DMV Consequences for first time DUI Offenders

The driver who is arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol will require the counsel of a California criminal defense attorney with vast experience in DUI cases. A first-time DUI still requires a case be filed within ten days of arrest with the DMV to protect driving privileges.  An experienced DUI attorney can assist with the DMV case. In California there is both a Department of Motor Vehicles hearing and a criminal court case. Court date and hearings for the criminal case will be set by the court after arraignment. However, a DMV hearing will only take place if the driver requests a hearing within ten days of a drunk driving arrest. If no request is made, a thirty day automatic suspension of driving privileges will take place.

Two crucial factors in a DMV hearing will be whether there are prior driving under the influence violations on the driver’s record, and whether there was a refusal to submit to chemical tests. In the case of a first offense DUI, there will be no previous marks on the driver’s record. If there was a refusal to submit to the chemical tests following an arrest, a first time drinking and driving violation will carry an automatic one year suspension without any chances of getting a restricted license to allow for travel to and from work.

A first offense drunk driving where the driver voluntarily submits to a blood or breath test after being arrested, generally the punishment will be a four month suspension and the driver will be required to file formal proof of insurance with the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is done with the filing of an SR-22 form. This filing will be required for three years. But, for the first time offender, they may be entitled to a restricted license that allows for the travel to and from work.

In order for any sanction such as restriction, suspension, or revocation can take place, the DMV hearing officer must face three issues, and be satisfied with each of the three issues. In short those issues are whether the officer had reasonable cause to believe the driver was under the influence of alcohol or committed another crime or vehicle code violation. Next is whether the arrest of the driver was lawful, and lastly is whether the driver’s BAC was above the legal limit at the time of driving.

The DMV has the sole authority in California to suspend driving privileges. Criminal courts do not have this authority. However, when a motorist is convicted of drunk driving in California, the DMV will find out. Once the DMV has found out that a driver was convicted of DUI, the driver’s license will be automatically suspended for six months. This six month suspension will run concurrently with the original four months suspension given after the Department of Motor Vehicles hearing.

Consequences of DMV hearings may be harsh. It is best to have a California criminal defense attorney with vast experience in DUI cases on your side if you want to minimize the consequences against your license. Seek a free evaluation from The Kavinoky Law Firm if you want to fight the DMV and protect your driving privileges.

Motion to Suppress Evidence

Fighting a California drug charge may seem like a daunting proposition, but fortunately it’s possible to mount an aggressive defense to the charges you face. One of the most potent tools at your defense lawyer’s disposal is a motion to suppress evidence. Skilled California defense attorneys from The Kavinoky Law Firm are well-versed in using motions to suppress evidence to advance clients’ prospects in court.

A motion is any formal request asking the court to take action on your behalf. Your California defense attorneys may file a motion to suppress evidence on your behalf. If the court finds that the motion has merit, some or all of the evidence against you will be suppressed, and the case against you could be severely weakened or even dropped.

The key elements of a motion to suppress evidence can include a motion to quash, a motion to traverse, and/or a challenge based on one or more confidential informants who supplied information to the investigators who obtained a search warrant.

A motion to quash questions whether police had probable cause to obtain a search warrant in the first place. A motion to traverse questions the validity of the information contained in the search warrant affidavit.

Challenging confidential informants is tricky because police fight to keep their identities a secret, and the courts often uphold their right to do so. However, it may be possible to persuade a judge to compel the police to identify their informant and question that person’s credibility. Successfully doing so may result in evidence in your California drug case being excluded.

These are some of the tools that may be employed by your California drug lawyer in an effort to have evidence against you suppressed. To learn more about suppression of evidence in narcotics cases, please contact a skilled California drug lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm today at 1-877-4-NO-CUFFS for a free consultation.

California Vehicle Code VC 13351.8 – Road Rage: Required Supension

13351.8. Upon receipt of a duly certified abstract of the record of any court showing that the court has ordered the suspension of a driver’s license pursuant to Section 13210, on or after January 1, 2001, the department shall suspend the person’s driving privilege in accordance with that suspension order commencing either on the date of the person’s conviction or upon the person’s release from confinement or imprisonment.

Added Sec. 5, Ch. 642, Stats. 2000. Effective January 1, 2001.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
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California Vehicle Code VC 13353.7 – Restricted Noncommercial Driver’s License

13353.7. (a) Subject to subdivision (c), if the person whose driving privilege has been suspended under Section 13353.2 has not been convicted of, or found to have committed, a separate violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 of this code, or Section 191.5 or paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of the Penal Code, and if the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle has not been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.2 for an offense that occurred on a separate occasion within 10 years of the occasion in question and, if the person subsequently enrolls in a driving-under-the-influence program licensed under Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, as described in subdivision (b) of Section 23538, that person, if 21 years of age or older at the time the offense occurred, may apply to the department for a restricted driver’s license limited to travel to and from the activities required by the program and to and from and in the course of the person’s employment. After receiving proof of enrollment in the program, and if the person has not been arrested subsequent to the offense for which the person’s driving privilege has been suspended under Section 13353.2 for a violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153 of this code, or Section 191.5 or paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of the Penal Code, and if the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle has not been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.2 for an offense that occurred on a separate occasion, notwithstanding Section 13551, the department shall, after review pursuant to Section 13557, suspend the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle for 30 days and then issue the person a restricted driver’s license under the following conditions:

1. The program shall report any failure to participate in the program to the department and shall certify successful completion of the program to the department.
2. The person was 21 years of age or older at the time the offense occurred and gives proof of financial responsibility as defined in Section 16430.
3. The restriction shall be imposed for a period of five months.
4. If a person who has been issued a restricted license under this section fails at any time to participate in the program, the department shall suspend the restricted license immediately. The department shall give notice of the suspension under this paragraph in the same manner as prescribed in subdivision (b) of Section 13353.2 for the period specified in Section 13353.3, that is effective upon receipt by the person.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), and upon a conviction of Section 23152 or 23153, the department shall suspend or revoke the person’s privilege to operate a motor vehicle under Section 13352.

(c) If the holder of a commercial driver’s license was operating a commercial vehicle, as defined in Section 15210, at the time of the violation that resulted in the suspension of that person’s driving privilege under Section 13353.2, the department shall, pursuant to this section, if the person is otherwise eligible, issue the person a class C driver’s license restricted in the same manner and subject to the same conditions as specified in subdivision (a), except that the license may not allow travel to and from or in the course of the person’s employment.

(d) This section does not apply to a person whose driving privilege has been suspended or revoked pursuant to Section 13353 or 13353.2 for an offense that occurred on a separate occasion, or as a result of a conviction of a separate violation of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23140, 23152, or 23153, that violation occurred within 10 years of the offense in question. This subdivision shall be operative only so long as a one-year suspension of the driving privilege for a second or subsequent occurrence or offense, with no restricted or hardship licenses permitted, is required by Section 408 or 410 of Title 23 of the United States Code.

(e) This section shall become operative on September 20, 2005.

Added Sec. 10.5, Ch. 952, Stats. 2004. Effective January 1, 2005. Operative September 20, 2005.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
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California Vehicle Code VC 13367 – Determining Minor’s Suspension

13367. For purposes of the suspension or revocation of any driver’s license issued to a minor, the department shall not provide any lighter penalty than would be given to an adult under similar circumstances.

Added Ch. 562, Stats. 1959. Effective September 18, 1959.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
www.NoCuffs.com is not liable for any misinformation that users obtain from using this site.

California Vehicle Code VC 23572 – Minor Passenger: Enhanced Penalty

23572. (a) If any person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 and a minor under 14 years of age was a passenger in the vehicle at the time of the offense, the court shall impose the following penalties in addition to any other penalty prescribed:

1. If the person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 punishable under Section 23536, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 48 continuous hours in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted, no part of which shall be stayed.
2. If a person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 punishable under Section 23540, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 10 days in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted, no part of which may be stayed.
3. If a person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 punishable under Section 23546, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 30 days in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted, no part of which may be stayed.
4. If a person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 which is punished as a misdemeanor under Section 23550, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 90 days in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted, no part of which may be stayed.

(b) The driving of a vehicle in which a minor under 14 years of age was a passenger shall be pled and proven.

(c) No punishment enhancement shall be imposed pursuant to this section if the person is also convicted of a violation of Section 273a of the Penal Code arising out of the same facts and incident.

Added Sec. 84, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.
Amended Sec. 38, Ch. 22, Stats. 1999. Effective May 26, 1999. Operative July 1 1999.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
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California Vehicle Code VC 23614 – Breath and Chemical Testing: Advisement

23614. (a) In addition to the requirements of Section 23612, a person who chooses to submit to a breath test shall be advised before or after the test that the breath-testing equipment does not retain any sample of the breath and that no breath sample will be available after the test which could be analyzed later by that person or any other person.

(b) The person shall also be advised that, because no breath sample is retained, the person will be given an opportunity to provide a blood or urine sample that will be retained at no cost to the person so that there will be something retained that may be subsequently analyzed for the alcoholic content of the person’s blood. If the person completes a breath test and wishes to provide a blood or urine sample to be retained, the sample shall be collected and retained in the same manner as if the person had chosen a blood or urine test initially.

(c) The person shall also be advised that the blood or urine sample may be tested by either party in any criminal prosecution. The failure of either party to perform this test shall place neither a duty upon the opposing party to perform the test nor affect the admissibility of any other evidence of the alcoholic content of the blood of the person arrested.

(d) No failure or omission to advise pursuant to this section shall affect the admissibility of any evidence of the alcoholic content of the blood of the person arrested.

Added Sec. 84, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
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California Vehicle Code VC 23558 – Multiple Victims: Enhanced Penalty

23558. Any person who proximately causes bodily injury or death to more than one victim in any one instance of driving in violation of Section 23153 of this code or in violation of Section 191.5 of, or paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 192 of, the Penal Code, shall, upon a felony conviction, and notwithstanding subdivision (g) of Section 1170.1 of the Penal Code, receive an enhancement of one year in the state prison for each additional injured victim. The enhanced sentence provided for in this section shall not be imposed unless the fact of the bodily injury to each additional victim is charged in the accusatory pleading and admitted or found to be true by the trier of fact. The maximum number of one year enhancements which may be imposed pursuant to this section is three.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court may strike the enhancements provided in this section if it determines that there are circumstances in mitigation of the additional punishment and states on the record its reasons for striking the additional punishment.

Added Sec. 84, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.
Amended Sec. 15, Ch. 706, Stats. 1999. Effective October 10, 1999.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
www.NoCuffs.com is not liable for any misinformation that users obtain from using this site.

California Vehicle Code VC 23229.1 – Possession of Alcohol in Limousine: Passengers Under Age 21

23229.1. (a) Subject to subdivision (b), Sections 23223 and 23225 do apply to any charter-party carrier of passengers, as defined in Section 5360 of the Public Utilities Code, operating a limousine for hire when the driver of the vehicle transports any passenger under the age of 21.

(b) For purposes of subdivision (a), it is not a violation of Section 23225 for any charter-party carrier of passengers operating a limousine for hire which is licensed pursuant to the Public Utilities Code to keep any bottle, can, or other receptacle containing any alcoholic beverage in a locked utility compartment within the area occupied by the driver and passengers.

(c) In addition to the requirements of Section 1803, every clerk of a court, or judge if there is no clerk, in which any driver in subdivision (a) was convicted of a violation of Section 23225 shall prepare within 10 days after conviction, and immediately forward to the Public Utilities Commission at its office in San Francisco, an abstract of the record of the court covering the case in which the person was convicted. If sentencing is not pronounced in conjunction with the conviction, the abstract shall be forwarded to the commission within 10 days after sentencing, and the abstract shall be certified, by the person required to prepare it, to be true and correct.

For the purposes of this subdivision, a forfeiture of bail is equivalent to a conviction.

(d) This section shall become operative on July 1, 1989.

Added Ch. 1105, Stats. 1988. Operative July 1, 1989.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
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California Vehicle Code VC 23140 – Alcohol: Persons Under 21

23140. (a) It is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years who has 0.05 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.

(b) A person may be found to be in violation of subdivision (a) if the person was, at the time of driving, under the age of 21 years and under the influence of, or affected by, an alcoholic beverage regardless of whether a chemical test was made to determine that person’s blood-alcohol concentration and if the trier of fact finds that the person had consumed an alcoholic beverage and was driving a vehicle while having a concentration of 0.05 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, upon a finding that a person has violated this section, the clerk of the court, or judge if there is no clerk, shall prepare within 10 days after the finding and immediately forward to the department an abstract of the record of the court in which the finding is made. That abstract shall be a public record and available for public inspection in the same manner as other records reported under Section 1803.

Amended Ch. 938, Stats. 1994. Effective September 28, 1994.

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Note: Laws change frequently and thus the information provided should not be relied upon as legal advice. To be certain, contact a criminal defense attorney for a legal assistance.
www.NoCuffs.com is not liable for any misinformation that users obtain from using this site.