DUI In California

[mpr732]

Facts of case: Sleeping with engine running on State Freeway. CHP never saw me driving. I told them I had a couple drinks at a bar and pulled over cause I was tired. They asked if I took anything else and I told them I took a prescribed antidepressant 20 hours ago at my prescribed time. They Did a Breathalyzer twice. Once - .065, second - .068. They ordered me to take a blood or urine test to see if I was under the influence of a prescribed narcotic. I chose urine. Urine came back CLEAN (as I suspected). However, the DA's complaint is charging me with H&S 11550 (a) and 23152 (a). NOT the B charge. I hired a lawyer who said the DA dropped the charges and then refiled when they never really filed until later. I called him back and he said I would need to repay him or hire another lawyer. I fired him and will file a complaint with the State Bar since he didn't do anything but take my money. I hired a second lawyer, and at first, she was very responsive, but seems like she is doing the same thing my first lawyer did. She says she would call the prosecutor and then I don't hear from her for days and she ignores my calls. My arraignment date is coming up. Not sure why I am being charged with the 11550 (a) and not sure why attorneys would do this. I am scared and I have no more money. Can someone suggest something. An email would help.

[usedbranflakes]

Your attorneys sound like they are not the best ones in the world and have taken your money without rendering service. Either that or you are a high maintenance client that really needs an attorney who can meet your requirements. Find a better attorney, be willing to pay top dollar, and be patient. They will continue the case for months and that is not necessarily a bad thing but doesn't mean you need to call them daily. Find an attorney that went through the DUI College programs.

Read up a little bit on www.duiblog.com regarding people getting nailed for sleeping in a car and people being charged with under a .08. It's very common nowadays. A cop can arrest you for anything and driking and getting in a car it is very much a GUILTY until proven INNOCENT charge. You have to prove you are innocent.

[cdwjava]

Facts of case: Sleeping with engine running on State Freeway. CHP never saw me driving.

Which can be sufficient to support an arrest as one of the articulated exceptions to observed driving per CVC 40300.5.

I told them I had a couple drinks at a bar and pulled over cause I was tired.

THE number one answer to the question, "How much have you had to drink tonight?", is ... "Two ..."

So, by that first answer, they already suspected you were not quite truthful.

They asked if I took anything else and I told them I took a prescribed antidepressant 20 hours ago at my prescribed time.

If true, chances are 20 hours would have allowed the effects to wear off. But, keep in mind that one can still be driving impaired and arrested for DUI even if under the influence of prescription medication.

They Did a Breathalyzer twice. Once - .065, second - .068.

This indicates something more than "a couple" of drinks.

Urine came back CLEAN (as I suspected). However, the DA's complaint is charging me with H&S 11550 (a) and 23152 (a). NOT the B charge.

CVC 23152(b) requires a BAC of .08 or greater - that was apparently not the case here.

I am not sure where they got the H&S 11550 charge if the urine test came up clean ... but, something made them think you would be. Unless those charges were filed BEFORE the drug test came back.

She says she would call the prosecutor and then I don't hear from her for days and she ignores my calls.

There's not a lot to do before arraignment. i don't know what you expect from your attorney before that date. All that really happens there is a plea and the assignment of counsel. You may want your attorney to SEEM busy on your behalf, but there is really very little to do until after the arraignment.

If the drug test came back negative, then the 11550 may not be charged at arraignment. Depending on your performance during the FSTs and any observations of your driving made, they might still file the DUI charge. You'll have to wait and see.

- Carl

[erblaw]

The 11550 sounds bogus. If they didn't find anything in your urine, you are in the clear. Of course, they can still charge you and the issue might not get cleared up until just before trial and perhaps at trial. Your attorney can at least ask the judge to dump the 11550 at trial and you won't have to rely on the jury.

The 23152(a) doesn't require .08 or higher. You can get a .065 or thereabouts and be intoxicated. 23152(b) requires the .08 or higher. It's just that with the (a) count, the DA has to show bad driving or bad FSTs or something. Getting a .065 means you had far more than 2 drinks. You probably had 4 or 5. So you were up there. You can imagine what it takes to get .10 and how drunk you really have to be. At a .065, you may be guilty of a DUI under the A count.

Once the attorney has your money, you are kind of in a bad position. Most likely, you can't get it back. That's the thing about attorneys. You don't really know which ones are good and which are bad. Some are very, very good and responsive. Others aren't. And just because they work for the public defender's office doesn't make them good or bad. Someone might work for the public defender's office because they don't want to deal with getting paying clients. That's a whole pain in the rear end. At the public defender's office, the attorney gets to do what he or she is good at and not deal with paying a secretary or bringing in clients. He or she goes home at the end of the day and doesn't have to think about his or her next pay check. It just comes. Additionally, most clients are just not realistic to start. As such, private attorneys, to get your money, might need to blow smoke up your skirt at first to get the money. Clients tend to go with private attorneys that make them feel comfortable or important or happy, but those same attorneys may not be the best ones when it comes to making a deal or going to trial.

Additionally, note that the DA is not always responsive. The DAs have many, many cases, too, and may only talk to the defense attorney in court. It's not the most effective way of doing things, but that is the way many of them work.

[sniper]

Getting a .065 means you had far more than 2 drinks. You probably had 4 or 5. So you were up there. You can imagine what it takes to get .10 and how drunk you really have to be. At a .065, you may be guilty of a DUI under the A count.

It also depends on how many hours he was sleeping on the side of the freeway.