The Politics of a San Diego DUI: The Entire System Is against You
May 14, 2008
In a San Diego DUI trial, the deck is heavily stacked against you. The politicians who pass San Diego DUI laws are against you. Being perceived as “tough on drunk drivers” is a must for all politicians. To demonstrate their toughness, the legal BAC limit keeps getting lower and lower, while mandatory minimum jail sentences and license suspensions keep getting higher and higher.
The San Diego DUI police and San Diego drunk driving prosecutors are also against you with their almost unlimited resources. Many San Diego judges appear against you. No judges fail to be reelected because they are perceived as being too tough on San Diego drunk drivers. You can imagine the tremendous pressure it puts on even the most fair-minded of judges to facilitate finding San Diego DUI defendants guilty.
In the face of this tremendously stacked deck, you get to pick one person to be on your side- your San Diego DUI criminal defense lawyer. This decision of who will be your San Diego drunk driving lawyer will be one of the most important decisions you make in your life. San Diego DUI attorney Rick Mueller relishes and thrives in his role of “going to battle” for the San Diego DUI / DMV underdog.
Stages of a San Diego DUI Arrest
The San Diego Stop
The San Diego DUI arresting officer must be able to testify to facts that he had a “reasonable suspicion” of a crime or traffic violation. A mere suspicion, curiosity, rumor or hunch is not enough.
For illustrative purposes, if the San Diego county officer observes the motorist change lanes without signaling, there are instances when such San Diego driving behavior is not a California traffic violation. In any San Diego case in which the court rules that there was not a “reasonable suspicion” for the San Diego traffic stop, then the San Diego drunk driving charge is dismissed.
The San Diego Arrest
A San Diego DUI officer must have “probable cause” to arrest someone for San Diego dui – driving under the influence. This is a lesser standard than proof beyond a reasonable doubt at trial. Your San Diego DUI attorney must be ready to argue the San Diego arresting officer did not possess sufficient probable cause to make the San Diego drunk driving arrest.
San Diego DUI Field Sobriety Tests
The field sobriety tests offered by the officer, even the 3 tests “approved” by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (“NHTSA”), are also areas open to attack by a skillful and experienced San Diego DUI defense attorney.
San Diego Breath Test
Since one of the ways of proving San Diego DUI looks at nothing but whether the breath test result is a .08 or above, the breath test results are a critical area to attack if the attorney wishes to defeat a San Diego DUI charge for his client.
Did You Refuse to Take a San Diego Breath Test?
You impliedly consent to having samples of your San Diego DUI blood or breath test taken if you have been arrested for a San Diego DUI – driving under the influence of alcohol. For the results of these tests to be admissible at a San Diego DUI trial, specific San Diego California DUI procedures must be followed in conducting them. For example, the San Diego DUI breath test generally needs to be performed within three hours of the alleged San Diego drunk driving.
If you refuse to submit to a San Diego blood or breath test, the San Diego area officer will read a statement to you concerning your rights and the consequences of refusing to take the test. If a DMV hearing officer decides that your refusal was unreasonable, your license will be suspended for one to years with no hope of getting even a restricted license to go to work. A conviction of refusal is now a criminal offense which carries possible jail time. In addition, you can still be found guilty of the DUI charge based on testimony from the arresting officer.
Costs of a San Diego DUI attorney
The most experienced San Diego drunk driving attorneys are those San Diego attorneys who have an extensive amount of experience defending people of DUI. San Diego DUI attorneys who have been asked to lecture at seminars to train other lawyers on a particular area are those who have been recognized for their expertise in DUI / DMV / drunk driving defense.
A San Diego DUI attorney who is dedicated to aggressively representing his client in court must undertake a great deal of work well before the actual court date. Each San Diego DUI law firm sets their own fees and they vary widely. As in everything else, as the demand for a San Diego drunk driving firm’s services increase, so generally does the fee.
San Diego DUI Attorney Rick Mueller is a Premier San Diego California Drunk Driving Lawyer, San Diego California DUI & San Diego California DMV Defense Attorney with over 24 years of experience. San Diego California DUI Lawyer Rick Mueller dedicates 100% of his San Diego DUI law practice to aggressively defending those accused of San Diego Driving Under the Influence.