Brought to you by Colorado DUI Drunk Driving Defense

San Diego University Substance Abuse Center:

The primary mission of the Center on Substance Abuse (CSA) Driving Under the Influence Program (DUIP) is to help reduce the incidence and prevalence of driving under the influence and the negative consequences of this behavior for our community and its residents, and to assist participants in identifying and seeking solutions to their own alcohol and other drug problems.

In order to accomplish this mission, we are committed to providing, under the guidelines established by the State of California and the County of San Diego, the highest quality of educational and counseling services to those who have been convicted of violating the DUI laws.

The San Diego State University CSA DUI Program operates under California license, (#3700501120). The Official licensee is the SDSU Foundation a California non-profit organization under Chapter 501(3)c of the IRS Code. However, the program is administered by the University College of Health & Human Services, School of Social Work through the CSA. Since its designated area of services by the courts is the San Diego court district, it is referred to as the "Central District DUIP". Specific operations are in accordance with the California Health and Safety Code (H&S C) statute, Chapter 9, Section 11836 through Section 11838.5. This statute is implemented via regulations adopted by the California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP), specified in the California Code of Regulations (CCR) Title 9, Section 9795 through Section 9886.

San Diego DUI Lawyers

1. O'Connell, Bill: If you have been charged with a second or third DUI offense within 10 years of your first one, you face serious criminal penalties, including mandatory license suspension, mandatory jail time and heavy fines. An experienced criminal defense lawyer can help minimize these consequences, keep your license and protect your rights.
2. Patterson, Stacie: * Fraud Charges * DUIs * Traffic Violations * Driving On A Suspended License Charges * Drug/Narcotic Offenses * Sex Crime Charges * Sexual Battery Charges * Sexual Assault Charges * Rape Charges * Sexually Violent Predator Allegations * Violent Offenses * Domestic Violence Charges * Child Pornography Charges * Child Molestation Charges * Assault Charges * Battery Charges * Gang Violence Charges * Pandering Charges * Pimping * Prostitution * White Collar Crime Charges * Insurance Fraud Charges
3. Pancer, Ian: The steps in a criminal proceeding for a misdemeanor DUI in San Diego are straightforward. Your first court appearance is at your arraignment. Your arraignment is followed by one or more readiness conferences, sometimes motion hearings, and then trial. This is a summary of what goes on at each of these court appearances: Arraignment When you are arrested for a misdemeanor DUI in San Diego, your first court appearance is at your arraignment. At your arraignment, the prosecuting Attorney (the San Diego City Attorney or the San Diego District Attorney) provides you with a document, called a complaint, which tells you what you are charged with. Usually, you will enter a plea of not guilty, and set a future date for a readiness conference. Readiness Conference After your arraignment, but before your readiness conference, your DUI lawyer should meet with the prosecuting attorney to see what kind of deal they are offering. At the readiness conference, you can set a date for trial, set another readiness conference, or accept the prosecution's plea bargain offer. At your first readiness conference, your DUI lawyer will often set another readiness conference in order to have enough time to properly investigate your case. If necessary, an attorney can usually set several readiness conferences. Motion Hearings If a police officer stopped you without probable cause, then you may have the right to have any evidence that the officer obtained after stopping you excluded from your trial. If you can keep the evidence that the police officer gathered after your arrest out of trial, then the prosecutor will often dismiss your case or offer you a very good deal. A good San Diego DUI lawyer will be able to evaluate an offer by the prosecuting attorney and determine whether the offer is good in light of the strength of the prosecutionÕs case. The way to get evidence excluded from trial is by filing and arguing what is called a motion to suppress evidence. A motion to suppress can also be valuable because it offers an opportunity to your DUI lawyer to cross-examine a police officer in court in order to find out what the officerÕs testimony will be at trial. Another motion that may be filed is called a Pitchess motion. If you win a Pitchess motion, the judge will order the Police Department to give you the contact information for other citizens who have filed complaints against your arresting officers for dishonesty or use of excessive force. To cause the court to hear your motion, your DUI attorney prepares a legal document that includes argument to persuade the judge to decide the motion in your favor, and makes four copies of the document. The attorney goes to the San Diego courthouse to provide the documents to a court clerk, and asks the clerk to set a date when the motion may be heard in court, in front of a judge. The clerk keeps two copies for the court, and returns two copies to the attorney with the courtÕs official stamp. The attorney then takes the two stamped copies to the office of the prosecutor (the San Diego City Attorney or the San Diego District Attorney). The prosecutorÕs office keeps one copy, and provides the attorney with a stamped copy. The attorney then has a copy of the motion with confirmation from the court that the motion has been filed and a date has been set, as well as confirmation from the prosecutorÕs Office that he has provided the prosecutor with a copy of the motion Trial In California, you have the right to a trial in front of a jury of 12 people when you are charged with a DUI. Your decision about whether to go to trial will depend largely on the strength of your case, the plea offer from the prosecution, and your willingness to take risk. One thing to consider when deciding whether to go to trial is the "trial tax." Many judges in San Diego give harsher sentences to defendants convicted after trial than to defendants who plead guilty, because trials consume so much time - the judge's time, the jury's time, the prosecutor's time, and the time of the police officers who come to court to testify. The price you pay to go to trial, in terms of the potentially worse sentence, is called a "trial tax." Instead of a jury trial, you can choose to have a Bench trial, a trial in front of a judge, without a jury. Normally, you will choose a trial front of a jury because most judges are former prosecuting attorneys and are biased in favor of the prosecution. But, if the outcome will be the same regardless of whether you request a bench trial or a jury trial, then it may be a good idea to choose a bench trial in order to reduce or eliminate the trial tax. For example, if there is an issue of corpus delicti you may want to choose a bench trial. Corpus delicti is a Latin word that means "body of crime." Roughly speaking, the corpus delicti rule says that the prosecution cannot introduce a defendant's confession at trial without at any corroborating evidence. In effect, this means that a defendant cannot be convicted where the only evidence of his guilt is a confession. If a defendant has a corpus delicti issue, then the outcome of the trial will probably be the same regardless of whether the defendant chooses a bench or a jury trial because if the judge keeps the confession out, then the defendant cannot be convicted, and if the judge lets the confession in, then the defendant will be convicted.
4. Neuharth, Paul: criminal defense
5. Owens, Michael: One of the most common offenses charged in the criminal courts today is Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol (DUI). During the last several years, political lobbies such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) have pressured lawmakers to pass more stringent statutes related to drunk driving. These statutes have gone beyond a prohibition against driving while under the influence of alcohol; they have created a huge administrative and legal maze, which is very difficult to navigate. These statutes have also made defending a DUI a difficult task, requiring both a thorough knowledge of the science and an in depth understanding of the legal procedure unique to a DUI charge. In addition, the consequences of a DUI conviction have increased substantially. When you are charged with a DUI in California, you will probably be charged with both Òdriving under the influence of alcohol (DUI),Ó and Òdriving with .08% or higher blood-alcohol concentration.Ó The latter is also referred to as the Òper seÓ offense because you can be charged for merely having .08% or higher whether or not you are actually under the influence of alcohol. In addition, the Òper seÓ offense creates a rebuttable presumption that you were driving while under the influence of alcohol. California law provides for the following possible penalties for a first DUI offense: * Up to six months in jail * Fines and assessments * Mandatory attendance at a state sanctioned DUI school * Community service * Some judges might order you to install an ignition interlock device (IID) on your vehicle * Some judges might order you to attend a MADD victimÕs impact panel * Some judges might order you to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings In addition, if one of the following enhancements is proven, you may suffer even more severe consequences: * Having a child under 14 years old in the car * SpeedingÑover 20 mph on the surface streets or 30 mph on the highways (requires a minimum 60 day jail sentence) * Refusing to submit to chemical testing (breathalyzer, blood test, or urinalysis)(license is suspended for one year) * Multiple convictions for DUI within the previous ten years * Three or more prior convictions increase the offense from a misdemeanor to a felony The Department of Motor Vehicles will also suspend your license for four months. This suspension can be reduced to a 30-day suspension followed by a five-month work restriction permit if you file proof of enrollment in a DUI school and an SR-22 form (proof of insurance/financial responsibility). If this is your second offense, your license will be suspended for one year, and anyone who refuses to submit to chemical testing will have his license suspended for one year with no possibility of a work restriction permit. If this is your second offense for refusing to submit to chemical testing, your license will be suspended for two years (no work restriction permit). These suspensions automatically go into effect after 30 days and are called Administrative License Suspensions (ALS). Important: you have only ten calendar days in which to contest an Administrative License Suspension in an administrative hearing. Request a hearing by calling the Department of Motor VehiclesÕ Safety Office within ten days. An experienced DUI attorney may be able to have the suspension thrown out. If you do not call to ask for a hearing within ten days, the DMV will automatically suspend your license after 30 days. In other words, if you wait until the eleventh day, you cannot get a hearing and the DMV will automatically impose the suspension.
6. Bill O'Connell: Felony Crimes involve drug and narcotics charges, arson, burglary, armed robbery, murder and/or attempted murder, rape and/or sexual assault, kidnapping and aggravated assault and battery. A felony conviction is a serious matter that can result in a substantial state prison sentence and the potential loss of certain privileges and Constitutional rights of U.S. citizenship, such as the right to possess a firearm or the right to vote.
7. Woods & Messina: If you have been accused of a crime, the decisions you make now can literally affect the rest of your life. The strength of your defense should be assessed by an attorney who fully understands the unique facts of your case and who knows how the law applies to your circumstances. Only then can you make the critical decisions that will protect your future.
8. William Nimmo: You may have a lot of questions about your case and you may not be sure what to do next or where to turn. On top of this, you may feel uncertain about the costs of trial representation.
9. Victor Orsatti: If stopped for a minor traffic infraction, can this give an officer probable cause to arrest you for drunk driving? Yes! The main reason the officer stopped you does not need to be related to drunk driving. In fact, routine stops for broken taillights, out-dated registration or even cracked windshields have been upheld as sufficient cause for San Diego officers to detain individuals and then to check for symptoms for drunk driving. In any given case, your San Diego criminal attorney will advise you if there are grounds to have the case thrown out by the filing of a motion to suppress the evidence based upon an initial bad detention.
10. Michael Owens: Driving under the influence, commonly referred to as, "drunk driving" or "DUI" describes operating a motor vehicle while one's blood alcohol content is above the legal limit set by law.
11. Pacific Law Center: California has two basic drunk driving laws, found in Vehicle Code sections 23152(a) and 23152(b) 23152: Alcohol and or drugs: (a). It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of an intoxicating beverage, or under the combined influence of an alcoholic beverage or drug to drive a vehicle. 23152: Alcohol and or drugs: (b) It is unlawful for any person who has a .08 percent or more by weight to drive a vehicle. The difference between a misdemeanor and a felony is: misdemeanor driving under the influence charges means that the charge involved no injury or property damage and the penalty is up to 6 months in jail whereas a felony has injury and the penalty could be as much as up to one year in a state prison. Vehicle Code section 23153 sets forth the "felony DUI" provisions where an injury results from the drunk driving, while Penal Code sections 191.5 and 192 describe the crime of "vehicular manslaughter" where there is a death.
12. David Pomeranz: All California criminal cases begin in the criminal court of the county in which you were arrested. The District Attorney (DA) receives and reviews the police officer's report to decide whether to prosecute you. Generally, the prosecution does in fact file the case! Why? Because if your Blood Alcohol test shows over .08%, you are 'presumed' to be under the influence and the burden of proof shifts to you to 'prove' your innocence. In San Diego County, The District Attorney prosecutes most D.U.I. cases in the outlying areas (El Cajon, South Bay, North County) while the City Attorney prosecutes in Central San Diego.
13. Mary Prevost: The officer who pulled you over will provide his reports to the prosecutor's office. The prosecutor may add or delete charges originally brought once he or she obtains the blood alcohol results. You must enter a plea of NOT GUILTY. In no case should you plead guilty right away. It is essential to review all police reports, scientific results, and the procedures used at arriving at a particular blood alcohol level, before you enter a plea. A group of judges in New Hampshire was served several alcoholic drinks as part of an experiment that was intended to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Breathalyzer. One judge was given so many drinks that he became visibly intoxicated. When the judge blew into the Breathalyzer, the machine registered a score of 0.0. After a few more tries, the Breathalyzer gave the same result. Following the demonstration, at least one police jurisdiction in the state ceased using the Breathalyzer in favor of blood tests. (See Margaret Graham Tebo, New Test for DUI Defense, ABA Journal (Feb. 2005).) The Breathalyzer is by far a less accurate test than a blood test. A blood test actually measures blood alcohol concentration (BAC). But a Breathalyzer merely estimates it. It measures "breath" alcohol concentration, and requires a difficult mathmatical conversion to correlate it to a "blood" alcohol concentration. What the Breathalyzer attempts to measure is the presence of chemicals found in alcohol. But the machine often measures chemicals with molecular structures similar to those found in alcohol. There are, in fact, there are numerous chemical compounds that can fool a Breathalyzer machine. intox.jpg According to Dr. David Hanson, Over 100 compounds can be found in the human breath at any one time, and 70 to 80 percent of them contain [a] methyl group structure and will be incorrectly detected as ethyl alcohol. (See David Hanson, Ph.D., Breath Analyzer Accuracy, at http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrivingIssues/1055505643.html.) As a result, false positives can occur for a plethora of reasons. Body chemistry is one factor that can lead to false positives. People with diabetes, acid reflux disease, or some cancers can fail Breathalyzer tests even if their bloodstreams are perfectly free of alcohol. Diabetics, for example, have extraordinarily high levels of acetone, a substance that some breath machines mistake for ethyl alcohol. Police recognize that regurgitation can render unreliable the results of a Breathalyzer. Thus, most departments require that the arresting officer observe the subject of a breath test for a period of time prior to administerting the test. In California, police should watch the suspect for at least fifteen minutes to make sure he or she did not burp, hiccup or regurgitate prior to applying the test. Regurgitation includes any instance of fluids or gases that rise through the esophagus. In 2004, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled inadmissible the results of a breath test where the defendant presented evidence of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). In People v. Bonutti, 817 N.E.2d 489 (Ill. 2004), the defendant had blown a BAC of 0.174 after being stopped and showing outward signs of intoxication. Defendants motion to suppress the Breathalyzer evidence was granted because the court found that the results could have been compromised by a silent, unobservable episode of reflux. Two years ago, when I attended the Intox 8000 Certification seminar in New Orleans (the San Diego Police Department had just implemented the machine), I was able to get a Fort Lauderdale judge who was acting as a guinney pig for us to blow a .20 breath alcohol level using the Intox 8000 machine. His true blood alcohol level at the time was .02 (he had one drink in him). I got the machine to measure a breath alcohol concentration of ten times the actual true blood alcohol level. How? I just manipulated the machine and the judge's breathing techniques.