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Law Offices of Jonthan Franklin - Blog
A California driving under the influence, or DUI, charge is so serious that it can cost you thousands of dollars and make your dream job impossible to get. The following are things you can do to avoid getting a DUI prior to ever getting stopped by police. These ways may actually decrease you odds of being arrested for DUI.
It occasionally happens. Sometimes drunk driving cases actually make it to a trial by jury. When they do make it to the trial phase, it can take a long time to conclude because of unforeseen circumstances. For instance, a lawyer may have scheduling conflicts or the court may have too many cases scheduled on one day. Those types of problems are common, but what about when an important witness cannot make it to court.
California has enhanced penalties for driving under the influence, or DUI, depending on certain factors like speeding or prior DUI convictions. Another factor is having a minor in the vehicle at the time of an alleged DUI offense. According to the state’s vehicle code 23572, the enhanced DUI penalty includes mandatory jail time. The amount of time received depends on whether the DUI conviction is the driver’s first, second, third or more.
An arrest for driving under the influence, or DUI, or accumulation of enough points on your driving record gives you the option to request a DMV hearing. A hearing at California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is your only chance to contest the administration per se, or APS, license suspension. In California, after you are arrested for DUI, you have 10 days to request the DMV hearing. The Law Offices of Jonathan Franklin has handled DUI related APS hearings long enough to know the five things you should understand about the hearing:
California takes driving under the influence extremely seriously. That is why there are tough penalties for DUI convictions. One tough penalty is called Ignition Interlock Devices, or IIDs. If you are convicted of DUI, the court may make installing an IID part of your sentence.
Yes, you read the title correctly. It may be totally inappropriate to write in a blog, but it is true. It is not illegal to drink and drive. Perhaps the best way to phrase that is not unlawful to drive after consuming alcohol. It is illegal to drive while under the influence of alcohol. What is the difference? The amount of alcohol in your bloodstream and whether it impairs you driving ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.
You probably think the legal term “driving under the influence” only applies to drivers who are drunk or drugged and operate a motor vehicle. Your are partially correct. In a sense. you are wrong, as well. A driving under the influence charge, or DUI, is not limited to the typical motor vehicles that you are probably thinking of like trucks and cars. In fact, California law enforcement can arrest you for driving other vehicles. It does not matter if that “vehicle” is what usually qualifies as vehicle.
A Halloween arrest is definitely not a treat. You may feel like others who have been stopped and arrested for DUI on Halloween, that it is just a trick. However, a Halloween DUI arrest is a harsh reality with even harsher consequences.
You probably already know that your level of alcohol intoxication is determined by the ratio of alcohol to blood in your body. Based on that ratio, California created its blood alcohol concentration, or BAC, limit. Anyone at or above the following limits can be accused of driving under the influence, or DUI, in the state:
- 0.08 percent for drivers in passenger motor vehicles.
- 0.04 percent for commercial drivers.
- 0.00 percent for any driver under the age of 21 years old. This means California has zero tolerance for drivers in this age group drinking and driving.
Will laser technology be the next big advancement in technology used during driving under the influence investigations? Well, the question has been greatly debated since the Journal of Applied Remote Sensing article. The article titled Stand-off Detection of Alcohol in Car Cabins discussed how laser technology could be used to detect alcohol in a vehicle’s cabin. The cabin of a motor vehicle is the area where the driver and passengers sit.
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