1. DUI Attorney is available to help if you have been arrested for DUI; you have 10 days to request a hearing in front of the California Department of Motor Vehicles. Call 310.415.0294 and ask for a DUI Attorney free consultation.
2. Always be polite when talking with police or California Highway Patrolmen, but it is your right not to answer any questions. It is your right to politely refuse to answer any of the officer’s questions concerning the DUI investigation occurring as it relates to your driving or drinking behavior. If you have given the officers no answers to their questions, then there isn’t any statement from you that they may use against you in court.
3. Field Sobriety Tests are not mandatory, they are completely voluntary. There is no guarantee that you will be set free if you take them. It may be best not to give the police officer test evidence that will be used against you in court. It is your right to politely refuse to perform the Field Sobriety Tests.
4. Politely decline (refuse) to take the preliminary alcohol screening test if you are over 21 years old. The test is voluntary for driver’s older than 21 and you have the right to refuse this type of DUI breath test.
5. Once arrested - if you are given a choice of a blood, breath or urine test – choose a urine test if offered or available. Of all the tests, the urine test is the most unreliable, but blood or breath tests may be the only ones offered.
6. If there is no urine test offered or available, then your next choice is a breath test. The current breath machines are not 100% accurate and there is a possibility of a mistake or error being made.
7. It is important to always be polite and respectful to the local police officers and California highway patrolman. If your case ends up in court, everything that happens from the moment you are pulled over may be discussed in front of a jury.
8. Always be polite and be on your best behavior as some DUI events will be captured on video, including the arrest, breath test and booking process.
9. Call DUI Attorney Geri Saklad for a free consultation before speaking with the District Attorney’s Office. You do not want to speak with an assistant district attorney without your lawyer in attendance.
10. It is important to note that the best way to avoid a DUI conviction or Department of Motor Vehicle (DMV) suspension is to not drink and drive your car. The way our current California DUI laws are being used, there is a high probability that you will be arrested if the police officer smells alcohol on you, even if it is a small amount. Being arrested for DUI isn’t an automatic conviction and loss of your driver’s license, but you must protect your rights, preserve your driver’s license by understanding your rights. The information on this page is not meant to be a legal opinion, but information that you can utilize should you need it.
DUI Drunk Driver Convictions in Malibu, Los Angeles and Ventura
Drivers convicted of a DUI in Southern California face possible jail time, especially for a second or third DUI offense, the loss of their driving privileges, higher insurance rates if they can obtain insurance and a conviction on their record.
Driver’s convicted for a third drunk driving offense will receive a sentence of a minimum of 120 days in jail. If someone is killed or severely injured while driving drunk, the driver faces years of jail time, even if this is the first DUI offense. If you kill someone while driving drunk, and have previously been convicted of a DUI, the potential sentence is from 15 years to life in prison if found guilty.
Attorney Geri Saklad is an experienced DUI specialist in all aspects of drunk driving defense. She will build a strong defense against your purported Blood Alcohol Content by analyzing and challenging the blood and breathalyzer test results – and, she will represent you in Department of Motor Vehicle hearings for your driver’s license suspension issues.
