6 Facts About DUI Arrets

If you were charged with DUI, you may lose your driver’s license. However, some of the states still are offering you a chance to reinstate the license within a month. Yet, other states will not provide you with such an opportunity and will revoke your license immediately after the arrest. However, even if there is a way to reinstate your license, you will need to send a former appeal and go through all the formalities, including the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) hearing that has nothing to do with the criminal case.

With that said, there are some other facts that you may also not have known regarding the DUI arrests and here is a list of those, helping you get all the details and info straight:

1. As it was previously stated, the law enforcement authorities may well revoke your license right during the arrest. And in some of the states, it will really depend on the judge and how he or she will rule out to proceed. For instance, in some of the cases, the license may only be reinstated after about 90 days. In other times, you will have restricted driving privileges – driving from home to work and back only. One way or the other, even when it will come the time to get the license back, you are going to need to pay expensive fines in most of the cases.
2. Once you are charged with DUI, the law enforcement authorities are going to inform the DMV about the charges and the license will either be revoked or, depending on the circumstances, you will be able to appeal the decision. Furthermore, do not forget that the DUI offense is also going to remain in your personal criminal records. This does imply that the DMV will be able to see it and any potential employer will be able to see it as well. This implies that in case you are going to be off searching for a commercial driving job, you may be rejected, since the employer will perform a thorough check and will figure out why you were charged with DUI. In addition, do not forget that the overall cost of the insurance is going to be elevated sky high.
3. In most of the cases and in most of the states, you are going to have the possibility to refuse the field sobriety tests. This does imply that you can refuse to recite the alphabet backwards, walk the straight line and other standard procedures. After all, the results of those tests are completely subjective and really depend on the law enforcement officer performing it. And, of course, in different states there are different policies as to whether or not you must submit yourself to any kind of chemical testing. Of course, in most of the states refusing these tests will be used against you in court, even if you had the right to refuse to begin with.
4. Furthermore, you must keep in mind that in most of the cases the refusal to submit to breathalyzer testing will turn up against you and will make you lose your license for a year. However, you can choose the type of test that is most suitable for you as well as your needs and requirements.
5. You must keep in mind that breathalyzers are the most inaccurate tests to begin with. Hence, you should choose between the blood sample as well as the urine sample. Needless to say, blood test is the most accurate one. Nevertheless, it does require some blood to be drawn from the vein and it is up to you to decide whether you can and are willing to do that.
6. The law enforcement authorities need to prove beyond any reasonable doubt that you actually were drunk to begin with. And this is one of the many reasons why they are going to be insisting on administering the chemical tests to begin with. Furthermore, if you have managed to confess that you were actually drinking and driving, this confession will be used against you as well. Hence, it is best to keep silence up until you will get a chance to consult your legal representative. And, of course, you will want to have the attorney both at the criminal trial as well as the DMV hearing in order to make the most from the legal defense and to keep the license too. 

Hence, in case that you are charged with DUI, the very first thing that you will need to do would be getting in touch with a qualified as well as skillful Sacramento DUI law office as soon as possible. For more information about DUI defense in Sacramento, call our law firm email us using contact form

5 Basic DUI Defense Tips And Recommendations

1. In case that you are planning on going to a party with your friends or loved ones, where there is going to be plenty of alcohol, odds are, you are going to be drinking. And this is why it is very important as well as genuinely crucial even, to make sure that you plan ahead. This means either leave the car home and call a cab once you are done with the party or, if you are so insistent on driving in your own vehicle, call a designated driver. After all, the legal consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol are quite dire. Not only will you have to pay some hefty fines – you are also risking to lose your license for a very long time. Furthermore, do not forget that the cost of your insurance is going to elevate sky high. Mandatory alcohol awareness classes, mandatory ignition interlock device in the car and even county jail or state prison may turn out to be part of the sentence as well. Hence, before you ever go behind the wheel drunk, think twice and just consider if it is really worth it. 


2. Do not forget that you have your very own Constitutional right to remain silent. And once you are pulled over by the law enforcement officer, there comes a time to use that right in full. After all, once you will be pulled over, the police officer is going to approach to you and will tell you why you were stopped to begin with. It may be because you have a crack in the windshield or perhaps due to the fact that one of your tail lights is not working. However, if you were pulled over early in the morning or late at night, in most of the cases all of those reasons are going to be nothing more than excuses that the law enforcement officers are using to approach you and to start the interaction. Of course, if you are actually drunk, there will be certain signs that will show that – watery red eyes, slurred speech, odor of alcohol. Nevertheless, who is to say that you do not have a medical condition that does cause it all to begin with? One way or the other, even if you were drinking, it will not help if you will admit it to the law enforcement officer – on the contrary, it is going to make things worse for you in court. Sure enough, there is no need to start lying to the officer as well – simply remain silent all the time and call DUI lawyer for an advice to follow. 


3. The law enforcement officer will want you to submit yourself to the field sobriety tests. And even though the police officer is going to say that it is for your own good and that he or she just wants to know if you are good to drive, do not be fooled – even if you are going to perform great on those tests, the law enforcement office is still going to find a reason or two to arrest you. And even though the results of field sobriety tests are viewed as subjective in court, they may still be used against you. And while you are obligated by the law to provide the law enforcement officer with your license and insurance, you are not obligated to provide him or her with your consent to submit to the FSTs. Hence, avoid these tests and do not give the officer yet another reason to arrest you from the get go. 


4. Yet another genuinely vital Constitutional right is the right for the legal counsel. You know – the Miranda rights. In fact, unlike what you may see in the motion pictures as well as TV shows, the actual law enforcement officers will rarely read you those Miranda rights and you will therefore need to ask for the attorney on your own. Furthermore, do not forget that if the request for the legal counsel is going to be ignored, the case will be thrown out of the court. This is a very important factor – regardless of what kind of evidence the police may have already collected and what kind of evidence may be working against you, if they did not read you your Miranda rights or ignored the request for the attorney, you are going to need to make sure that you mention this to the judge as well – the court will get the case dismissed right away and without any further hesitation. 


5. There is yet another way to literally get the case thrown away. And this is by asking for an independent blood test to be taken in an independent laboratory and by an independent specialist. Of course, most of the people will not know where to start and where to go to retest the blood, but this is not the point. The point is that if the law enforcement officer collected all of the evidence against you, including the blood test results, there is still a way to get out of jail – you may request him or her to allow you to perform an independent test and if that request is going to be ignored, you will get your get out of jail free card, since all of the evidence against you will be put under big question.

If you were arrested and charged with DUI in Sacramento, call Law Offices of John Williams immediately or email us using contact page.