In Orange County, California, getting arrested for the third time on DUI or Driving Under Influence charges will require assistance from an experienced as well as a qualified orange county criminal defense lawyer. This is because no matter where you get your third DUI conviction, be it Santa Ana, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Irvine or any city within the vicinity of Orange County, you may have to face severe consequences in which your freedom, your mobility as well as your livelihood gets taken away. Only a well-reputed criminal defense lawyer orange county can defend you in such a case.
What The Law States:
It is crucial that you begin preserving whatever legal rights you have then and there, and start preparing all your defenses from the moment you are convicted. This is because you will only get ten days from when you are arrested, to place a request for a DMV hearing so that you can fight your license suspension. The California law explicitly states that if an individual has been twice previously convicted within a 10-year span of new arrest (DUI), they will surely be charged the third time.
Criminal Consequences:
When an individual is charged with DUI for the third time, it may amount to anywhere between 120 days and 1 year jail sentence if proven guilty.
It is very common in the Orange County to be sentenced to jail for 8 to 10 months on the basis of:
The circumstances in a new case The duration between the previous cases and the new one Punishment that one receives in case they are on probation (with regard to an old DUI case)It is necessary that you get in touch with a thoroughly professional and experienced criminal lawyer in Orange County so that you can negotiate in case such a sentence is passed, and so that you can avoid jail sentence during the investigation of your ongoing DUI case.
DMV Consequences:
The APS or Administrative Per Se Hearing is undertaken by the DMV will make every possible try to have your driver’s license suspended for as many as 2 years. In order to fight such a suspension, you have to request an APS Hearing within a 10-day time frame from your day of arrest. Again, only a professional lawyer is the only help you can expect, who has proper knowledge about the legalities involved in DMV procedures, so that you can win the fight against the suspension of your driver’s license. Defenses You Can Use In Case Of A Third DUI Conviction: Even if you are charged for the third time, you can still defend yourself.
Here are a few common defenses that will help you in case of a third DUI charge-
Interrogation Challenge-
If an individual is arrested, the officials of law enforcement need to read the Miranda Rights to the arrestee. They also need to convey the Miranda warnings, which states that the individual has the right to remain silent, and that anything that the arrestee says can be used against that person in a court of law, and that the arrestee is entitled to be legally represented. In case the arrestee does not receive the Miranda Rights, or if the officials of law enforcement question the arrestee, any statements that are made by the arrestee during the course of such an interrogation cannot be used against the arrestee for proving the DUI charges.
Traffic Stop and/or Arrest Challenge-
According to the US Constitutionals 4th Amendment, no law enforcement can conduct unreasonable seizures or searches. If a police officer does stop a vehicle, it will be assumed that the driver has been seized under the US law, which will require the government to prove that there was reasonable suspicion of the driver being engaged in a criminal activity, for the police offer to warrant a stop. Also, in case the driver gets arrested, a probable cause must be demonstrated by the government so that the arrest can be supported. A well-experienced orange county criminal defense lawyer can recognize any defective arrest or stop along with the grounds on which that arrest or stop might be challenged. For instance, in case an individual gets stopped by any police officer without the officer observing any traffic violation, it can provide a ground for challenging the stop. However, if the stop is assumed to be valid (which means the individual was weaving, speeding, etc.), there are still other grounds on which the individual can challenge their arrest. Typically, in a DUI arrest, a single indicator suggesting intoxication, like bloodshot eyes or alcohol smell, cannot be considered sufficient to lead to an arrest.
Plea Bargaining-
There are times when the best option for helping a defendant is by negotiating with the attorney (prosecution) so that the penalties or charge is reduced. A plea bargain is considered to be successful if consequently, the defendant enters a guilty plea for a much lesser traffic violation, like reckless operation, which substantially carries lesser penalties as well as the benefit of not being convicted on DUI charges.
Breathalyzer And/or Alcohol Tests Challenge-
The most common ground to contest DUI charges is by challenging the urine, blood or breathalyzer tests that the law enforcement conducts. Several problems can be found with breath, blood or urine tests. In order, the challenge such tests require a strong knowledge about the procedural issues and statutory requirements, which only a well-reputed criminal defense lawyer orange county will know. For example, it is required by the California law that the medical personnel and law enforcement comply with specific conditions in order to ensure that the results of the blood tests are accurate. Such conditions are clearly mentioned in Title 17of California Code of Regulations. According to these Regulations, it is mandatory for the site of blood draw to be sterilized using a product that is non-alcohol based, and that the drawer should maintain a certain level of preservatives and anticoagulants within the sample, as well as store the sample properly. If there is any failure in complying with these or any other condition, the result of the blood test may be invalidated.
Conclusion:
In California, most of the DUI lawyers charges are proved to be wrong when the arrestee steps up to challenge the charges. The above-mentioned defenses are an only a few of the several ways in which an orange county criminal defense lawyer can efficiently challenge a DUI charge. You need to look for the right criminal defense lawyer orange county who has a wealth of knowledge as well as experience in DUI cases so that you donate have to face criminal charges or be sentenced to a jail term on your third DUI conviction.
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