Los Angeles DUI Lawyers

DUI / Drunk Driving Defense

First of all, we are sorry if you have been recently arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles County or elsewhere in Southern California. We have DUI lawyer offices throughout Southern California to help you. And we hope that if you, a family member or someone else has been involved a traffic collision, that they are okay. Also, it is very important for us to learn right away if you received a temporary driver license from the arresting officer. On that form you will see that the DMV must be contacted within ten days of arrest to request a hearing to stop your automatic driver license suspension! Otherwise, on a first offense, your drivers license could be suspended automatically for 4 months and on a second offense for one year! Also, please note that if you are subsequently caught driving on a suspended license, a new law says that in addition to being arrested the car you are driving will be impounded and can even be sold! However, you may still qualify for a restricted driver license! We have been handling DMV license suspension hearings for many years and we are quite successful at representing our clients and eliminating the driver license suspension. Our Southern Calfornia drunk driving defense law firm would be happy to contact DMV for you so you can continue to drive. Please call us immediately at (888) 579-4844.

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs

When you are arrested for driving under the influence in Los Angeles you may ask yourself, "Why me? I only had a few drinks." Or you may experience emotions ranging from embarrassment and confusion to frustration and anger. It's likely that you may never have been in trouble with the law before. Well, maybe a ticket or two but usually not a misdemeanor crime. It is important to realize that this offense does not require any specific intent to commit the crime. That means that if you are simply driving a vehicle with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) that is over the current limit and you are arrested then you may be guilty, or you may not be guilty! You should know that an arrest can be made at any blood alcohol level. Some counties routinely prosecute people with levels as low as 0.05% BAC. Often the decision to arrest is dependent on the performance on the field sobriety tests ("FST's") and the driving pattern (e.g., weaving, speeding or a traffic accident). Also, an officer can arrest for simply being under the influence of alcohol without any reference to the blood alcohol level at all! Please be aware that the consequences of a DUI conviction are severe. The conviction is on your record for seven years. And a conviction is "priorable" which means an additional offense within seven years has increased penalties (jail, lengthy alcohol programs, loss of license, large fines, etc.).

But remember, you may not be guilty! These charges are based upon a subjective guess as to whether you are "drunk." It is unlikely that you got behind the wheel and said "Oh boy, I'm drunk, I can't even stand up. I better drive home because I'm too drunk to walk or call a cab." You probably felt o.k. to drive. And you probably were o.k. to drive. But the officer may have another opinion. The law used to be that a blood alcohol level of .15% was under the influence. Then the law went to .10% and now the law is .08%. Even if you feel fine, if the amount of alcohol by weight in your blood is too high, then you can be arrested and possibly convicted.

DUI Defenses

However, there is a considerable amount of research that an Los Angeles DUI attorney can do to defend a DUI case in court and in a DMV driver license suspension hearing. For instance, if someone takes a breath test, the machine maintenance and calibration records as well as the officer's radio logs should be requested to see if the machine is working properly and whether the officer spent the required 15 minutes of observation time prior to the breath test (required by Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations). If someone takes a blood test, then their attorney should request a "blood split" and have the sample sent to an independent lab for testing for preservative and to confirm the blood alcohol level! Also, if it has only been a short time since the last drink was consumed (usually within an hour of the traffic stop or accident), then some of the recently consumed alcohol may still be in the stomach and not yet even been digested or absorbed in to your system. However, when a blood sample is taken an hour or so after driving that alcohol reading is actually higher than it really was at the time of driving! This is called a "Rising Blood Alcohol Defense" and is very persuasive in low blood alcohol level cases. There are many more defenses that may apply to your case.

At Takakjian & Sitkoff, LLP each of our partners is a former Deputy District Attorney. We have successfully handled hundreds of Los Angeles DUI cases ranging from misdemeanor DUI and traffic offenses and DMV driver license suspensions to the most serious felony drunk driving. We would be happy to discuss your case with you. Please do not hesitate to contact us. We have nearby offices throughout California and our fees are reasonable. But DUI penalties are severe. Don't simply plead guilty without seeing what a very experienced law firm can do for you. Our 24-hour telephone number is (888) 579-4844. The call is free and the initial consultation is free. We are very successful in defending our clients in Court and DMV!

Please call us to discuss the possible defenses in your case. And remember TO STOP THE AUTOMATIC DMV DRIVER LICENSE SUSPENSION call us within 10 DAYS of ARREST (888) 579-4844.

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Los Angeles DUI Lawyers

DUI / Drunk Driving Defense

Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol and/or Drugs

DUI Defenses

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