Looks like the Maximimum Enforcement Period over this holiday weekend got one of my friends for a DUI. Does anyone have a lawyer they can recommend?

Background: Even though it was 3 hrs since his last drink and his drive from our friend's house to his house was only 1 mile of local roads, he still got snagged at 3am. He opted for a blood test, so we don't know what his BAC is yet.

Hard lesson learned: Living down the street only 5 mins away isn't a reason to drive under the influence. Stay safe everyone.

 

I'd just hit yelp.

There are tons of them. And quite honestly, the system is in place and there's not much he can do unless he's got a borderline blood test... i.e. he shows up under the limit. He will probably be able to plea down to a wet and wreckless.

Without a lawyer they slap you with everything. If you have one to walk the system with you you can often get it reduced. But no lawyer is really gonna be better than the other. It's really just navigating the B.S.

Just find one on yelp that has experience with it.

 

I've used Eric Geffon a few times when I was in similar sticky situations. I also recommended him to a friend who ran away from his car after overturning it (no injuries and no other cars involved) and he was able to get the cops off his back with not even a citation issued.

He normally charges anywhere from $500-$2000 but it might have gone up after he represented Ash Kalra in his DUI.

(408) 295-3330 is his number and his law firm is located in the building right next to where Mission Ale House used to be across from Toons.

 

Actually theres a lot a lawyer can do depending on if you're willing to pay. I wont go into specifics but if your friend is willing to pay, hes basically able to stay out of doing community service and getting an ankle bracelet instead.

Sometimes he might even be able to walk away from a .08-0.10 and other times it can be reduced to a wet reckless or even thrown out.

Again it comes down to money. Make sure your friend knows hes basically going to down 5-10k from this. DUIs are not good to your bank account.

 

"friend"

you know what they say: a handful of accidents happen less than 5 min from home. not worth the mile of DUI. lawst time i got behind the wheel to drive FOUR minutes to home after a few beers, i couldnt differentiate between 1st and 3rd for the longest time finally got it in reverse and plowed into my buddies ATV trailer! didnt even make it off the driveway! OK ok, possible operator error. LOL

Stay safe people!

 

a lawyer wont do him any good. California has Admin Per Se on DUIs, meaning theres a minimum penalty that he judge is required to issue and no lawyer, no matter how good or expensive can get reduced. The only time you would get a lawyer for a DUI case is if there is if there were other circumstance involved like you caused a car crash or injuries, if its just a straight DUI just get a public defender.

 

Not here in So Cal. Let us know what the BAC is. If its over, that will be $10,000-$12,000

 

Sacramento Criminal Defense Attorney | Criminal Lawyer in Sacramento

 

Thank you both. If anyone else has someone they can refer, please keep them coming. He's trying to get as many options as possible.

I wish I could have been there to stop this from happening, but I ended up not going out that night because of work. Can't do too much "what if" thinking tho, jus gotta deal with it, learn, and move on.

 

wrong, wrong, wrong. A ****ty lawyer wont do him any good. A good lawyer can put him back in his vehicle and give him the ability to drive to work and go about his life. A good lawyer will also get the blood retested at an independent facility to make sure the proper anticoagulent was used. As stated earlier a good lawyer can get him out of jail time/community service hours with a house arrest ankle monitor. A good lawyer can find a discrepancy and get the case thrown out.

Whichever lawyer he uses, he needs to ask all those questions before hand after finding out his BAC. Its usually 100$ for the consultation and its well spent.

 

That's why I said borderline bac.

I.E. my buddy got a DUI. One of his tests came back .6 and the other .8. Had he hired a lawyer he probably could have got a reduction to wet and wreckless. He did not. Got the full DUI.

I.E. 2 of my buddies got them at pretty much the same time. One of them did not hire a lawyer. He got raked over the coals. Cost him about $25k and he had no license for a year. The other one did have a lawyer and had a borderline reading. I think it was around .7 or right close to .8. He got a wet and wreckless.


Otherwise what krinkov said is dead right. Generally speaking its not worth it. You'll get the minimums. The only thing a lawyer can do is help make sure that's all you get and walk you through the process.

Only time I'd really go through it is if there were abnormal circumstances.

My buddy for example... the .6 guy. He partied. Slept at the place until 5am. Fell asleep on his way home and wrecked his truck. He actually called CHP on himself. He blew the .6 onsite and they still arrested him.

I would have hired one for his instance.

But... say getting pulled over and blowing a .13 or something... no lawyer is gonna be able to help you beyond helping you get the minimums and not the maximums.

 

Eh that is driving to work and home only, you can file for that yourself. ANYONE CAN GO TO THE DMV TO GET IT!!! You do not need a "good" lawyer

Arrest for Driving Under the Influence DUI General Information


I stopped reading after the first thing you said was wrong wrong wrong.


Edit for this:
Basically what you do:
1. Proof of enrollment in a DUI School;
2. Proof of insurance (SR22 form only); some insurance
companies, notably State Farm, take 5-6 days, and sometimes even longer, to issue you or DMV an SR22 form, so we suggest you advise them at least 10 days in advance of your desire to get such form;
3. Pay a re-issuance fee of $125.00 as of 2006.

 

For the record I have never been pulled over for DUI or driven drunk. I just know this because some one I know went through this.

 

I got a DUI about 6 years ago now when i was 19.
I got pulled over for what "looked like no front licence plate"

This was in Irvine, CA. Which to my understanding Orange County has some of the strictest punishments for DUI offenses.

I had a .08 BAC.
I was arrested for DUI due to the fact that i was under 21 at the time. which obviously carries a 0.00 BAC allowance.
I hired a Lawyer based out of the OC because i was living in SD at the time.
The law has two parts A. and B.
A states that you are driving under the influence and B is driving under the influence above a .08 BAC.

My lawyer was able to reduce it to just the A misdemeanor instead of the double. Which essentially is the "wet and reckless". My license was still taken away for the year due to my being under 21 and having any BAC.

The lawyer cost $1,400 and saved me about $3,000 so $1,600 savings. I also did not have to show up to court one time. The lawyer does basically everything for you.

In the end:
No license for a year.
3 months drug/alcohol classes.
20 AA meetings
and about $4500 worth of fees, not including the $450ish for the drug class.

I personally would get a lawyer, or at least talk to one. A lot of them will talk to you for about 5-10 minutes, free of charge, to get the general understanding of the situation and give you a ball park estimate of how much they will change you.

 

WOW you got off good!

You forgot the insurance spike.