Plea Bargain Drunk Driving | DUI Charges

source: theinforbarrel.com

You can effectively plea bargain drunk driving on your own, without the use of a DUI attorney. While the DUI attorney may be able to improve your odds, they are very expensive. In fact, the lawyer fees you face may actually be more than the total fine and forfeitures you are facing. For this reason, it may be wise to plea bargain drunk driving on your own, without the use of an expensive lawyer. If you made a mistake, you may be able to reduce the level of punishment you face when you plea bargain drunk driving.

Gather all evidence:

To effectively plea bargain drunk driving on your own, you will need to get all evidence rounded up. This includes the evidence against you as well. Get a copy of the police report and study it thoroughly. Perhaps the initial traffic stop wasn’t justified. Maybe you actually passed the field sobriety testing. You never know what you may find, so it’s important to see what’s out there. You may be able to plea bargain drunk driving this way, and beat those DUI charges.

Free initial consultation:

Many DUI attorneys will offer you a free initial consultation. You should pick their brain and see where you stand when you try to plea bargain drunk driving by yourself. Ask them what the chances of beating it are. Use the initial free consultation to your advantage when you try to plea bargain drunk driving, you may learn enough to beat the DUI charges you are facing.

Know the possibilities:

There are actually a few ways to plea bargain drunk driving, or any other charges for that matter. You can try to reduce the punishment. This would include DUI fines, loss of license, or in the case of multiple offenses, jail time. In some cases, you may be able to plea bargain drunk driving by pleading guilty, but with lower fine amounts or other punishment forms. In other cases, you may be able to pay the full amount of the fines, but with a lower charge. There are a few ways to plea bargain drunk driving on your own, so you need to keep your options open to avoid the DUI.

Contact the DA:

If you are trying to plea bargain drunk driving on your own, you will need to contact the prosecuting attorney at some point. You can simply call and ask to meet with them. Typically, they will accommodate you. Make no mistakes about it, you are at the disadvantage here. The DA has likely been through this hundreds of times. Still, it will give you an idea of where you stand when you try to plea bargain drunk driving, and avoid getting a DUI on your record.

Make an offer:

You can offer to do many hours of community service in exchange for a reduced charge. You could offer to pay large fines in exchange for community service. There are really no limits here when you are trying to plea bargain drunk driving. If you are able to make an agreement, you should be proud of yourself. It’s not easy to plea bargain drunk driving, but it can be done effectively, if you put your mind to it.

Get it in writing:

Ask the DA to make the agreement in writing when you plea bargain drunk driving. This will give you some form of a contract. You can expect the DA to uphold his end of the deal as long as you uphold your end of the deal. This is legal work, and should be treated as such. You can effectively plea bargain drunk driving on your own, but it’s important to get the deals in writing, whenever it’s possible. Keep in mind that this also gives the DA leverage if you don’t follow through on your end of the deal.

Follow through:

If you were successful in your attempt to plea bargain drunk driving, you must make sure you follow through with the agreement. If you don’t, you could actually wind up facing DUI charges again, especially if you agreed to some form of deferred prosecution.

DWT should be as socially unacceptable as DUI | Stop Driving While Texting!

Nova Scotia News - TheChronicleHerald.ca


By CHARLES W. MOORE
Sun. Jul 12 - 4:46 AM

DRIVING while intoxicated has become such a social taboo that most people recognize the acronym DUI (driving under the influence) used by police and prosecutors, and rightly so. But according to a growing body of research and empirical observation, DWT is a potentially worse hazard than DUI, and should be just as socially unacceptable as driving drunk.

DWT? That would be "driving while texting" (sub-category: driving while tweeting) — the most pernicious of a variety of distempers afflicting our culture as a consequence of pandemic cellphone addiction.

According to a U.K. Transport Research Laboratory study, commissioned by the Royal Automobile Club Foundation, motorists sending text messages while driving are "significantly more impaired" than ones who drive drunk. The study showed texters’ reaction times deteriorated by 35 per cent, and a whopping 91 per cent decrease in steering ability, while similar studies of drunk driving indicate reaction time diminishment of about 12 per cent. By that measure, DWT is three times more dangerous than DUI, and should logically be treated as severely, if not more so, both under the law and in terms of social censure.

Another study conducted by the Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va., presented to the Pediatric Academic Societies in May, found teens using a driving simulator while sending text messages or searching MP3 player menus changed speed, steered erratically, in some cases running over pedestrians, showing these behaviours clearly pose a danger to drivers themselves and others around them. Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death for people between 16 and 20, the most prolific texting demographic, with teenage drivers four times more likely to crash than older drivers even when not texting.

However, it appears that a major public consciousness-raising and education effort is in order. While drinking and driving is now pretty comprehensively considered inappropriate and intolerable, texting while driving is not, with an apparent disconnect between public conviction and behaviour. Reuters reported that while 83 per cent of respondents in a nationwide U.S. survey said DWT should be illegal, one-quarter of U.S. cellphone users admit to texting while driving.

Ongoing surveys by the U.S. National Highway Safety Administration show 85 per cent of all auto crashes and 65 per cent of all near-crashes result from distracted driving.

Laws banning texting behind the wheel are relatively rare as yet. Only a handful of U.S states have full or partial bans in place. In Canada, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador have banned the use of hand-held cellphones (which would include texting) behind the wheel, and B.C. is considering such a ban. However, while research data cited indicate that enacting laws making cellphone use while driving illegal is just as important as our now ubiquitous penalties for driving drunk, passing laws against vehicular texting may not in itself be enough.

A study conducted this year by mobile technology firm Vingo found some of the worst DWT offenders living in states where DWT is already banned or ban legislation is pending. In Tennessee, an alarming 42 per cent of drivers surveyed admitted to indulging, compared with a slightly less horrific 26 per cent of cellphone users nationwide. Vingo found 66 per cent of drivers aged 16 to 19, already the least experienced and most crash-prone cohort, admitted to driving while texting; and despite more states enacting bans and increased public awareness of high-profile accidents, people still drive while texting at the same rate as a year ago.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, automobile accidents are now the leading cause of death in women under the age of 35 — another cellphone-prolific, texting-oriented demographic.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety has determined that using cellphones, even hands-free units (which are still legal in Nova Scotia) in voice mode, increases crash risk fourfold, and texting — which distracts visually, physically and cognitively — increases risk sixfold. The U.S. National Safety Council advocates banning all cellphone use by automobile operators, advising that the prudent course is to turn the ringer off and stash the phone somewhere out of reach before turning the ignition key.

Parents also need to get on the case. A survey by SADD (Students Against Destructive Decisions) and Liberty Mutual Insurance Group found 52 per cent of teens who say their parents would be unlikely to punish them for driving while texting said they would continue doing so, compared with 36 per cent who believe their parents would penalize them.

The texting plague’s calamitous consequences transcend the operation of automobiles. Text-messaging was also identified as causing two recent public transit disasters — a train crash in Los Angeles that killed 25 people; and a 24-year-old subway operator in Boston admitting he’d been texting his girlfriend when he rammed his train into one ahead of him, injuring almost 50 people.

Just stop it, folks. There’s no excuse.

Charles W. Moore is a Nova Scotian freelance writer and editor.

Coming Soon: A Breathalyzer in Every Car?

time.com
Nearly 13,000 Americans die in traffic accidents every year. Now Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is opening a new front in its war on drunk drivers, and it's getting help from the Alliance for Automobile Manufacturers and the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

A new highway bill pending before Congress would instruct all 50 states to require all motorists convicted of driving under the influence to equip their cars with interlock systems that shut down a vehicle when a measured amount of alcohol is detected.

There are already about 150,000 interlock systems now in cars in the U.S., placed there for drivers with multiple DUI convictions. But the proposed mandate would expand the use of interlock systems exponentially; MADD's statistics indicate that nearly 1.5 million Americans are arrested annually on DUI charges, making it the No. 1 crime for which Americans are arrested.

States wouldn't have to abide by the ruling, but there would be heavy pressure to conform, since states that don't adopt the mandate could lose their highway funds. "The national 21 minimum drinking age and the .08% law [for allowable alcohol in the bloodstream] both resulted from federal highway sanctions. History tells us that this approach works," says Laura Dean-Mooney of MADD. So far only 11 states require interlocks for anyone with one conviction who is currently driving on a DUI-restricted license.

Opponents of the MADD push for stricter laws warn that a federal interlock requirement would serve as a Trojan horse, opening the way for even more sophisticated interlock technology that would be required on every car sold in the U.S., according to Sarah Longwell, managing director of the American Beverage Institute, which lobbies on behalf of taverns and restaurants. "If you go to the ball game and happen to have a beer you wouldn't be able drive home," she says.

Like those "Objects may be closer ..." warnings on outside car mirrors, opponents warn that brave new technology may be nearer than it appears. Nissan is now testing various systems that don't even require a Breathalyzer to detect drinking. One system uses a tiny camera to observe facial expressions, another system being tested checks blood alcohol levels though sensors when the driver grasps the shift control and a third system uses the car's internal computer to calculate if a motorist is steering erratically. Ford already has a system that allows parents to limit the speed of a vehicle driven by a youthful motorist, and Mercedes-Benz's new E-Class comes with a system that issues an audible warning if the driver gets drowsy.

MADD president Chuck Hurley doesn't deny he would like to see such systems put into service, but says wider use of such technology is 10 years off, and MADD isn't calling for automakers to install it now. Current Breathalyzer technology, he said, would make a big difference almost immediately. In New Mexico, for example, DUI fatalities have been reduced 35% since the state began requiring all convicted DUI offenders to use an ignition interlock device. "Studies have shown alcohol ignition interlocks to be effective in reducing recidivism," concurs Adrian Lund, president of the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

In continuing to look for ways to curb drunk driving, MADD is emphasizing its negative economic impact. MADD estimates that drunk driving now accounts for 18% of the nation's auto-insurance bill and 20% of all emergency-room costs that are never reimbursed, as well as 16% of all probation costs and 6% of all jail cells used in the U.S.

How and when can you get a dui expunged from your record in California?

DUI Laws, Charges and Penalties

1. John S says:

   June 30, 2009 at 9:52 pm

   The above answer, though lengthy, leaves out an important detail. The granting of relief under Pen C 1203.4 for DUI (and other such offenses) is discretionary with the judge (in most cases, successful completion of probation gives a right to relief). It is, however, correct that IF you get such relief, you can tell a private employer you were not convicted. The conviction will remain on your DMV record and can still be used as a prior for 10 years, anyway.

   You cannot apply for 1203.4 relief until probation is over.

   
   
2. Rick M says:

   June 30, 2009 at 9:52 pm

   A California DUI expungement is an important legal procedure to:

   (a) withdraw a DUI plea,
   (b) obtain an Order setting aside the DUI conviction,
   (c) enter a plea of Not Guilty, and
   (d) obtain an Order of dismissal of the accusatory DUI pleading,

   upon successful petition to the Court for review of a San Diego California DUI or Drunk Driving - related conviction.

   The Court will first review & determine:

   • If the term of San Diego California Superior Court probation was successfully completed & concluded;
   • That all fines, restitution and reimbursement ordered by the court have been paid and everything ordered by the court was completed in a timely manner;

   • That the petitioner is not now on probation for another offense;
   • That the petitioner has no new pending California cases;
   The Court then may allow the petitioner to withdraw his or plea or finding of guilt or no contest, and thereafter orders the case dismissed.

   How does this help me?

   A legal withdrawal of plea, an entry of not guilty, and a court dismissal of a San Diego California DUI is obviously very useful. If the petition is granted, you are released from ALL penalties and disabilities resulting from the conviction of DUI.

   Expungement law (Penal Code Section 1203.4) provides in part:

   "[Petitioner shall]…be permitted by the court to withdraw his or her plea of guilty or plea of nolo contendere and enter a plea of not guilty; or, if he or she has been convicted after a plea of not guilty, the court shall set aside the verdict of guilty; and, in either case, the court shall thereupon dismiss the accusations or information against the defendant and except as noted below, he or she shall thereafter be released from all penalties and disabilities resulting from the offense of which he or she has been convicted, except…"

   (1) The order does not relieve the defendant of the obligation to disclose the aforementioned conviction in response to any direct question contained in any questionnaire or application for public offense, for licensure by an state or local agency, or for contracting with the California State Lottery.

   (2) The order does not permit the defendant to own, possess, or have custody or control of any firearm capable of being concealed upon the person, and it does not prevent conviction of the defendant under California Penal Code section 12021.

   What about applying for jobs?

   If Private Employers ask if you have every been convicted of a crime, you generally can respond with "NO". (Each question is different so please first contact an attorney before answering any specific question, in every case and for every form.)

   On questions by Government Employers or Government Licensing Applications if you are asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime, you must disclose the expunged case.

   Can employers consider a California DUI conviction that has been expunged (dismissed)?

   In most San Diego California DUI cases, the answer is NO!

   Once your California DUI cases is expunged (dismissed), it is no longer considered a California DUI conviction and California Labor Code 432.7(a) prohibits employers from asking an applicant to disclose information concerning a California DUI arrest or detention that did not result in California DUI conviction, or information concerning a referral to, and participation in, any pretrial or posttrial diversion program, nor shall any employer seek from any source whatsoever, or utilize, as a factor in determining any condition of employment including hiring. An employer who intentionally violates this section can be liable for a misdemeanor, plus fines, and attorney’s fees. This section does not apply to criminal justice agencies, health facilities, and has a few other narrow exceptions.

   What doesn’t a DUI Expungement do?

   Your dismissed DUI conviction can still be used to increase your punishment in future DUI cases. The offense is "priorable".

   It can still be used to enhance penalties & increase punishment should you get another DUI.

   It can be used to try to put you in jail or increase the length of a DMV suspension.

   Does this erase all records and destroy the Court file?

   No. An expungement changes and updates the disposition of the case to reflect a dismissal under 1203.4 of the Penal Code. This means the Court file, the California Department of Justice, and the FBI update their files to show the case has been ordered dismissed by the Court.

   What happens after my California DUI record is expunged by my California DUI attorney?

   You will receive a California court order setting aside your California DUI conviction and dismissing your California DUI case. California DUI / Criminal record databases should be updated to reflect that your California DUI conviction was set aside and your California DUI case was dismissed. Your California DUI lawyer will get that for you.

   Will I need to go to Court?

   No. San Diego DUI