge, decreasing the possibility of being arrested in court. One of our most recent clients with a probation violation got the probation reinstated without additional sanctions or any jail time. After 30 years of practice, we have built a solid reputation before the criminal judges in Southern California. The value of this reputation is reflected in the outcome you want. Contact our office for a consultation without cost of obligation and learn what we can do for you!

Driving under the influence of alcohol or even drugs Is the most commonly committed criminal offense in the United States. That being said, it is easier to understand why many courtrooms throughout California are filled with drunk driving cases each day. There in lies the problem. In these high-volume courtrooms, especially in major cities like Los Angeles, prosecutors have very little time to read and review the details of each case .This can be a benefit to clients.

The benefit is that in these very busy Courts, prosecutors and judges are forced to spend increasingly less and less time in reading and reviewing as well as evaluating each case on its individual merits. In my over 30 years of courtroom experience as a drunk driving defense lawyer, that actually benefits my clients each day.

Generally in police arrest reports, there is only negativity, rarely are police officers writing about the positive elements of the person they're arresting. Their focus is to build a case to prosecute, rarely to assist the defendant in minimizing the appearance of their conduct.

The downside... generally in high-volume courts defendants are viewed more like case numbers and not like people. When this occurs, there is often no personal information about the defendant or any mitigating circumstances like the positive background of the client, job, lack of criminal record, family or other favorable information. Once this positive information is infused by an effective and experienced defense lawyer, a more favorable and balanced view of the client, always leads to better results.

At Hoffman and Associates our firm of skilled and highly effective advocates begin from the day were retained to develop all possible favorable information, not only about the facts of the case, but also about our clients background. This creates a foundation for building a defense for each client. We commonly ask our clients at the beginning of our representation to provide as with character reference letters, resumes, letters from employers, and any other positive information to show a more positive side of our clients background, contrasting the negativity of the information contained in an arrest report.

The first hearing subsequent to one's arrest is called an arraignment. Any person arrested for a misdemeanor offense, and not released to the court on their own recognizance,or by posting bail must be brought to court for their arraignment within 48 hours of their arrest. This constitutional requirement does not count weekends or holidays.

Anyone arrested for a felony offense, and not released on their own recognizance, or by posting bail, must be brought to court for their arraignment within 72 hours of their arrest. Like misdemeanor cases, weekends and holidays are not counted towards this constitutional time requirement.

Since all people arrested, are presumed innocent until proven guilty, an arraignment is an opportunity to commence legal proceedings by giving the accused an opportunity to plead not guilty, after being advised of the charges being filed by the prosecutor. At a clients arraignment the charges are read, as well as the possible consequences of the charges,in the event the defendant pleads quilty, or isfound quilty after a curt or jury trial.

It is not unusual in the majority of criminal arraignments for the accused to enter a plea of not guilty, regardless of the actual evidence presented in the police report, or the truth of the accusation. The purpose is to allow a more relaxed timeframe in so an attorney can properly evaluate the charges being brought against his clients, as well as the facts contained in the police reports, and any exculpatory evidence which is present to fight the allegations, including favorable witnesses on behalf of the defendant.

It is one's constitutional right to be represented by an attorney in any misdemeanor or felony case. And accused can retain his or her own counsel to protect and defend their freedom and good record. Those without sufficient funds to retain an attorney will be screened by the office of the public defender to qualify for their services. It is a common misconception, that the services of public defenders are without charge. In fact, fees are determined at the end of any case based upon the amount of time the attorney has spent preparing and defending the client against the current charges.

The cost for public defender services provided are evaluated in context of the defendants financial situation and their ability to pay the cost for legal counsel. In the event that there is no financial ability to contribute to the cost of their legal defense, then an attorney will be provided at no cost. Public defender's are randomly assigned, and unfortunately, cannot be chosen by the client. Due to the large volume of cases in the court system, it is common that public defenders spend a relatively small amount of time on each case.

Anyone been arrested for a driving under the influence case is never happy to be in that circumstance. For members of our armed forces including those serving in the Marines or Navy in San Diego County face even greater challenges and potential penalties. It becomes very clear that the service, regardless of which one treats any DUI arrest very harshly, and starts its sanctions even before any court date, or prosecution by the state has begun.

Although it feels like double jeopardy, that persons in the service are punished twice, once by the military and once by the criminal justice system for the same offense, it is not. Federal jurisdiction over the military empowers it independently to punish soldiers for offenses that they commit on or off a military base. A drunk driving arrest, even prior to any court proceeding or conviction can result in a serviceman being confined to base for 2 to 3 months, have their rank reduced, have their pay cut in half, and often required to complete an alcohol education program on base.

By comparison, a civilian charged with suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol, is considered to be innocent until that person pleads guilty, or is found guilty after a jury trial. It is only after that finding of guilt that penalties are imposed. Both military persons and civilians being convicted of a DUI are placed on summary or unsupervised probation, required to pay fines in excess of $1500, complete a minimum of 12 weeks of alcohol education and in some circumstances serve jail time.

San Diego Marine and Navy personnel arrested for a DUI may also face penalties from the Department of Motor Vehicles in the form of a driving privilege suspension. What makes this problem more challenging is that most service people in San Diego have drivers licenses issued him other states. Those individuals found to be driving with a .08% of alcohol may have their California driving privileges suspended between four months and one year after a hearing before the DMV. It should be noted that California only has jurisdiction over a person's privilege to drive in California, regardless of where that person arrested holds a drivers license. The California DMV cannot suspend any other states drivers license.

Our firm of DUI Defense Specialists has helped hundreds of local service men and women sort out and minimize the effects of a DUI arrest on those special people serving our country in the military. Consulting an attorney immediately after a DUI arrests can minimize some of the potential complications by not missing critical deadlines created by one's arrest.

An experience DUI attorney can also under most circumstances be able to appear in court on behalf of the soldier thus also avoiding further problems in the military.

A DUI conviction can be charged as a misdemeanor or a felony. The difference between the two will affect the final sentence given. A misdemeanor conviction will receive a sentence on the lighter side of the spectrum whereas a felony will receive a much harsher punishment, especially when there is significant bodily harm.

California Vehicle Code 23152 is the section under which a misdemeanor DUI is charged. It is divided up into two sections. 23152(a) reads that It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle. 23152 (b) reads that It is unlawful for any person who has 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle. 23152(a) was the previous DUI law and 23152(b) was added 20 years ago. The legal Blood Alcohol Level (BAC) used to be a .10% and has been reduced to .08% in California with a trend towards reducing it further to .06%. Compared to many countries who require a .0% BAC, we are still much more tolerant. A conviction under either 23152(a) or 23152(b) will result in a misdemeanor charge.

California Vehicle Code 23153 is the code section under which a felony DUI is charged. Like misdemeanor DUI, it is divided into the two same sections with one additional statement. 23153 (a) reads; It is unlawful for any person, while under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver. 23153(b) reads that it is It is unlawful for any person, while having 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.

You may be charged as a felony DUI if there was a certain kind of bodily injury to a victim, as the code indicates. Bodily injury varies across a wide spectrum and will guide prosecution in the plea bargain they present to the Judge. A minor soft tissue injury with mild discomfort will still be considered a bodily injury but will be on the lower end of the scale in comparison to fractures or other major internal injuries which will yield much harsher punishments in the eyes of the law.

Whether you are charged with a felony or a misdemeanor DUI conviction, the ultimate goal is to avoid any kind of conviction. You need someone who will fight in your corner to reduce the charge to that of a misdemeanor, or the misdemeanor charge to an infraction. Hire an experienced California DUI attorney, who will fight on your side and believe you are a good citizen and person and will work hard to ensure that the Judge sees it too.