Category: Weapons Offenses

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California Vehicle Code VC 23104 – Reckless Driving: Bodily Injury

Posted by on May 4, 2012

23104. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), whenever reckless driving of a vehicle proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver, the person driving the vehicle shall, upon conviction thereof, be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than six months or by a fine of not less than two hundred twenty dollars ($220) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or by both the fine and imprisonment.

(b) Any person convicted of reckless driving which proximately causes great bodily injury, as defined in Section 12022.7 of the Penal Code, to any person other than the driver, who previously has been convicted of a violation of Section 23103, 23104, 23109, 23152, or 23153, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than six months or by a fine of not less than two hundred twenty dollars ($220) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by both the fine and imprisonment.

Amended Ch. 216, Stats. 1984. Effective January 1, 1985.

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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 Superior Courts, General Information

Posted by on May 4, 2012

California Superior Courts, General Information

If you or someone you know have been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to be aware of the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. First, find the county listed below in which the drunk driving arrest happened. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

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 will help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

California Criminal Defense Attorney – Dry-Reckless Plea

Posted by on May 4, 2012

California Criminal Defense Attorney – Dry-Reckless Plea

A DUI / DWI lawyer will try to get DUI charges reduced whenever possible. If the charge is felony drunk driving, an attorney might seek a reduced charge of misdemeanor driving under the influence. When the charge is a misdemeanor driving while intoxicated, a lawyer will attempt to find a compromise that will result in lesser charges such a wet-reckless or a dry-reckless.

A California DUI / DWI attorney knows that sometimes it is better to accept a plea bargain than to go to trial in drunk driving cases. The plea negotiations in a drunk driving case will often depend on the strength of the prosecution’s case. A weak case may result in an offer that may be too good to turn down.

In cases involving driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated, the driver will often be offered the chance to accept a plea bargain. A California criminal defense attorney can advise the driver on whether or not to accept a deal. Often it is the DUI / DWI lawyer who negotiates a deal with the prosecution. The prosecution’s negotiations will differ depending on the strength of the case. The lower their chances of winning at trial, the higher the chances are that they will offer a compromise to the driver. The compromise generally involves the driver pleading to a reduced charge.

A dry-reckless is a non-alcohol related offense and it is generally wise to accept it when the prosecution makes the offer. As a non-alcohol related offense, the punishments for a dry-reckless in California is significantly less than the punishment imposed for a wet-reckless or a D.U.I. A criminal defense lawyer will often consider pleading to a dry-reckless as a very favorable result to a DUI / DWI charge.

A dry-reckless carries probation and minor fines. Furthermore, a dry-reckless does not count as a prior DUI in California. Compared to the punishment for a driving under the influence conviction, a dry-reckless is easy street. Depending on the case, alcohol education classes may be required. However, there will be neither suspension of the driver’s license nor any requirement to file formal proofs of insurance (SR-22 form) so long as the driver is successful at the DMV hearing.

A dry-reckless will typically be offered when a driver’s BAC was .08 percent or less. If a dry-reckless is offered by the prosecutor, it may not be worth it to the driver to go to trial even if their BAC was very low. A dry-reckless is a misdemeanor that carries very little in the way of fine and punishment.

Whether or not a driver should accept a plea depends on the specific facts of each case. A California DUI / DWI attorney can be of assistance in negotiating a reasonable compromise with the prosecution. A plea bargain is a generally a deal that criminal defense attorney and prosecutor will come to after assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of their respective cases.

Prosecutor’s Closing Argument

Posted by on May 4, 2012

California Prosecutor’s Closing Argument

Once both the defense lawyer and the prosecutor have presented their cases in a California DUI / DWI trial, each attorney gives closing arguments. Closing arguments are both sides’ final opportunity to persuade the jury to accept their arguments. A knowledgeable drunk driving defense attorney from The Kavinoky Law Firm will use closing arguments to highlight the fact that the prosecutor hasn’t proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt. The prosecutor usually uses his or her closing argument to summarize evidence that he or she believes points to the driver’s guilt.

The prosecutor has the burden of proving the defendant’s guilt, so he or she is allowed to go first in closing arguments. Once the defense attorney completes closing arguments, the prosecutor is given the last word in what is called rebuttal.

The prosecutor is charged with the burden of proving every single element of a driving under the influence case beyond a reasonable doubt. Smart prosecutors try to minimize this burden to the jury, or even imply that the defendant must prove his or her innocence. Although jurors are specifically instructed that this is untrue, they sometimes forget this instruction during the prosecutor’s smooth closing argument. This is why it’s critical for the defense lawyer to remind jurors during closing arguments who has the burden of proof.

During closing arguments, the prosecutor usually reviews his or her entire case, focusing on items that indicate the defendant’s guilt. The prosecutor might show jurors the driver’s booking photo and describe the physical signs of intoxication. The prosecutor will then review the testimony of each witness. Finally, the prosecutor will ask the jury to deliver a guilty verdict.

Once the prosecutor has finished delivering his or her closing arguments, the defense lawyer gives the closing argument for the defense. A skilled California criminal defense attorney from The Kavinoky Law Firm will deliver an effective closing argument designed to remind the jury that the prosecutor hasn’t met the burden of proof in the drunk driving case.

The Blood Alcohol Calculator (BAC)

Posted by Darren Kavinoky on May 4, 2012

The Blood Alcohol Calculator (BAC)

Blood or Breath Alcohol Content (BAC) is a critical inquiry in nearly every drinking and driving arrest, whether DUI / DWI, driving under the influence of drugs (DUID), drunk driving, or any type of impaired driving case.

The BAC calculator below will allow you to predict your BAC at a given point in time based upon the number of drinks consumed over a period of time. Fill in the information required below for an estimate of blood or breath alcohol level.

Disclaimer: The Blood Alcohol Calculator is for information only. This conversion is not completely accurate and should not be used to determine if you are capable of driving. Your actual Blood Alcohol Level may vary, depending upon many factors, including body type, sex, health status, and many others. Every effort is made to ensure that the results yielded by the Blood Alcohol Calculator are correct; however, do not rely upon this information to decide whether or not it is safe or lawful to drive. Because impairment may occur at any Blood Alcohol Level, we can only recommend that you not drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in your system.

Online Blood-Alcohol Content Calculator (BAC) Beer Wine Shot Fluid Ounces 12 4 1.5 Alcohol Content 4% – 4.5% 15% – 20% 30% – 50% Fluid Ounces Consumed Percent Alcohol Your Weight (Lbs) Hours Consuming Drink BAC Percentage BAC Analysis

Internet Traffic Schools

Posted by Brianna Wilkins on May 4, 2012

Internet Traffic Schools

GoToTrafficSchool.com, is the Internet’s most popular online traffic school course. Go To Traffic School offer online traffic school programs for ticket dismissal, insurance reduction, safe driver points, and fleet driver safety programs.

This program is best suited for those who have received a traffic ticket and would like to take traffic school online so that the traffic ticket does not appear on their record, those who would like to lower their insurance premiums, and those who need to take a driver safety course for their work.

Go To Traffic School is the best and most convenient way to attend online traffic school on the Internet.

Unlike other Internet courses you do not have to struggle to get through this course. The course is easy to read and follow. You do not need to own various types of computer software to take this course. No downloading, e-mail, fax or printer is required. The course is 100% interactive. Anybody who has access to a computer can take this course.

About the Content

GoToTrafficSchool.Com offers the best online traffic school in every state throughout the country. Online traffic school course curriculum allows you to learn everything online that you would learn in a traditional traffic school classroom. The text is rich with animations, illustrations and interesting facts. After completing the last chapter of the course you will take a final examination. Upon your successful completion of the final examination GoToTrafficSchool.Com will e-mail you a confirmation of your completion. They will also send a hard copy of your certificate of completion to the court or to you, depending upon the state and county in which you were cited.

There is no time limit for a online traffic school course. Spend as much time required to complete our internet traffic school course. You can log on and off as many times as you wish. The unique tracking feature will save your place.

The course is available online 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

About The Quizzes

A short Quiz is administered at the end of each chapter. The quizzes are designed to test your understanding of key points of each chapter and prepare you for the final examination. Each quiz consists of a combination of 2-10 true/false and multiple choice questions. After correctly answering all of the questions of each quiz you will be able to proceed to the next section. If you fail a quiz you can go back through the chapter to review the materials and then re-take the quiz.

About The Final Exam

After completing all of the chapters a final examination based on the material you read will be administered. In order to pass the final examination you must get at least 70% to 80% of the questions correct, depending on the court. Right after you complete the final examination GoToTrafficSchool.Com will let you know whether you passed. In the event that you do not pass the final examination you can continue to re-study the material and re-take different final examinations until you pass without any further fees. When you pass the final examination you will be notified immediately via e-mail, and depending upon the requirement of your court, GoToTrafficSchool.Com will either mail your certificate of completion to you or directly to your court.

California Vehicle Code VC 13352.2 – DUI Program: Proof of Enrollment and Completion

Posted by on May 4, 2012

California Vehicle Code VC 13352.2 – DUI Program: Proof of Enrollment and Completion

13352.2. (a) If a person is required under Section 13352 to provide the department with proof of enrollment in a driving-under-the-influence program licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, or a program specified in Section 8001 of the Penal Code, the department shall deem that requirement satisfied upon receiving at its headquarters proof of enrollment that is satisfactory to the department and has been forwarded to the department by the program provider.

(b) If a person is required under Section 13352 to provide the department with proof of completion of a driving-under-the-influence program licensed pursuant to Section 11836 of the Health and Safety Code, or a program specified in Section 8001 of the Penal Code, the department shall deem that requirement satisfied upon receiving at its headquarters proof of completion that is satisfactory to the department and has been forwarded to the department by the program provider.

Added Sec. 1, Ch. 403, Stats. 2004. Effective January 1, 2005.

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California Vehicle Code VC 13355 – Driving in Excess of 100 Miles Per Hour: Suspension

Posted by on May 4, 2012

California Vehicle Code VC 13355 – Driving in Excess of 100 Miles Per Hour: Suspension

13355. The department shall immediately suspend the privilege of any person to operate a motor vehicle upon receipt of a duly certified abstract of the record of any court showing that the person has been convicted of a violation of subdivision (b) of Section 22348, or upon a receipt of a report of a judge of a juvenile court, a juvenile hearing officer, or a referee of a juvenile court showing that the person has been found to have committed a violation of subdivision (b) of Section 22348 under the following conditions and for the periods, as follows:

Upon a conviction or finding of an offense under subdivision (b) of Section 22348 that occurred within three years of a prior offense resulting in a conviction of an offense under subdivision (b) of Section 22348, the privilege shall be suspended for a period of six months, or the privilege shall be restricted for six months to necessary travel to and from the person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving within the person’s scope of employment.
Upon a conviction or finding of an offense under subdivision (b) of Section 22348 that occurred within five years of two or more prior offenses resulting in convictions of offenses under subdivision (b) of Section 22348, the privilege shall be suspended for a period of one year, or the privilege shall be restricted for one year to necessary travel to and from the person’s place of employment and, if driving a motor vehicle is necessary to perform the duties of the person’s employment, restricted to driving within the person’s scope of employment.

Amended Sec. 84, Ch. 149, Stats. 2003. Effective January 1, 2004.

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California Vehicle Code VC 13370 – Denial, Suspension, or Revocation of Certificate

Posted by Brianna Wilkins on May 4, 2012

California Vehicle Code VC 13370 – Denial, Suspension, or Revocation of Certificate

13370. (a) The department shall ( )1 refuse to issue or shall revoke a schoolbus,, school pupil activity bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or youth bus driver certificate, or a certificate for a vehicle used for the transportation of developmentally disabled persons if any of the following causes apply to the applicant or certificate holder:

Has been convicted of a sex offense as defined in Section 44010 of the Education Code.
Has been convicted, within ( )2 two years, of an offense specified in Section 11361.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
Has failed to meet prescribed training requirements for certificate issuance.
Has failed to meet prescribed testing requirements for certificate issuance.
Has been convicted of a violent felony listed in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5 of the Penal Code, or a serious felony listed in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code. This paragraph shall not be applied to revoke a license that was valid on January 1, 2005, unless the certificate holder is convicted for an offense that is committed on or after that date.

(b) The department may ( )3 refuse to issue or renew, or may suspend or revoke a schoolbus, school pupil activity bus, general public paratransit vehicle, or youth bus driver certificate, or a certificate for a vehicle used for the transportation of developmentally disabled persons if any of the following causes apply to the applicant or certificate holder:

Has been convicted of a crime specified in Section 44424 of the Education Code within ( )4 seven years. This paragraph does not apply if denial is mandatory.
Has committed an act involving moral turpitude.
Has been convicted of an offense, not specified in this section and other than a sex offense, that is punishable as a felony, within ( )4 seven years.
Has been dismissed as a driver for a cause relating to pupil transportation safety.
Has been convicted, within ( )4 seven years, of an offense relating to the use, sale, possession, or transportation of narcotics, habit-forming drugs, or dangerous drugs, except as provided in paragraph (3) of subdivision (a).

(c) (1) Reapplication following ( )5 refusal or revocation under paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of subdivision (a) or (b) may be made after a period of not less than one year ( )6 after the effective date of ( )5 refusal or revocation.

(2) Reapplication following ( )5 refusal or revocation under paragraph (4) of subdivision (a) may be made after a period of not less than 45 days ( )6 after the date of the applicant’s third testing failure.

(3) An applicant or holder of a certificate may reapply for a certificate whenever a felony or misdemeanor conviction is reversed or dismissed. A termination of probation and dismissal of charges pursuant to Section 1203.4 of the Penal Code or a dismissal of charges pursuant to Section 1203.4a of the Penal Code is not a dismissal for purposes of this section.

Amended Sec. 59, Ch. 877, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999.
Amended Sec. 37, Ch. 594, Stats. 2003. Effective January 1, 2004.
Amended Sec. 27, Ch. 615, Stats. 2004. Effective January 1, 2005.
Amended Sec. 2, Ch. 66, Stats. 2005. Effective January 1, 2006.
The 2005 amendment added the italicized material, and at the point(s) indicated, deleted the following:

"deny"
"the two years preceding the application date"
"deny, suspend,"
"the seven years preceding the application date"
"denial"
"from"

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California Vehicle Code VC 23577 – Chemical Testing: Refusal to Take or Failure to Complete: Enhanced Penalties

Posted by on May 4, 2012

California Vehicle Code VC 23577 – Chemical Testing: Refusal to Take or Failure to Complete: Enhanced Penalties

23577. (a) If any person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 or 23153, and at the time of the arrest leading to that conviction that person willfully refused a peace officer’s request to submit to, or willfully failed to complete, the chemical test or tests pursuant to Section 23612, the court shall impose the following penalties:

If the person is convicted of a first violation of Section 23152, notwithstanding any other provision of subdivision (a) of Section 23538, the terms and conditions of probation shall include the conditions in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 23538.
If the person is convicted of a first violation of Section 23153, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 48 continuous hours in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted and no part of which may be stayed, unless the person is sentenced to, and incarcerated in, the state prison and the execution of that sentence is not stayed.
If the person is convicted of a second violation of Section 23152, punishable under Section 23540, or a second violation of Section 23153, punishable under Section 23560, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 96 hours in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted and no part of which may be stayed, unless the person is sentenced to, and incarcerated in, the state prison and execution of that sentence is not stayed.
If the person is convicted of a third violation of Section 23152, punishable under Section 23546, the punishment shall be enhanced by an imprisonment of 10 days in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted and no part of which may be stayed.
If the person is convicted of a fourth or subsequent violation of Section 23152, punishable under Section 23550 or 23550.5, the punishment shall be enhanced by imprisonment of 18 days in the county jail, whether or not probation is granted and no part of which may be stayed.

(b) The willful refusal or failure to complete the chemical test required pursuant to Section 23612 shall be pled and proven.

Added Sec. 84, Ch. 118, Stats. 1998. Effective January 1, 1999. Operative July 1, 1999.
Amended Sec. 39, Ch. 22, Stats. 1999. Effective May 26, 1999. Operative July 1 1999.

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