need help got a DUI

[NonStopReaper]

i'm just trying to get my dui reduced to like a reckless driving charge yes i would plea guilty and what not but if i get a DUI in my line of work i lose my Security clearance. thats a big deal. but there some loop holes in the system from what the lawyer told me. when he took me to jail they never test me agian for my BAC. the only BAC they got me on was that handle held grey one the CHP had. when i got to jail they just searched me for items and put me in the tank forever and a day. also i dont ahve to be there to fight the case if its my first time. but i'm sut trying to reslove it quicky and in the most unharmful way to my career. what i'm hoping is they let me go with a reckless driving or wet recklessness which means 12 hour of alki class or none at all and it wont show as a dui. I know i fucked up. To think i had everything planned out only to fail at the very end. had a DD to the club and on my way back from the club. i had about 6 drinks total and stop drinking at 12:20. i got back to my friend house at 2:30and had something to eat but that made me puke... took a nap till 4:30. woke up and felt fine.(this is where i fucked up) since i felt fine i decided to head on home cause i had things concerning my move to Japan in the morning soo i headed home.. which was about a 50 mins drive. on the way there i got sleepy agian (hence he said i was weaving) and right when i exit my exit and got to about 1 block from my apt he pulled me over. I complied with what he said. i know i passed the Field sobrity test. only thing i fail was the Breatherlizer. no speech sluring no stumbling nothing. I shouldnt have left my buddies house, that i Really regret, i always stayed over since when i was 21 and the one time i didnt.. i get pulled over -_-

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

first get the police report and see what the officer said about you. second, if you plea not guilty, prepare for a long court process, give 2-3 months + lawyer fees. Second, its easier to say guilty, and within 2-3 months your free of all charges + get your license back.

 

[schuey1010]

I am pretty sure in California, you lose your license for 1 year. You are only able to drive to and from work after like 90 days of suspension.

 

[95ttht]

Wow... what a jerk.

I'll take that, no problem.

You sir are an idiot.

I'll even accept that.

DUI's aren't there for your safety. They are to make money. The legal BAC here is .08. How many of you even know what .08 feels like? I know I don't.

Here is where I strongly disagree.

You might not understand what 0.08 means as far as "safety" goes, but I do. Here, this link might help you understand what you should be able to drink. Feel free to play with it a little bit, it will greatly enhance your understanding of just how drunk you have to be to blow "severly impaired".

http://www.ou.edu/oupd/bac.htm

I'm a normal sized guy ~165lbs, we'll use me as an example.

Lets say I go to the bar, have 5 regular beers over say 2 hours. Estimated BAC?

0.07! I could still legally drive home (of course I wouldn't).

I'd have to have consumed a six pack to blow at 0.08. Who in their right mind drinks 6 beers and thinks they are just fine to hop in a car and drive?

If you drink the equivalent of 5+ beers and still think you are OK to drive home you are a risk to everyone around you. Grow up and act like a responsible adult before you hurt somebody.

 

[PhiAlpha44]

dont get me wrong.. i am not flaming on the guy that was arrested.... i'm flaming on the idiot Philia44 who was flaming on the guy that did have a famly member killed.... i UNDERSTND people make mistakes.... i respect thiose that do and accept responsibility for thier action.... ITS THE FOOLS AND A-HOLE THAT THINK DUI IS NOT SERIOUS, OR IS A REVENUE GENERATING ARREST....

One Adam, I actually lost both of my parents in a single crash in September of 05. A lady crossed the double yellow lines and they were on their motorcycle. So as far as uninformed traps staying shut go you can take your typical police officer, know it all attitude and shove it.

We can sit here and argue BAC all day long, but bottom line, if you want to save peoples lives, stick breathalizer machines in bars and restaurants. How hard is that? People blow, say to themselves "wow, I didn't realize I was that bad" and call a cab or call a friend. So take the whole "DUI is a crime of choice" and "we save people's lives" shtick somewhere else.
What's more effective? Alerting people to their imparement before they get behind the wheel? Or arresting them once they're already swerving down the road? One way the city/state makes 10 grand. The other way they don't. I wonder which is of the greatest importance? Keep on saving those lives!

 

[NonStopReaper]

One Adam, I actually lost both of my parents in a single crash in September of 05. A lady crossed the double yellow lines and they were on their motorcycle. So as far as uninformed traps staying shut go you can take your typical police officer, know it all attitude and shove it.

We can sit here and argue BAC all day long, but bottom line, if you want to save peoples lives, stick breathalizer machines in bars and restaurants. How hard is that? People blow, say to themselves "wow, I didn't realize I was that bad" and call a cab or call a friend. So take the whole "DUI is a crime of choice" and "we save people's lives" shtick somewhere else.
What's more effective? Alerting people to their impairment before they get behind the wheel? Or arresting them once they're already swerving down the road? One way the city/state makes 10 grand. The other way they don't. I wonder which is of the greatest importance? Keep on saving those lives!

i would agree also with install mobile breatherlizer at clubs or bars. but in my case its different i had a DD i had a plan. i just didnt follow through at the end. From what i see from all the replies makes it seem like i just got out of the Club/bar and just started to drive if you read my previous post you'll see the story. You can flame me all you want it was my mistake. i just want some advice on what to do from here, any exp people might have? and stuff like that.Advice to help me. I'm already stress over this enough to get like 3-4 hour of sleep every night wondering "what next?" or " i wonder whats gonna happened?" for all you people with great inputs and experience i thank you and for those who just wanna flame and kick me while i'm already on the ground..i got nothing to say to that.

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

Im telling you this from experience, in 2004-2005 ish (cant remember, no pun intended) i got my DUI when i was 20 years old. the usual routine, may i see your license, have you been drinking? please step outside the vehicle, i pass all those stupid test, please blow on this....... .258 something (it was .2xx). sir, we you have to come to the station with us. went to the station, sat in this isolated room, blew on the official blower, .2xx. did some paper work, threw up on the floor. they took me to the hospital, drew my blood, called my parents, and i came home. got some fines in the mail, went to court, pleaded guilty, license suspened for 1 year or until my DUI class is finish. went to class, got a sr-22 and took it to the dmv to get a workers driving permit, finish class, got my license back, all problems are gone and im a free man.

Dont worry about it man, at first its like FUCK, Im a dead man. but since its your first time, it no big deal. just be glad you didnt kill anyone. just plea guilty so we will save yourself alot of money. go to the court date, plea guilty, if your out of the country, call the court house, tell them your court number or date, tell them you are going out of country, tell them you plea guilty, pay the fines, do the class, and your a free man. dont worry, YOU WILL NOT GO TO JAIL FOR A FIRST TIME OFFENSE. just plea guilty man. good luck.

 

[PhiAlpha44]

To think i had everything planned out only to fail at the very end. had a DD to the club and on my way back from the club. i had about 6 drinks total and stop drinking at 12:20. i got back to my friend house at 2:30and had something to eat but that made me puke... took a nap till 4:30. woke up and felt fine.(this is where i fucked up) since i felt fine i decided to head on home cause i had things concerning my move to Japan in the morning soo i headed home.. which was about a 50 mins drive. on the way there i got sleepy agian (hence he said i was weaving)

Man you have no idea how scary that sounds. I have done that probably more than a dozen times. That's exactly how I usually do it (minus all the puking part). I live in Indiana and the closest fun is in Cincinnati. Generally I'll go out with the guys have 4-6 drinks over 2 or 3 hours and have to either drive all the way back to Indiana, or I'll head back to my buddies house, we'll make some skyline dip (cincinnati guys and Hugh know what I'm talking about)
and crash and watch tv for an hour or 2. Then I'll usually leave and go home. And the ONLY reason I do is because I'd rather sleep in my own bed then on my buddy's couch. And sometimes by the time I get home I am weaving a little, and I know it... I figure it's because I'm getting so sleepy because by now it's usually 4-5am. Guess I should just crash on my buddy's couch from now on. Seriously, that's a scary story you tell. It hits too close to home. I hope you get out of as much of it as you can. You sound like you've already learned your lesson and from here out it's just revenue enhancement for your town. Were you in the NSX?

 

[BATMANs]

Like Lotus said, you don't need a lawyer.

Just be a man and take it in the ass. Then again, if you are the atypical NSX owner you probably can't.

If you bring a lawyer to try to fight it, then you change the landscape and the stakes are higher where if you win you walk free. If you lose you may have to learn how to drill a hole in a soap bar and rope it.

I wonder if I should link this thread toe MADD, SADD, DADD for some drama.....

 

[angus]

Well... advice given to me by a family friend,a very highly respected and well known lawyer when I was younger, " Only a fool goes to court without a lawyer" I live my life by this advice.
Even lawyers don't go to court and defend themselves!
As far as everyone flaming over the dui, in the end it is water under the bridge, no changing it, everyone knows the danger of it what is the point of rehashing/flogging the topic?
The point of this thread is what to do about it, no? Get a lawyer, a good one,even two, if your lawyer tells you to plead guilty, or accept something you don't want to , GET A NEW LAWYER. people do WAY worse things and get off in court , so a dui is minor in the big picture

I AM IN NO WAY STATING THAT DUI IS A MINOR CRIME NOR IS IT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR MERELY STATING MY VIEW OF " PLEADING GUILTY"

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

Well... advice given to me by a family friend,a very highly respected and well known lawyer when I was younger, " Only a fool goes to court without a lawyer" I live my life by this advice.
Even lawyers don't go to court and defend themselves!
As far as everyone flaming over the dui, in the end it is water under the bridge, no changing it, everyone knows the danger of it what is the point of rehashing/flogging the topic?
The point of this thread is what to do about it, no? Get a lawyer, a good one,even two, if your lawyer tells you to plead guilty, or accept something you don't want to , GET A NEW LAWYER. people do WAY worse things and get off in court , so a dui is minor in the big picture

I AM IN NO WAY STATING THAT DUI IS A MINOR CRIME NOR IS IT ACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOUR MERELY STATING MY VIEW OF " PLEADING GUILTY"

you dont need to spend $10k for a lawyer to tell you to plea guilty, pleaing guilty is free of charge if you do it yourself. if you were caught drinking and driving, i dont see how you can get away with it unless your .bac was lower then .08. if it was higher, you might as well save your $10k for your nsx.

its not so bad man, im telling you straight from the horses ass because ive been there. just plea guilty, go to class, get your license back, and all is forgiven (if you can afford an NSX, the fines should be no problem - save ~$1k of fines + fee of drinking class)

 

[RON98]

you dont need to spend $10k for a lawyer to tell you to plea guilty, pleaing guilty is free of charge if you do it yourself. if you were caught drinking and driving, i dont see how you can get away with it unless your .bac was lower then .08. if it was higher, you might as well save your $10k for your nsx.

its not so bad man, im telling you straight from the horses ass because ive been there. just plea guilty, go to class, get your license back, and all is forgiven (if you can afford an NSX, the fines should be no problem - save ~$1k of fines + fee of drinking class)

your expereience was 20 years ago

i know for a fact taht fines are over 1000$

get a lawer. this is no small deal.

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

your expereience was 20 years ago

i know for a fact taht fines are over 1000$

get a lawer. this is no small deal.

This happen about 4 years ago. TRUST ME, its not a big deal. You do not need a lawyer for this, its a big waste of money, even if you do go to the D.A and plead not guilty, the court will find you guilty when your blew over .08 and caught you driving. You will just end up with $$$ to pay your lawyer and the courts.

Go to the hearing, plea guilty, pay your fines, go get a sr-22; take it to the dmv; get your driving permit for work, go to some drinking class, finish it, then your license becomes valid again.

Let me tell you something, dont listen to the people here who has NEVER gotten a DUI before. It's like asking Engineneer how to do a heart transplant. FROM my EXPERIENCE, Because I GOT A DUI BEFORE, plea GUILTY and save $$$. DO NOT get a lawyer.

 

[BATMANs]

Public defender should suffice.

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

Public defender should suffice.

i think his income bracket doesnt qualify for a public defender. He owns an NSX man.

 

[BATMANs]

u mean he didn't plan for this?

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

u mean he didn't plan for this?

well i guess forest gump said it best, "Shit happens."

 

[nsxotic911]

If it helps, my brother in law got a DUI (DUMG@$$!), he got a public defender and negotiated to a Reckless Driving with criminal probation for 1 year. Got off easy, though I chewed him out well...

I don't agree with "pleading guilty." At the very least, you should try to negotiate a lower charge. Ask some lawyers to review the case and see if they can help before just throwing a bunch of money. If your case is tough, some of the guys might just say "plead guilty" or give beer, ergh, I mean cookies to the prosecutor.

 

[Lotus_Esprit]

If it helps, my brother in law got a DUI (DUMG@$$!), he got a public defender and negotiated to a Reckless Driving with criminal probation for 1 year. Got off easy, though I chewed him out well...

I don't agree with "pleading guilty." At the very least, you should try to negotiate a lower charge. Ask some lawyers to review the case and see if they can help before just throwing a bunch of money. If your case is tough, some of the guys might just say "plead guilty" or give beer, ergh, I mean cookies to the prosecutor.

Criminal Probation? I pleaded guilty, no criminal probation, my lic. was suspended until i finish the class, the class was 3hrs every fri for 1 month, after that, i got my lic back. it was all good except the $600 fine and the $300 class but besides that it was all good.

pleading NOT GUILTY is not worth the time and money put in it. No matter what, you will spend money and lots of it. just spend it on the fine and class and be done with it and it wont be a headache, plead not guity and have fun waiting months just to get your case all done with. now count all the times you need your lawyer, cost of lawyer, cost of court, cost of fines, cost of class, and most important your cost of time. my time was 2 months waiting for plea and class combine. if u plea not guilty, 1 month wait for your plea in court, 1 month wait for plea to D.A. 1 month wait for court hearing 1 month for actual court, 1 month of classes. just plea guilty, its no big deal if ur a first timer like me. just dont do it again:tongue:

 

[robr]

you dont need to spend $10k for a lawyer to tell you to plea guilty, pleaing guilty is free of charge if you do it yourself. if you were caught drinking and driving, i dont see how you can get away with it unless your .bac was lower then .08. if it was higher, you might as well save your $10k for your nsx.

Lawyers "get away with it" all the time. "Facts" are always open to interpretation in court. When I was 23 or 24 I was charged with a DUI after a field sobriety and breathalyser. Police took me to the hospital and had two vials of blood drawn. One for them to test, one for my attorney to test. Police tested it at something like .14. Our sample tested at .17. Both well over .08 right? We brought in a professional witness and questioned him as to how that could happen. Blood test vials have a chemical in them to stop the sugar in your blood from fermenting (and producing more alcohol). Because ours was higher, it was proposed that since it was tested much later, the sugars had fermented, thus the chemical that should have been in the vial was not. The police vial could have fermented as well. We also had two cops that were cross examined but they were sequestered from each other. Their testimony contradicted in a number of areas. Reasonable doubt. Not guilty.

FWIW, these days I will not drive after even one beer unless it's been several hours.

 

[NonStopReaper]

yeah the lawyer i'm talking to is trying to fight it for me.he doesnt want the plea bargin only if i accept the terms. he doesnt want the "guilty plea". he's not charging a butt load like he's acutally giving me a low down payment like 1.5k and the rest i can pay off over time since i'm military. for pre-trail its like 5k and if it does go to trail another 2.5k.i been thinking about just going in and taking the DUI but i don't have that luxury. i got less then 2 months left before i move to Japan. he tells me that dont have to be present for him to fight my case and he can use the fact that i'm overseas and in the military to sway the jury ( if it gets that far) but the biggest thing he want is to get it dissmiss by facts hes gonna do all the research and look at the police report to find loop-holes. wish me luck guys

 

[RON98]

good choice.

nice to have some one taking care of it on this end.

good luck with japan, it should be awesome. cant wait till the day i can visit the promise land :smile:

stay safe:smile: , less drinking and driving!!!!

happy motoring

Rob :smile:

 

[warren1205]

yeah the lawyer i'm talking to is trying to fight it for me.he doesnt want the plea bargin only if i accept the terms. he doesnt want the "guilty plea". he's not charging a butt load like he's acutally giving me a low down payment like 1.5k and the rest i can pay off over time since i'm military. for pre-trail its like 5k and if it does go to trail another 2.5k.i been thinking about just going in and taking the DUI but i don't have that luxury. i got less then 2 months left before i move to Japan. he tells me that dont have to be present for him to fight my case and he can use the fact that i'm overseas and in the military to sway the jury ( if it gets that far) but the biggest thing he want is to get it dissmiss by facts hes gonna do all the research and look at the police report to find loop-holes. wish me luck guys

I would see other lawyers. he's charging A LOT OF MONEY. I blew a .09 and paid this so called lawyer with over 30 years experience and paid 3000 dollars. Lawyer played me good. Just look around and ask to see his case average of dui

 

[NonStopReaper]

what was his name?