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  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Posts
    1

    Unhappy DUI and Possession of Marijuana, While Driving with Suspended License

    I recently got pulled over on my way into a University of California campus parking lot for not putting on my turn signal. The officer came to the window, smelled marijuana in the car and asked me to step out. He asked me if I had any in the car and I said yes. He asked me if I had been drinking and I said that I had been but much earlier and that I had sobered up. They did several field sobriety tests and had me blow through a breathalyzer. They found the marijuana I had, which was under 28.5 ounces, and my pipe. The breathalyzer showed that I had a 0.02 BAC. I am under age 21 but at least 18, so they wrote me a ticket for underage DUI of 0.02 and possession of marijuana under 28.5 grams. Both of them are misdemeanors. The officer sent me back to my friend's room on campus but not before taking my license and telling me that I had 45 days before the provisional ticket license he had given me expired. 35 days later, I got pulled over in California for speeding and the officer said that my license had been suspended. I explained that I didn't understand and he said that I had been allowed to drive for 30 days. I told him I didn't know that I couldn't drive because of what the other officer told me. He wrote me a ticket for speeding and for driving with a suspended license. My dad had to pick me up so the car wouldn't be impounded and I wouldn't go to jail. My dad told me that I could end up going to jail. I'm just a college student who made a few mistakes. Could someone please tell me a) what should my defense in court be? b) what are the minimum and maximum penalties? and c) what is the most likely result from the trial? My dad is a California police officer and knows protocol. He says that because the officers didn't ask me if I had burped or thrown up in the last 15 min before I took the breathalyzer test, the reading could be proven as unreliable. Also, I'm trying to get out of the suspended license charge because I was uninformed. I know it says it on the ticket, but because the officer told me 45 days I went with what he told me. I can't afford to talk to a lawyer and I know a public defender will just tell me to confess to everything. I'm worried about my record, my license, and possibly going to jail. Please respond as soon as possible because my court date is soon. Thank you.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Posts
    9,096

    Default Re: First Time Dui/Possession of Marijuana/Driving with Suspended License

    If it said 30 days on the ticket you were holding in your hand, I am sure the judge won't accept that as a valid excuse.

    Especially since the chances of the police officer backing up your story are roughly akin to those of a snowball in a blast furnace.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Sep 2005
    Location
    California
    Posts
    20,594

    Default Re: First Time Dui/Possession of Marijuana/Driving with Suspended License

    The form you were given when you were cited for the underage drinking would have had all the information written on it - including the 30 day time frame until suspension and the 10 day limit to file an appeal with the DMV. Unless the officer admits to telling you 45 days, and you admit to being clueless and not reading the document he provided you, your suspension will likely stand.

    As for the not burping bit, okay, make that defense. The law concerning the burping and such deals with the continued observation of the defendant in that time period, not asking you anything. To challenge the results on that basis will be pricey.You will need to hire some experts at about $250 to $500 per hour, and an attorney for at least $3,000 ... how much is the fine again?

    The penalties depend upon the specific code sections for which you were cited. What sections were you charged with violating? (Code sections, please)

    If for 23136 you face fines and the likely suspension of your license for up to a year. The marijuana offenses will be fines only. Jail is not likely in the cards.



    - Carl

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