Tuesday, June 30, 2009
DUI Charges
When you get arrested for a DUI or what some call DWI, some of your first thoughts when you're sober is: What am I going to be charged with? Well this varies state by state. Some DUI Charges for California are a suspended license for 6 months, which after one month of full suspension, you might be eligible for a restricted license. You will have to pay court fines around $1,400, serve mandatory jail time of 48 hours minimum, and a DUI class that is usually a 9 month program. Some DUI Charges can be negotiated with, and I suggest that if you do not hire an attorney, you should elect to have a public defender. A lot of public defenders are, to put bluntly, garbage compared to one you hire yourself. Either way, having an attorney can help reduce your DUI Charges.
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I earned myself a DUI in January, 2007. Here is my experience:
ReplyDelete1. I was stopped at 8:10 am on a Saturday morning.
2. I was not hard to get along with. The officer did not have my car towed, but instead let friends come get it.
3. I went to the county sheriff department, and blew a .134. Immediately after blowing, I walked ou the front door and got in the car with my friend.
I was given the two Corona's that were in my console, but gave them away to another person walking out of the department.
4. The officer kept my drivers license... The state wound up keeping them for five months (one month I could drive anywhere, the last four, I had a restricted driving period).
For the record, before I got the "restricted driving permit," I had to meet with a person, and explain why I needed to drive during this period... and the hours I needed to drive... I told him I needed to drive from 6 AM through 10 PM, Monday through Saturday... for WORK.
5. I called a local attorney first thing Monday morning, wound up hiring him for approximately $2300.00.
6. On the first court date, MADD was in the court room, so I plead no contest, and immediately filed an appeal.
7. A month or so later, I had another court date... After my lawyer had discussions with the judge and prosecutor... I still had to plead guilty...
The courts are highly pressured by MADD, etc... (as they should be) and unless there is a loophole (There was no loophole in my case as I did not argue or gripe or anything with the Police officer)... You are pretty much nailed now...
8. I did NOT have to do jail time, I did NOT have community service, I did not have to attend any kind of "rehab"... but a $450.00 fine was imposed. I had to pay a $150.00 fee to have my license re-instated after I attended "DUI School" for $150.00. And, as stated previously, I lost my license for about five (5) months...
So, the grand total was somewhere around $3050.00... You know, plus time away from work, etc...
All in all... it was stupid for me to have ever gotten behind the wheel drunk. But, like a lot of people... I was exposed to a culture of doing what you please when and how you please.
Apparently, that is not the way things work any longer...
Finally, after I got home and sobered up some... I realized that I had gotten myself in a helluva predicament! And... threw away all of my alcohol, and have not touched it since...