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.

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.

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.

The California Legislature has directed courts to follow sentencing guidelines for any person charged and convicted of a DUI. Judges and Prosecutors have a broad range of guidelines and penalties for a DUI case. The Prosecutors will consider several factors and will make an offer to the Judge. The Judge has the discretion to accept or deny any plea bargain presented by the Prosecutor and the Defense lawyer.

One of the things prosecution will consider in creating their plea bargain is the general facts surrounding the case. Prosecution will consider in which manner you were stopped. Were you a driver that was stopped on the side of the road and sleeping? Were you pulled over on the freeway, or were you in a parking lot? Did the officer have to pull you over because you were speeding or weaving? Did you fail to stop at a stop sign? Were you involved in an accident? Many of these factors will also tie in to a discussion about probable cause. That is, did the officer have probable cause to pull you over, or if you were already pulled over, to administer a test to detect the presence of alcohol? A skilled defense attorney can scrutinize whether or not the statements of probable cause contained in an arrest report are sufficient to meet the legal standards required by law. In that consideration, a careful review of your police report along with an evaluation of the driver's opinion whether the statements made by the officer accurately reflect what happened.

The Prosecutor and the Judge will take into account any prior criminal offenses. They will consider previous DUI convictions and take into account their location and date. Your criminal record will only be considered ten years prior to the current conviction. Consequently, someone who has been charged with 2 DUIs in the past month will be sentenced on the harsher end of the spectrum than someone who is being convicted of their first DUI.

Probation will also be argued unfavorably by prosecution. A DUI conviction will usually yield a period of probation from three to five years. Most non injury, misdemeanor DUIs will require informal probation whereas more serious DUIs will result in formal probation. Formal probation requires supervision and for the convicted to check in with an officer at a requisite time.

The courts will also look at your previous driving history. Someone with an excellent record will receive a more favorable sentence than someone who has a more complicated driving record.

These factors are just some of the few Prosecution will argue in their favor. In addition to these basic factors, the legislature has indicated several aggravating circumstances referred to as enhancements. Enhancement will require a harsher punishment.
The sentence imposed is ultimately placed at the so. Because potential sentences fall within broad parameters an experienced attorney can protect you and argue for the best possible results. Consult a California DUI attorney who will not only see your positive qualities but will fight hard to ensure that the Judge sees you in the same positive light.