Alcohol Education Programs in Amador County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in Amador County, California:

Amador County DDP
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
1001 Broadway,
Suite 106,
Jackson, California 95642
Phone: 510-569-9888; Fax: 209-223-3460

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Alcohol Education Programs in Madera County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in Madera County, California:

Kings View Community Services
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
125 South D Street,
Suite 101,
Madera, California 93638
Phone: 559-673-8006; Fax: 559-673-0267

Kings View Community Services
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
49774 Road 426,
Suite D,
Oakhurst, California 93644
Phone: 559-683-4809; Fax: 559-683-6499

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Alcohol Education Programs in San Diego County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in San Diego County, California:

East County ACCORD
(Service Provided: Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
1136 Broadway,
Suite 10,
El Cajon, California 92021
Phone: 619-562-5850; Fax: 619-562-5685

MAAC DDP
(Service Provided: First Offender)
1355 Third Avenue,
Chula Vista, California 91911
Phone: 619-409-1780; Fax: 619-425-1812

SDSU Center on Substance Abuse DDP
(Service Provided: First Offender)
9245 Sky Park Ct.,
Suite 101,
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: 858-467-6810; Fax: 858-467-6822

Occupational Health Services, Inc.
(Service Provided: First Offender)
1637 Capalina Road,
San Marcos, California 92069
Phone: 760-744-9201; Fax: 760-744-8946

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Alcohol Education Programs in Trinity County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in Trinity County, California:

Cascade Circle, Inc.
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
1 Loomis Lane,
Weaverville, California 96093
Phone: 530-222-8302

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Superior Court Of California, County of Calaveras

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to know the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

Calaveras County Superior Court
Calaveras Government Center
891 Mountain Ranch Road, San Andreas, CA 95249

» Calaveras County Superior Cour of California website.

Getting arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI can be a frightening experience. Suspected drunk drivers face a legal labyrinth that can seem daunting. A drunk driving case generates two separate cases – in criminal court, and at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). A California attorney with experience defending drinking and driving cases can help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

» Return to California Superior Courts, general information

Superior Court Of California, County of Mendocino

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to know the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

Mendocino County Superior Court
100 North State Street, Ukiah, CA 95482-4416

Willits Branch
125 East Commercial Street, Willits, CA 95490

Ten Mile Branch, Fort Bragg
700 South Franklin Street, Fort Bragg, CA 95437-5464

» Mendocino County Superior Court of California website.

Getting arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI can be a frightening experience. Suspected drunk drivers face a legal labyrinth that can seem daunting. A drunk driving case generates two separate cases – in criminal court, and at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). A California attorney with experience defending drinking and driving cases can help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

» Return to California Superior Courts, general information

Superior Court Of California, County of Sonoma

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to know the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

Sonoma County Superior Court
Sonoma County Hall of Justice
600 Administration Drive, Santa Rosa, CA 95403

» Sonoma County Superior Court of California website.

Getting arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI can be a frightening experience. Suspected drunk drivers face a legal labyrinth that can seem daunting. A drunk driving case generates two separate cases – in criminal court, and at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). A California attorney with experience defending drinking and driving cases can help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

» Return to California Superior Courts, general information

California Criminal Defense Attorney – Examination of Defense Criminalist

In a California DUI criminal trial, the prosecutor will call numerous witnesses, including the arresting officer and a prosecution “expert.” This expert is usually an employee of the sheriff’s department who will interpret the defendant’s chemical test results, blood alcohol content (BAC), and field sobriety tests. A skilled drunk driving attorney from The Kavinoky Law Firm will call an independent defense expert to show that the driver’s chemical tests can be interpreted in an entirely different way.

The use of a qualified defense expert is of the utmost importance in drunk driving or driving under the influence of drugs (DUID) cases. Experts can discuss a multitude of subject, but their primary purpose in a drunk driving defense is to support the notion that there are other possible explanations for the prosecution’s evidence that the defendant was driving under the influence. Skilled defense experts testify about the scientific aspects of alcohol intoxication, and can knowledgeably rebut the prosecution expert’s theories and conclusions.

Direct examination of the defense’s expert is very similar to the direct examination of other witnesses. The DUI defense lawyer will ask the expert open-ended questions so that he or she can testify freely. The selection of the expert is critical to the success of this aspect of the defense. The expert should be knowledgeable in his or her field and able to explain technical and scientific information in a way the jury can understand and appreciate. Some defense experts were once prosecution toxicologists, which is a big help to the defense because the jury sees that the crimnalist has chosen to work on behalf of defendants.

Defense experts can sometimes produce studies and resources that the prosecution can’t access. Defense experts also help with the defense of DUI cases by preparing the defense attorney in his or her cross-examination of the prosecution’s criminalist.

A skilled defense expert will aggressively challenge many prosecution claims. One of the most import idea the expert can explain to the jury is the concept of rising blood alcohol content (BAC). Jurors are typically unaware that a driver’s BAC can continue to rise even after he or she quits drinking.

Since chemical tests are always administered after the motorist was behind the wheel, sometimes even an hour or two after driving, the driver’s BAC could easily be .08 percent at the police station, but that’s not illegal.

In a driving under the influence case, the only thing that matters is the motorist’s BAC at the time of driving, and that’s very hard to pinpoint using a test taken several hours later. The prosecution’s expert will testify that the driver must have been over the legal limit the entire time, and it’s up to the defense expert to refute that testimony.

A defense expert can also explain the inherent flaws in both breath and blood tests, such as what happens when fermentation takes place in an improperly stored blood sample, or how BAC readings can be inflated when breath machines are not properly calibrated.

A skilled defense expert will also use a driver’s performance on field sobriety tests to demonstrate that the accused driver was not under the influence while behind the wheel. The expert will use aspects of the driver’s performance on the test to show that he or she displayed no mental or physical impairment.

Mental and physical impairment is at the heart of every California DUI case. A knowledgeable expert will testify that mental impairment always occurs before physical impairment when a person is under the influence of alcohol. If there is no evidence of mental impairment, then any poor physical performance must have been caused by something other than intoxication. The expert will explain that there are many conditions that can cause physical impairment, including injury, illness, or fatigue.

Once the defense attorney has finished examining the expert, the prosecutor begins cross-examination. Just as the defense attorney does during cross-examination, the prosecutor will likely ask leading questions that are designed to draw only yes or no answers. Because this is the prosecution’s opportunity to testify, just as the defense attorney did while cross-examining the prosecution expert, it is essential that the expert is well prepared for trial.

The defense attorney and the expert typically meet one or more times before the DUI case goes to trial to review the expert’s opinions about the particular drunk driving case. They will discuss any weaknesses in the case and areas where the prosecutor is likely to attack the expert’s testimony. A skilled expert can anticipate these attacks by the prosecutor.

Because an experienced expert has testified in countless other trials, he or she thoroughly understands the issues involved in drunk driving cases. However, the prosecutor may occasionally score a point or two with the defense criminalist due to unavoidable flaws in the case. When that occurs, a good defense criminalist will testify in a way which allows the defense attorney to rehabilitate those points on re-direct examination.

A skilled driving under the influence defense expert is critical to the success of any drunk driving defense. A California lawyer who excels at defending DUI cases works with the most respected experts in the field, and will choose a defense expert who will have a strong impact on the jury and create reasonable doubt in the driver’s guilt.

Any attorney who successfully fights California DUI / DWI charges is well-versed in how alcohol affects the human body. Although every individual metabolizes alcohol differently – the rate depends on factors that include weight, gender, metabolic rate, etc. – the basic process is the same for everyone. The skilled defense attorneys from The Kavinoky Law Firm have the knowledge needed to analyze the factors in a specific case to challenge chemical tests and craft a successful defense.

Many drivers are unaware that alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. How much the central nervous system function is impaired is directly proportionate to the concentration of alcohol in the blood.

There are three stages of alcohol metabolism: Absorption, distribution, and elimination.

Absorption is the phase when alcohol enters the body, and then the bloodstream, and is distributed throughout the body. Alcohol is not digested like other ingested substances – it is absorbed unchanged directly through the stomach lining. Because of its large surface area, the small intestine absorbs much more alcohol than the stomach, which has a far smaller surface area.

As the alcohol is absorbed, the individual’s blood alcohol content (BAC) rises until it reaches a peak concentration, then gradually tapers off. It generally takes 30 to 60 minutes to reach peak alcohol levels after an individual stops drinking.

Once the alcohol is absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract, it enters the bloodstream and is distributed through all of the body’s water-containing components. Because it is distributed so quickly and thoroughly, alcohol affects the central nervous system even in small concentrations.

Alcohol is distributed to bodily tissues by the bloodstream. Veins carry the blood to and through the lungs where the blood becomes oxygenated. Arteries then carry the oxygen-rich blood to the brain and the rest of the body. Alcohol is completely soluble in water, so BAC is directly proportional to total body water content. Water content varies from person to person.

Generally speaking, the less an individual weighs, the more he or she will be affected by alcohol. This is because smaller people have less water in their bodies than larger people. For people of the same weight, a well-muscled individual will be less affected than someone with a higher percentage of fat, since fatty tissue does not contain very much water and will not absorb very much alcohol.

In general, women are more affected by alcohol consumption than men, because women’s bodies typically have more fat and less water in their bodies. About 68 percent of a man’s body weight is water, while only about 55 percent of a woman’s body is water weight.

The body begins to eliminate alcohol through metabolism, excretion, and evaporation approximately 15 to 45 minutes after a person consumes his or her last drink. Metabolism, which occurs in the liver, accounts for approximately 95 percent of alcohol elimination. An individual generally metabolizes one average drink, or five ounces of alcohol, per hour.

In addition to gender, body weight, and other factors affecting metabolic rates, there are several additional issues that affect alcohol metabolism. Individuals who are in good health metabolize alcohol more efficiently than unhealthy people. Chronic alcoholics whose livers function properly metabolize alcohol more quickly than the average person. Younger people process alcohol more efficiently than older people.

Excretion and evaporation eliminate a small amount of alcohol from the body. Alcohol is excreted unchanged through urine, tears, sweat, semen, and saliva. Excretion is typically responsible for the smell of alcohol detectable on individuals who have been drinking. Alcohol evaporates from the blood into the lungs and is excreted in breath, allowing it to be measured in a breath sample.

Alcohol elimination rates are inversely proportional to alcohol concentration in the blood. This means that the higher the blood alcohol levels, the slower the rate of elimination.

Although alcohol is excreted in the breath, not all of the air that comes from the lungs is equal in alcohol concentration. The highest concentration comes at the end of a long exhalation of breath, where the air was in closest proximity to the blood. This is why police tell drivers to blow long and hard during breath testing, because the deep lung air will have the highest concentrations of alcohol, and result in the highest BAC.

Eating before drinking or consuming food and alcohol together also affects the amount of alcohol in the bloodstream. Food in the stomach affects the absorption of alcohol by the small intestine, so the more an individual has in his or her stomach while drinking, the lower the BAC. A valve at the bottom of the stomach closes when there is food in the stomach and prevents alcohol from reaching the small intestine. This causes the alcohol in the stomach to be absorbed at a slower rate, which affects the distribution into the bloodstream, and ultimately the rate of elimination.

Although many factors influence an individual’s alcohol metabolism, police and prosecutors don’t always take these issues into consideration when considering a drunk driving charge. An individual’s alcohol metabolism rate is of key importance in a drinking and driving case, because chemical tests typically take place an hour or more after police stop a driver, and the person’s BAC at the time of driving must be estimated.

A qualified California attorney with experience defending DUI / DWI cases can use these factors to a driver’s advantage, and successfully fight a drunk driving case.

Per Se Law as an Element of a California DUI / DWI

The per se law operates in a way such that if it can be proven that a motorist’s blood alcohol content was .08 percent or greater at the time of driving then as a matter of law, it is illegal for that person to drive. The question of a person’s blood alcohol content level is not a question of whether a person was impaired. However, someone’s blood alcohol level can be used as circumstantial evidence that that person was too impaired to drive.

In defending a charge under the per se law, the focus will be on the accuracy of the blood alcohol test or the breath test. An experienced DUI / DWI attorney who has advanced knowledge and training in field sobriety testing will be able to present facts, theories, and technical reasons that can effectively cast doubt on the results of the sobriety tests and create a chance for their client to beat the charge.

Oftentimes, a prosecutor will try to argue that blood alcohol content levels that were measured in a test at the police station long after the motorist was driving is an indication that the motorist had that same blood alcohol content at the time he or she was driving. Well, science indicates that this is not certain to be the case.

Skilled DUI / DWI attorneys know that the absorbing and metabolizing of alcohol by the human body can vary and that oftentimes a person’s blood alcohol content can escalate long after that person has his or her last drink. That means that a person can have two shots of tequila and feel sober for some time afterwards until the alcohol can begin to take its impairing effects.

There are two tests that can be used by the authorities to determine the blood alcohol content of a motorist. These tests include a blood test and a breath test. The breath test is commonly given on the roadside and can be conducted at the police station too. Currently it isn’t practical to conduct blood tests on the side of the road, so the blood test is done exclusively at the police station or hospital.

Although all of these tests have great potential for error, the most fallible one of all is the roadside breath test (PAS test). These tests are typically given with handheld devices that are unable to distinguish between alcohol in the mouth and alcohol on the breath. This means that if you swished some brandy around your mouth and then spat it out, never swallowing any of it, the roadside breath test would indicate some blood alcohol content even though there really is none. This test is simply not accurate.

The breath testers at police stations also have their problems. One of the most common causes of error in the stations’ machines is that they are unable to adjust for the temperature of a person’s breath. A person’s mouth temperature can have the effect of greatly inflating a person’s blood alcohol content. Another problem is that the tester is calibrated for the ‘average’ person, but it is also widely known that people metabolize things at different speeds. There is no ‘average’ when it comes to processing alcohol. If you are not ‘average,’ whatever that may be, the test is inherently unfair to you. A skilled DUI / DWI attorney can make a solid case out of these problems.

Blood tests carry their own set of problems too. These problems range from contaminated equipment to lab mix ups. It is not too uncommon for labs to get different people’s blood samples confused. Also, oftentimes labs take time to get samples tested, which also increases the chances for errors.

While prosecutors might not want the public to know it, there are several effective ways to challenge evidence in a per se drunk driving case. The best way to fight a per se drunk driving case is to hire the best and most experienced lawyer skilled in DUI / DWI and drunk driving defense.