Harrisonburg Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Keefer recently wrote a blog post about a DUI Road Block in Harrisonburg, Virginia conducted by the Harrisonburg Police Department that produced absolutely zero drunk drivers. So, not a single driver was "wasted;" the only thing that was wasted was the taxpayer's money and the time of the sober drivers who were delayed for no reason!

Richmond Virginia DUI Lawyer Bob Battle has previously posted on a history of "sobriety checkpoints."

If you have been arrested for DUI at a sobriety checkpoint, there are many possible defenses based on  the set-up and implementation of the checkpoint. All of the Virginia DUI Lawyers on DUIanswer.com are experienced in investigating and raising these issues and other issues relating to Virginia DUI Laws for you at trial.

You have been charged with a DUI in California.  You have a court date coming up.  You were not driving at the time the office came up to you.  How can you be charged with "driving" under th influence?

There are actually several ways this can happen.  The most common way is that the officer was following you and observing your driving.  You perhaps made some errors, swerving, driving too slow, no turn signals, or some other traffice violation.  Perhaps there is a mechanical defect with your vehicle.

Another way to prove you were driving under the influence is if you were "called in" by another driver or pedestrian via cell phone.  The officer will receive the tip, and then locate you.  If you are still driving, he will follow you and make his own observations.  If you have stopped, and the person who called you in is reliable or known, he will come up to your car and begin the process.  At a trial, the person who called will have to be a witness in order to show probable cause  for the officer to detain you and administer sobriety tests.

Finally, it comes down to location, location, location.  Unless you can prove someone else was driving, your presence in the driver's seat with the car engine off on the side of the highway could be sufficient to prove you were driving.

There may be other ways to prove driving as well.  It is the job of the District Attorney to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were driving.  If it is an issue, don't handle it yourself.  Contact a qualified California DUI attorney to tackle your case.  If it can't be shown that you were driving, you can't be convicted of a DUI in California.

Before you get out on the roads in California, there are simple ways to avoid a DUI stop.  The most common reasons for a California police officer to stop a vehicle are :

1. Driving on or over the lane divider;
2. Drifting into the other lane;
3. Making a wide turn;
4. Making an illegal turn;
5. Weaving or swerving;
6. Frequent braking, or inappropriate braking;
7. Nearly missing an object, pedestrian, or another car;
8. Driving over or under the speed limit;
9. Driving at night with the headlights off;
10. Failing to initiate a turn signal, or leaving the turn signal on;
11. Stopping in the middle of the road;
12. Following a car too closely;
13. Accelerating or deaccelerating too quickly.

Being careful when you drive will significantly lower your chances of a DUI in California.

As a San Francisco DUI attorney, many clients inquire about how to avoid a DUI charge in the first place.  I have discussed the "rules of the road" which give the San Francisco police officer or California Highway Patrol officer probable cause to stop your vehicle.

THere are other things you can do before you even go out for a few drinks, whether it's a road trip to San Jose, or a short trip to the Richmond District.  Know your vehicle.  If you are uncomfortable or unfamiliar with your car, you are more likely to make mistakes.  If you fit in this category, sit in the car before you leave.  Take a moment to know where everything is before you start to drive.  Simple things such as turn signal levers, emergency brake lights, headlights, high beams, windshield wipers and so on.  Adjust the seat and steering wheel BEFORE you drive away. 

If you normally drive a car with a clutch, acclimate yourself to an automatic transmission.  Drive the vehicle for a while before you make your trip. 

Another thing you should do is make sure everything works in the vehicle.  All the lights are in good working order, the registration tags are current, and so on.  Avoid being stopped simply because your tail light is out, or broken.

Taking the time to go over the car itself can make your evening more enjoyable, and avoids an arrest for a vehicle infraction while you're driving home in San Francisco.  Don't make the officer's job easy.

As a San Francisco DUI lawyer, I have clients come into my office from all over the Bay Area with their DUI citation.  Once I get the police report, I become frustrated by the statements made by the client to the police officer.  The problem is that most people do not know that they have the right to refuse to answer questions that might incriminate them before they are arrested. 

It is important to know that everything you say from the point you are approached y the officer until you are released from custody can, and most likely will, be in a subsequent police report, and it may be used against you at trial.  You do not have to say anything to the officer other than your name and insurance information.  Do not offer information such as "I only had three beers" or "I'm upset because my boyfriend broke up with me."  Don't make jokes to the officer.  Don't argue with the officer, or swear at the officer.  You will later regret it.

While it is possible for a DUI attorney to get the statements thrown out, it is possibly that a judge may leave them intact.  They will then be intact for a jury to hear. 

So remember, be quiet, give out only essential information, and hope for the best.

After a night out with your family in the Mission District of San Francisco, where you had too much to drink at dinner, you are stopped by a San Francisco police officer.  The embarassment of being arrested for DUI in front of your family is humiliating.  You get released the next day, and figure all you need to worry about is the DUI charge, and trying to keep your license at the DMV hearing.

Wrong.  As any San Francisco DUI attorney can tell you, there are potential enhancements and additional charges that can come out of that family night out.  The most serious is a misdemeanor child endangerment charge.  You were driving, under the influence, with your young chidren in the car with you.  This can add jail time and fines to your DUI charge.  It potentially could involve the child welfare department, depending on the circumstances, and the blood alcohol level.

Obviously a DUI, and a loss of license privileges, will create even more problems for your family.  In addition, potential jail time, enhanced by the child endangerment charge, will cause havoc for you and your family.  While a good DUI attorney can work to reduce the impact of the child endangerment charge, including dismissal of the charge, it is something to keep in mind when you go out with your family, and consume alcohol.

You are applying for a new job.  You are asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime.  You remember back to that DUI you got when you were out on the town in the Richmond District in San Francisco three years ago.  You have to admit that you have a DUI.  Say good bye to that job.  Even if the question isn't on the application form, your potential employer will run a criminal background check, and that DUI will be there.

What do you do?  One option is to expunge your DUI record from your criminal history.  If you have successfully completed probation, paid all your fines, committed no other crimes (other than traffic infraction tickets) you can petition the court to expunge or erase the conviction.  When the Court grants your petition, you can mark "No" on an employment application asking for criminal conviction. 

The expungement does not free you from future enhancements if you get another DUI, nor does it prevent you from admitting to a conviction that was expunged for certain California licenses and immigration applications.  But it does allow you to lessen the burden of a prior conviction to let you get that job you want.

A qualified San Francisco DUI can explain the process of expungement and its benefits, and prepare your petition.

Once you've been stopped by a San Francisco police officer for a possible DUI, the officer has already made a decision that he or she has probable cause to stop you.  As you roll down your window to talk to the officer, and the officer smells alcohol on your breath, the likelihood that you can leave at that point is slim.  And then you begin to speak.

The most damaging evidence in a DUI case are the statements you make to the officer.  Admissions of drinking, the amount you've consumed, and other responses to questions the officer is asking you.  A San Francisco DUI attorney is going to try to determine if these damning statements can be suppressed under Miranda.

In a situation where you have been "arrested" the officer must give you your Miranda advisals:  telling you that you have the right to remain silent, seek advice of an attorney, that anything you say can be used against you.  The question becomes "when" you've been arrested.  In a DUI case, the officer most likely has determined you are under the influence based on errative driving, slurred speech, the smell of alcohol, and other usual factors.  Additional questions are asked in an effort to further allow you to incriminate yourself, and have the statements used against you in court.  Without the advisals.

A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney will determine which statements are "spontaneous" and thus allowed into a trial, and those which are solicited after you are technically under arrest.  Those statements can be suppressed because they were made without the Miranda advisal.

Beyond the obvious advice, which is to say nothing other than your name during an arrest, sometimes that advice goes out the window when you are in a panic, or are attempting to get out of a DUI at the road stop.  It doesn't work.  If you remain silent, there are no statements to suppress.  If you talked too much, hire a DUI attorney to get those statements thrown out.

What can you do when you are pulled over for a DUI by the San Francisco Police Department?  Here are some basic things you can do, and have the right to do:

1. If you see the police lights, try to pull over carefully, but not too carefully.  Show you are in command of your vehicle.  Turn on your turn signal.  Slow down and brake gradually. 

2. How do you look?  Is your shirt tucked in, do you look ruffled or disheavaled?  Is your makeup smeared?  Make adjustments accordingly before you roll down the window.

3. Remember that the police officer is noting EVERYTHING you do and say.  The first impression is most important.  In other words, be nice to the officer, be cooperative, and not defensive.

4. Before you go out for the evening, put your car registration and insurance in an easily accessible place in your car.  Make sure you can easily find your driver's license.  It saves you searching your vehicle while you're nervous.

5. You should remember that you do not have to submit to a preliminary breath test.  This test is used by the officer to determine whether to arrest you.  You also do not have to submit to the field sobriety tests.  Will this get you out of an arrest?  Probably not, but these tests are unreliable, and will be used against you.  

6. Other than your name and address, you do not have to talk to the officer about your activities.  Invoke your right to an attorney during any questioning.

A qualified California DUI attorney can help advise you regarding your rights during a stop, and if you have been stopped and subsequently arrested, the DUI attorney can evaluate the circumstances of the stop to determine if anything was done improperly.

If you have been arrested for a DUI in San Francisco or the Bay Area, there is the tendency to simply admit you're guilty, and avoid the costs of hiring a qualified DUI attorney.  In some criminal cases, such as traffic tickets, that may be the case.  In a DUI, it is not, especially in California. 

The DUI arrest itself has already created chaos in your life for you and your loved ones.  Having an experienced attorney on your side will minimize the stress related to a DUI. 

This is especially true when you are looking at your second or third or more DUI charge.  The punishments go up incrementally each time.  Also, if there are extentuating circumstances in your case that could increase the punishment, such as driving under the age of 21, having minor children in the vehicle, or having a high BAC.  You need to hire a qualified DUI lawyer.

If you are in an accident, and someone, even you, have been injured, there are a multiitude of reasons why you need an attorney, not only for the DUI, but also the tangent consequences of the injuries, including a possible civil lawsuit.

The results of a DUI conviction can be costly to you and your loved ones.  You could lose your job if you lose your license.  You could spend time in jail.  You could pay large fines and penalties.  An experienced lower can reduce or minimize these consequences, or get rid of the DUI charge all together.

In other words, i you don’t know what you need to do, or what steps you need to take, hire a DUI attorney.  A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney can walk you through the steps of the entire DUI process at the criminal level and the Department of Motor Vehicles.  The attorney can review the facts of your case and challenge the charge in a trial, or plea bargain a better dea.

Can you control the breath test?  In other words, can you fool a breathalyzer into showing a lower BAC reading?    The answer is No.

There are a lot of people who believe certain myths regarding a breathalyzer and BAC. For example, sucking on pennies does not lower a BAC reading.  Breath mints?  No.  They only mask the odor of alcohol, they do not change the alcohol content being measured.  Indeed, you don’t have to drink alcohol to get arrested for a DUI, because the human body produces its own supply of alcohol naturally on a continuous basis.  Therefore, we always have alcohol in our bodies and in some cases, some people produce enough to become legally intoxicated.

Are breathalyzers are always accurate?  No, and many errors are made in tests because they lack precision. The police or sheriff department official administering the test can also affect the results of a test.  

So what can you do?  A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney can examine the test procedures, as well as the accuracy of the results.  The attorney can determine if there were errors, or if there are other factors effecting the final read out.  Don't assume the BAC taken at the police station is accurate.  You may not be able to control the results of the breathalyzer, but your attorney can control how those results are used.  In some cases, the results can be voided.

Hire a qualified San Francisco DUI lawyer.  Hiring a good DUI attorney to help you through the process gives you  a much better chance of having the charges eliminated or reduced. You may think that representing yourself will be easy and much cheaper, but you are fighting against the San Francisco District Attorney's Office and an officer who is trained to obtain a conviction.  The end result?  You lose.

Handling your own case is not wise.  There could be mistakes that the officer made, errors in the BAC result procedures or the machine itself.  These mistakes will never be discovered, and you will pay a lot of fines and other financial consequences as a result.  A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney can reduce the consequences significantly.  Nothing is "cut and dried." 

Another mistake is waiting until your court date or afterward to hire a DUI attorney.  If you speak to an attorney immediately after your arrest will allow you to relate facts to your attorney that are fresh in your mind, and help your lawyer to assist you in your case.  Another mistake is waiting too long, and missing the ten day time limit to challenge your license suspension with the DMV.

Don't take advice from friends or associates who had previous DUI convictions.  Each case is different.  A qualified DUI attorney knows the laws, and the potential defenses you have.  Your friends don't.

Missing court appearances is another mistake people make after a DUI arrest. A judge can order an arrest warrant for you if you fail to appear, unless you have an attorney appear on your behalf. 

You also can enhance your DUI woes by continuing to drive while your license is suspended or revoked.  It is a separate criminal charge with its own penalties, including jail time.  In addition, your license suspension will be increased.  I know of one person with eight separate convictions for driving while suspended who is now spending several months in jail. 

You have been released from jail after being arrested for a DUI.  You now want to hire a qualified San Francisco DUI attorney.  Your main objective is to find an attorney to protect your rights, evaluate your case, and either get rid of the DUI charge or make sure any punishment that might result from a conviction is as light as possible.

To be sure you have the right DUI attorney in your corner be sure to ask the attorney a few questions:

·               Does your DUI attorney handle a lot of DUI cases?  The reason for this is that a lawyer who rarely handles DUIs will not be aware of and informed about DUI laws.   You want your attorney to be up on the laws so he or she can protect you.  Is the attorney familiar with individuals in the District Attorney’s Office or the San Francisco Police Department?

·               Ask the potential DUI attorney if he or she personally will be handling your case or will another attorney in the firm with less experience handle your case.

·               Ask the lawyer when and if he or she has DUI cases that resulted in favorable outcomes.  This will help you to find out if your attorney could represent you effectively in a DUI trial, should that be necessary, or get you a good plea offer, in the alternative.

·                Ask the DUI attorney specifics about what services he employs for expert toxicologists,  DMV license specialists and other expert witnesses.

·               Will your attorney visit the site where you were arrested?  Will your attorney look at and examine the facts in your case?

·               What does the attorney charge, and will there be other fees down the road, such as expert fees. The lower the fees, the higher the chances your attorney is not a highly qualified attorney.

·               Find out if the attorney will be available to speak with you after you have paid a retainer fee.  Can you contact the attorney by telephone, e-mail, or in person?

The sooner you call a DUI attorney, the quicker the attorney can start working on your behalf. Contacting an attorney immediately can potentially protect your driving privileges.  Don’t delay.

You have just been arrested by the San Francisco police department for DUI.  After you have been arrested, you will be asked to submit to a test to determine the alcohol content of your blood.  You can choose to take a breath test using a breathalyzer, or a blood test, or both.

In California, if you refuse to take the test, there are severe consequences to your privilege to drive a motor vehicle.  If you were 21 years of older at the time of arrest and you refused or failed to complete a blood or breath test, a first offense will result in a 1-year suspension. A second offense within 10 years will result in a 2-year revocation. A third or subsequent offense within 10 years will result in a 3-year revocation.

If you were under 21 years of age at the time of being detained or arrested and you refused or failed to complete a blood or breath test:, a first offense will result in a 1-year suspension. A second offense within 10 years will result in a 2-year revocation. A third or subsequent offense within 10 years will result in a 3-year revocation.

If having a drivers’ license is not of major importance to you, then not having a test result makes it more difficult for the San Francisco District Attorney’s office to prosecute your case, and prove that you were under the influence of alcohol while driving.  A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney can explain both the pros and cons of taking a breath or blood test.

4 points in 12 months, or

6 points in 24 months, or

8 points in 36 months

When you are arrested for a DUI in San Francisco, the officer will take your driver's license away from you and give you a temporary license.  When you are offered a blood or breath test, you submit to the test, and your BAC is 0.08 or more, your license will be suspended for four months.  If you have a previous DUI in the last ten years, your license will be suspended for one year. 

If you are under 21 years of age, and a preliminary alcohol screening test or other test shows a BAC of 0.01 or more, your driving privileges will be suspended for one year.

Refusing to take a chemical test of any kind when asked will result in a suspension of your driving privileges for one year.

A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney can explain the various driving suspension times, as well as avenues to prevent the suspension through a hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles.  You must request a DMV hearing within ten days of your arrest.