Anyone Fought or won a DUI case where they were in a running car but it wasn't even moving?

[TheNinja]

Is it possible I could plea deal for

1. No jail time
2. No loss of license for the typical 30 days
3. Pay the big Fine
4. Extra Community Service
5. Complete AA or DUI courses
6. HOPEFULLY no restricted license timeframe

That's all I really want. I'll pay the lawyer and fines. if I could get all or most of those I'd celebrate with a 6 pack of O'Douls!

 

[TheNinja]

Is it possible I could plea deal for

1. No jail time
2. No loss of license for the typical 30 days
3. Pay the big Fine
4. Extra Community Service
5. Complete AA or DUI courses
6. HOPEFULLY no restricted license timeframe

That's all I really want. I'll pay the lawyer and fines. if I could get all or most of those I'd celebrate with a 6 pack of O'Douls!

I'm guessing this isn't realistic

 

[TheNinja]

I weary of the "one time" fee of $3500. What's their incentive to work more hours? I'd almost rather a per hour person b/c he'lll want to keep trying for me to make more money. But then again, they might just do busy work and screw you over!

Would you pay a lawyer "per case" or "per hour"?

 

[mushishi]

Is it possible I could plea deal for

1. No jail time
2. No loss of license for the typical 30 days
3. Pay the big Fine
4. Extra Community Service
5. Complete AA or DUI courses
6. HOPEFULLY no restricted license timeframe

That's all I really want. I'll pay the lawyer and fines. if I could get all or most of those I'd celebrate with a 6 pack of O'Douls!

Get a lawyer. Talk to lawyer. Mine got me off with a fine. No conviction.

Would you pay a lawyer "per case" or "per hour"?

Per case. 3500 seems high for a dui

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

Is it possible I could plea deal for

1. No jail time
2. No loss of license for the typical 30 days
3. Pay the big Fine
4. Extra Community Service
5. Complete AA or DUI courses
6. HOPEFULLY no restricted license timeframe

That's all I really want. I'll pay the lawyer and fines. if I could get all or most of those I'd celebrate with a 6 pack of O'Douls!

If it's your first offense you won't get jail time anyway. You'll be on probation. And they only take your license for 30 days in Cali? That is nothing. You can still drive with suspended license you know. You just can't get stopped or hit a road block, that's all. Just obey every traffic law and don't ride around late at night or on weekend nights.

 

[TheNinja]

Get a lawyer. Talk to lawyer. Mine got me off with a fine. No conviction.

Per case. 3500 seems high for a dui

I thought $3500 was high as well. But it is the Bay Area of California and they seem to think they can charge more for everything here...heh. Plus it's a firm of 3 former DAs who only handle DUI cases. It's their speciality. Not sure if that matters.

Don't you think that by paying per case they'd be lazier though? I figure they wouldn't put the extra time or effort in b/c they already got your money. Whereas if you pay by the hour (or 1/4 hour) they'll do whatever you ask them to b/c they can bill those hours to you.

Thanks for the reponse btw! Also glad to hear you got a fine and no conviction.

 

[TheNinja]

If it's your first offense you won't get jail time anyway. You'll be on probation. And they only take your license for 30 days in Cali? That is nothing. You can still drive with suspended license you know. You just can't get stopped or hit a road block, that's all. Just obey every traffic law and don't ride around late at night or on weekend nights.

Well suspended for 30 and restricted for 5-6 months. But that's where it's tricky. The DMV and the State each have their own trials. One can convict in April for example and restricted license for 5 months. The DA could conceivable charge you in 6 months b/c they are busy and then you get restricted license another 6 months AFTER that!

The key is if you are found guilty to have guilty verdicts at the same time b/c then the restriction times overlap. That's what the lawyer told me and that's why they basically keep moving all the court dates around in case there is guilt.

I probably will drive on suspended license if I have to....I mean I have to work! I can't quit or get fired, I have to live and pay for a family! But if you get caught.....jail time!

 

[Agent Mulder's Hair]

Well suspended for 30 and restricted for 5-6 months. But that's where it's tricky. The DMV and the State each have their own trials. One can convict in April for example and restricted license for 5 months. The DA could conceivable charge you in 6 months b/c they are busy and then you get restricted license another 6 months AFTER that!

The key is if you are found guilty to have guilty verdicts at the same time b/c then the restriction times overlap. That's what the lawyer told me and that's why they basically keep moving all the court dates around in case there is guilt.

I probably will drive on suspended license if I have to....I mean I have to work! I can't quit or get fired, I have to live and pay for a family! But if you get caught.....jail time!

Some states have a law where you can still drive but only to and from work. Not sure if CA does or not. You might look into that

 

[mushishi]

I thought $3500 was high as well. But it is the Bay Area of California and they seem to think they can charge more for everything here...heh. Plus it's a firm of 3 former DAs who only handle DUI cases. It's their speciality. Not sure if that matters.

Don't you think that by paying per case they'd be lazier though? I figure they wouldn't put the extra time or effort in b/c they already got your money. Whereas if you pay by the hour (or 1/4 hour) they'll do whatever you ask them to b/c they can bill those hours to you.

Thanks for the reponse btw! Also glad to hear you got a fine and no conviction.

Oh hey, mine was Bay Area too. But a long time ago. I did get license suspended though.

I don’t think it would matter. Those dudes have probably seen it all and it’s now autopilot for them.

Best of luck. Everyone makes mistakes. We shouldn’t be defined by them as long as we don’t make them habits.

 

[TheNinja]

Some states have a law where you can still drive but only to and from work. Not sure if CA does or not. You might look into that

Ya, they have suspended vs restricted. Suspended means you can't drive AT ALL. Restricted will allow you to and from work, grocery store, church, a few other things.....maybe kids' school or to take care of elderly parents.

 

[sloppypie]

Your ignition was running and you're over the legal limit it's automatic dui. Don't waste your money on a lawyer take your punishment like a man and that's it sorry bud.

no, it's not. don't give legal advice if you don't know what you are talking about.

an element of a DUI in california, and most states, is the car must be moving. of course, the movement can be slight - if you had your foot on the brakes and let go, it would be moving. but the no drive defense is very common and even successful in trials. the ignition being on is circumstantial - it can just as easily be argued you turned it on for the heat or air conditioning or whatever.

so the state needs other evidence to prove the car had moved. for example, a car out on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere and a drunk guy asleep behind the wheel, the only explanation of how he got there was he drove the car. unless he walked to a broken down car, but that would be highly unlikely.

but if you are in like a parking lot, or your house, the state really can't prove the car moved. they'd need another witness, video, SOMETHING to tie you to moving the car. and a good public defender should be able to read your case file and quickly identify facts that would make your case weak or strong with that defense.

and that could be the difference between a dismissal of a misdemeanor DUI or a conviction. so don't listen to idiots on sherdog, talk to a fucking lawyer about it. DUI is nothing to fuck around with and since they are priorable, if you do it again the penalties go way way up. do it enough times it becomes a felony and you could be seeing prison time.

 

[GSP_37]

Wasn't that Tiger Tiger Tiger Woods y'all?

 

[sloppypie]

I thought $3500 was high as well. But it is the Bay Area of California and they seem to think they can charge more for everything here...heh. Plus it's a firm of 3 former DAs who only handle DUI cases. It's their speciality. Not sure if that matters.

Don't you think that by paying per case they'd be lazier though? I figure they wouldn't put the extra time or effort in b/c they already got your money. Whereas if you pay by the hour (or 1/4 hour) they'll do whatever you ask them to b/c they can bill those hours to you.

Thanks for the reponse btw! Also glad to hear you got a fine and no conviction.

i don't know the deal you made, but for $3500 you are likely talking about all the pre-trial stuff. it's probably not included in the price for a trial which will likely be thousands more. although that depends, in a no drive dui defense, they wouldn't need experts to testify so it would be a fairly cheap trial. so for $3500 it may include the trial too.

the plea bargain system for DUIs in california is pretty tough. i assume you were charged with a standard A and B count to a DUI - you drove while impaired, and you had a .08 or higher BAC.

one offer many DA's do if they think it's a crap case not worth going to trial is offer something called a "wet" reckless charge. it's still a DUI for purposes of making it a prior offense, but it comes with significantly less penalties like the fines and AA. i don't remember either, but i also think it results in no license suspension and it definitely has much shorter probation. however, i think insurance companies will still treat it like a DUI for premium purposes. if you are looking for a plea bargain, a wet reckless is a fairly decent deal, especially if you don't think it'll impact your employment too much.

after that though is a reckless driving charge (which DA's rarely plead down to) or seek an outright dismissal, which the DA would only do if they thought 100% they'd lose at trial. and unfortunately, most DA's won't dismiss until like right before it goes to trial. a trial can change hands between multiple DA's by the time it reaches trial stage.

a lot of DA's talk big like if you don't take the deal at arraignment they will revoke it. and maybe some will. but the courts are so backlogged, judges are looking to settle as many cases as they can. and if a strong no drive defense DUI shows up, a judge will push for a deal very very hard. so leverage in a negotiation depends entirely on the strength of your evidence and the stage of the pre-trial you are in.

 

[jlagman]

Is it possible I could plea deal for

1. No jail time
2. No loss of license for the typical 30 days
3. Pay the big Fine
4. Extra Community Service
5. Complete AA or DUI courses
6. HOPEFULLY no restricted license timeframe

That's all I really want. I'll pay the lawyer and fines. if I could get all or most of those I'd celebrate with a 6 pack of O'Douls!

Are you sure you're not still an alcoholic?

 

[DaleBoca]

Why didn't you just finish driving home? Three blocks isn't that far away. A minute or two drive, right?

 

[andyjeezy]

no, it's not. don't give legal advice if you don't know what you are talking about.

an element of a DUI in california, and most states, is the car must be moving. of course, the movement can be slight - if you had your foot on the brakes and let go, it would be moving. but the no drive defense is very common and even successful in trials. the ignition being on is circumstantial - it can just as easily be argued you turned it on for the heat or air conditioning or whatever.

so the state needs other evidence to prove the car had moved. for example, a car out on the side of a road in the middle of nowhere and a drunk guy asleep behind the wheel, the only explanation of how he got there was he drove the car. unless he walked to a broken down car, but that would be highly unlikely.

but if you are in like a parking lot, or your house, the state really can't prove the car moved. they'd need another witness, video, SOMETHING to tie you to moving the car. and a good public defender should be able to read your case file and quickly identify facts that would make your case weak or strong with that defense.

and that could be the difference between a dismissal of a misdemeanor DUI or a conviction. so don't listen to idiots on sherdog, talk to a fucking lawyer about it. DUI is nothing to fuck around with and since they are priorable, if you do it again the penalties go way way up. do it enough times it becomes a felony and you could be seeing prison time.

As me being a Bar manager and having a DUI myself I think I know a thing or two about these kind of situations and 99% of the time when something like this happen you are guilty. Save yourself money don't lawyer up and accept the punishment.

 

[Graves The Elder]

^this

 

[ShadowRun]

I've heard of lawyers getting people off on technicalities and people wasting money and get what they would of got with a public defender. A few things they can go after is calibration of the equipment that they tested you with, is it properly maintain ect. There are other ways to definitely spend time on google about your state laws and how people got out of it. Sometimes you can plea down to reckless driving, I think you should save the money unless you know something that seem to far out of sync. I've heard people sleep in the back seat and put the keys under the floor mat get a DUI, that grey area is covered, if you are drunk in your car it's assumed you drove it especially if the keys can be found. Look at your minimum punishment for your state and at least prepare for that, but I wouldn't waste money on a lawyer and work through a pubic defender

 

[nefti]

Is it possible I could plea deal for

1. No jail time
2. No loss of license for the typical 30 days
3. Pay the big Fine
4. Extra Community Service
5. Complete AA or DUI courses
6. HOPEFULLY no restricted license timeframe

That's all I really want. I'll pay the lawyer and fines. if I could get all or most of those I'd celebrate with a 6 pack of O'Douls!

No matter what, in a dui case hire the best lawyer you can afford.

 

[aldeniro78]

You can get a dui for being in the driver’s seat and with the keys in your pocket. They don’t even have to be in the ignition.