How To Beat A DUI Case in Los Angeles
This is a tough one because, as you might guess, Los Angeles and the police, prosecutors, and judges take these cases very seriously. If they feel you're drinking alcohol, using drugs, or smoking marijuana and driving and you're not safe, they're going to come at you with both barrels. A DUI conviction can lead to severe penalties, including fines, license suspension, and even jail time. It's crucial to understand the potential consequences and the need for professional legal representation.
They don't care who you are, about your job, about your family, about your career, that you have no criminal record — that's most of the DUI cases these guys see.
They figure that everybody in society knows you can't drink alcohol and drive, and if you do it, you're going to take the punishment just like everybody else. That's the mentality you're going up against when you go in there. I've been doing this for twenty-five years.
I've handled thousands of DUI cases all over Los Angeles County over the years, so I know the mindset of who you will be dealing with, and it just keeps getting tougher and more challenging.
First-Time DUI
If you have a first offense high blood alcohol level in Los Angeles County, the judges are going to make you do AA meetings while you're out on your recognizance for a first-time DUI.
Suppose you have a second-time DUI high blood alcohol level. In that case, they're going to put a Secure Continuous Remote Alcohol Monitor (SCRAM) bracelet on your ankle, and they're not going to allow you to drink alcohol while you're out. This is how serious it's got because people are dying on the roadways. The SCRAM bracelet is a device that measures the wearer's alcohol consumption through their skin and alerts authorities if alcohol is detected.
Despite the challenges, the question of how to beat a DUI in Los Angeles is not insurmountable. With a strong defense strategy that creates a problem for the prosecutors, a DUI case can be won.
For instance, one example of an angle would be that there's a problem with the blood alcohol. They're having a problem proving it. It's low. If you blew like a .07 and the legal limit is .08, they can still charge you, but that's a problem for them because we've set a standard, and everybody knows it's a .08, so if somebody's a .07, why should they be able to get them for a DUI. This is just one of the many successful defense strategies that can be employed in a DUI case.
Field Sobriety Tests
The problem from the defense standpoint is that there's a Vehicle Code Section 23.152(a) that doesn't talk anything about the blood alcohol level. It's a legal provision that focuses on whether you can safely operate a motor vehicle and whether you have alcohol in your system.
So, what the jury is going to be looking at in that scenario is what the police say about how well you did on the field sobriety test, how you were driving, how you were walking, how you were talking, and did you pass their test or did you not pass their test, and of course, that's a very subjective thing on the part of the police.
If they arrested you, you know they'll say you didn't pass the test, but of course, you can bring evidence to argue against that. But, that's the first way you could win or beat a DUI case is if your blood alcohol level is low.
Illegal Police Stop
Another way is if the police illegally stop you, then everything they find — your breath, your blood if you gave blood, the tests that they jade you do — everything gets thrown out the window if your defense attorney can prove that it's an illegal stop.
Of course, the police can pull you over for many things. That's part of the problem. So, they could say weaving, swerving on the road, speeding, and your windows are tinted. They have a slew of Vehicle Code violations they could use to pull you over.
One big thing we use to counter some of that is video. If the police vehicle is equipped with video, we can see what you were doing immediately before they stopped you, so that's one angle to beat a DUI if it's an illegal stop.
You passed all the tests, and we can prove that with the body cam. If the police wear body cams, we can often capture how you interact with them and how you did on the test. So, that's another way to beat them.
Not Driving a Vehicle
Another angle that I've seen to beat a DUI in Los Angeles is if the police come, you weren't driving. That's a problem for them sometimes. They'll have to prove that you were moving pretty close to when they got their hands on your number one, and they'll have to prove that you were driving the car.
So, you're going to notice they will be asking questions. If they come on, see, if it's an accident, everybody is outside their cars, they will have to figure out whose car is who. They will have to ask people if they were driving that car. When did you drive it? When did you get in the accident? So, that's another area where I've seen cases won where they can't pinpoint when the person was driving.
Challenging Blood Alcohol Level
Another angle to win a DUI is if it's a situation where the person drives away after an accident, even though they may be DUI, a bunch of time passes. There can be a problem proving when you were drinking, and, therefore, when they get your blood alcohol, their expert is going to have a problem saying what your blood alcohol level was at the time because they don't know when the time is. All they know is when the blood or the breath is tested.
So, there are all sorts of different angles to be able to win a DUI, but they're all fact-driven. In other words, don't let people fool you over the phone and start spouting off stuff when it has nothing to do with your case.
Every DUI case is unique, and not every defense applies to every situation. We understand the importance of focusing on the facts surrounding your case, and we are here to provide you with personalized guidance and support.
So, what happened in your case? How high was your blood alcohol level? How was your driving? How did you do sobriety tests in the field? Please pick up the phone now and call a DUI lawyer at our office. We'll sit down and talk, and I'll give you an honest assessment of where you stand with your DUI case.
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