DUI Lawyers,,DUI Laws,Penalties

Archive for November, 2009

When it comes to court time, the prosecution (police or sheriff’s department) will often use evidence from their key witness in the crime lab. The expert that provides evidence of toxicology is the crime lab’s blood-alcohol expert. These key witnesses, often called forensic toxicologists, will often go to the stand and describe what amount of alcohol was found in the blood, what is done to find this level while describing the steps in laymen’s terms. They are probably the singe most important witness, because they back up the evidence of blood alcohol levels — something that a breathalyzer may not do 100 percent of the time.

The honesty of all those in the chain of evidence gathering at the police department is important to the case at hand, but recently a San Diego DUI lawyer found the toxicologist’s testimony odd since most of his account seem to come from a paper he was referring to during questioning.

Afterwards, San Diego attorney Cole Casey approached the toxicologist and asked him what he was reading during the testimony. To his surprise the witness showed him the paper he was referencing and found it to be a strict instruction list on how to answer. The instructions explained to the witness on what to say verbatim, not what their experience was or anything that they knew unique to the case.

If fact some of the questions where basically saying to play dumb and state that “it’s impossible to remember each blood draw.” This was the prosecutions method of putting away DUI cases without a matter of a doubt simply to make their toxicologist follow along a set of guidelines on what to do rather than what they know happened during testing — a true conflict and a pretty blatant case of dishonesty.

Another ‘Expert Witness’ Gone Wrong

Another toxicologist was found, not to have been giving testimony with scripted lines, but scripting a false resume instead. During an employee record audit at the San Diego Sheriff Department’s Crime lab, it was found that an often used key witness, Raymond Cole, had falsified his resume. It was found that Cole’s resume states that instead of graduating from Berkeley in pre-med, he had actually graduated with a bachelor’s in political science.

Unfortunately Cole had nearly 30 years working in the crime lab with many cases where he was used at the witness stand. Notices of the allegedly perjured testimony went out to the San Diego DUI lawyers that used him.

Across the USA, the most common crime booked in a year, by far, is DUI. Driving while intoxicated is no minor matter. A person can get anything from a warning to jail time. DUI can start as a misdemeanor and escalate into a felonious crime by degree; however, no matter what degree of culpability you face, DUI can turn your world upside-down.

Nearly 1.4 million drivers are arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs every year. While this is a serious charge, if you are arrested for a DUI you have rights that you need to protect. DUI comes under criminal law. Besides hefty fines, alcohol programs and community service, you might also get a serious punishment like jail term. Taking the right steps after DUI arrest, is the only way to get out of trouble.

All about DUI Laws:

The DUI laws have a commonality in the following areas. DUI starts under between .08 to .10 blood alcohol levels, and then kicks into DUI at between .08 to .10 blood alcohol levels. These levels are doubly indemnifying for all drivers in the US less than 21 years of age. Depending on the state, a person may have their driver’s license suspended any length of time from seven days to three years. Fines for DUI across the country range from $250.00 to $2500.00.

The punishment depends on factors like:

State where you were arrested

If you refused to take a BAC level test

What was your BAC level

If this is the first time you have been caught

If there were children with you in the vehicle or in the vicinity

If you were caught speeding

If there was any accident, damage or injury involved

According to DUI laws, the legal consequences of the offense can be:

License revocation or suspension: This punishment is regardless of the criminal charges you might face under DUI laws. In 41 states and District of Columbia there are administrative license suspension laws. Under these laws, if the driver fails or refuses to take a chemical test, his license is taken away before conviction.

Ignition interlocks: Some states allow offenders to drive only if their vehicles are equipped with ignition interlocks. This gadget looks for traces of alcohol in driver’s breath and upon confirmation, it shuts down the ignition.

Vehicle seizure: In some states, drunk driving may entail seizure of the vehicle.

Fines: They vary from state to state. Fines can be anywhere between $200 to $2000 and onwards.

Jail: Repeat offenders are more at risk of inviting a jail term. But that does not mean that a first timer is safe from it as a lot depends on how serious his cases is.

Other punishments include mandatory attendance at alcohol education programs and community service.

If you are arrested for DUI, then hiring a DUI lawyer proves to be the best decision. Driving under the influence can have serious consequences on you if you are involved in a car accident. You may face consequences like jail or prison, penalties or fines, vehicle impoundments, etc. The DUI lawyer is familiar with the intricacies and procedures involved with DUI charges and are your best bet if you find yourself in such a predicament.

Driving under the influence (DUI) is illegal throughout the U.S., even if the laws and punishments for driving under the influence vary a little from state to state.

Consequences of DUI

No matter where you live, the consequences for this crime are inconvenient at best and serious at worst. You could have your license suspended, be slapped with some heavy fines or even spend some time in jail. These consequences can make something as vital as getting to work a challenging task.

Speed is of the Essence

If you want to avoid some of all of these consequences, it would probably be wise to hire a DUI lawyer and to hire one quickly after your arrest. In many states, unless you appeal the DMV for a trial, you will automatically lose your license after 10 days or so if you have been caught driving under the influence. So, time is of the essence.

Why You Should Hire a DUI Lawyer

Good DUI lawyers will be able to create considerable doubt in a jury, in spite of unfavorable driving patterns, chemical results and sobriety tests. If your license or your freedom is on the line, their experience is a good ally to have on hand.

Search by City and State

Because the laws vary a little from state to state, you will obviously want to hire a lawyer who knows the laws specific to your state inside and out. Be careful when you illuminate candidate though because one lawyer might service more than one state. You can also search for good DUI lawyers by city.

Know their Credentials

Even though you don’t have a lot of time to find good DUI lawyers, you still want to know the credentials of the people who will be defending your case. You will probably want to ask questions like, have they been successful in the past? Do they have a good reputation in their area? Where were they educated? How much do they charge? You can get specs on several different DUI lawyers if you find a website that provides mini bios for attorneys all over the country. These short bios usually list such credentials because they want to prove their competency to potential clients. Visiting such a website is a fast way to locate and research different lawyers.

Free Consultations

Once you have narrowed your search down, you can also get a feel for how helpful lawyers will be by calling up for a free consultation. It won’t cost anything more than your time and a couple phone calls may be the determining factor in which lawyer you choose.

DUI means driving under the influence. It is generally applicable in those cases where the person held was driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs to such an extent that his mental and motor skills were completely inhibited. Some of the substances that typically lead to a DUI charge are alcohol, illegal drugs like cocaine, inhalants, marijuana, prescribed medications and over the counter drugs.

Generally the tests like field sobriety tests are used by the police to test for intoxication. These include walking in a straight line or standing on one leg. There are other kinds of tests like blood test and urine test and one of the most common is the breathalyzer test.

The charge of DUI is very serious and could have severe implications if proved. Once convicted the person may loose his driver’s license and can even has his vehicle impounded. For a person who is a repeat offender, the driver’s license could be revoked and possibly there could be a jail sentence.

Thus for a person who is charged with a DUI, it becomes imperative to hire a DUI lawyer who can help him get a fair treatment in the court. DUI laws everywhere are getting tougher and tougher. There is a constant threat of police, lawmakers, and prosecutors. But the help is just a click away. Now days there are many websites available on the net that can help you in finding a good and a competitive DUI lawyer. A professional and an experienced DUI lawyer would pay heed to your concerns and actively work for you to regain your freedom. A specialist DUI lawyer can help you in minimizing your serious charges or even have them completely dismissed.