Saturday, September 29, 2012

DUI Arrest: You MUST Be Given A Choice Of Blood Or Breath

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Orange County DUI Lawyer
DUI Attorneys in Orange County

A typical DUI arrest begins with a traffic stop or a stop at a DUI checkpoint. The officer will come up to your window, ask you for your driver’s license and insurance, and ask if you’ve had anything to drink tonight. If you have been drinking, the officer will likely smell the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from your car. If you admit to drinking or if the officer smells alcohol, the cop will begin a DUI investigation. As most OrangeCounty DUI attorneys will tell you, the cop will likely perform an eye test called Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus where the cop looks for how smoothly your eyes track his finger and at what angle your eyes display nystagmus—an involuntary jerking of the eyes. The more alcohol in your system, the earlier nystagmus begins.

The cop will then ask you to perform a series of field sobrietytests to determine whether your mental or physical abilities have been impaired by alcohol. This impairment is an essential part of proving your guilt of an Orange County DUI. These field sobriety tests are completely VOLUNTARY and mostDUI lawyers in Orange County will advise against taking these tests. The final voluntary test is usually a breath test, called a “preliminary alcohol screening” test or PAS test. Again, completely voluntary and usually not advised my most DUI attorneys in Orange County.

After talking to you about these voluntary tests, (and possibly you performing them), the officer must decide whether to arrest you for DUI or let you go. If you are arrested for drunk driving in Orange County or driving under the influence of drugs (drug DUI), the law requires the cop to then advise you that you have the CHOICE of a blood test or a breath test. Often times the arresting cop will have their own preference but they are supposed to give YOU the choice. If you refuse to take any test you will be charged with a Refusal and the penalties are more severe. Once you are arrested for a DUI you not only must go through the DUI court proceedings, but you also face a DMVhearing and the possible license suspension. Of course, the DUI penalties for an Orange County DUI are fairly severe.

If the officer did NOT give you the choice of blood or breath when you were arrested for an Orange County DUI, you certainly should consult with a DUI lawyer in Orange County with lots of experience and excellent case results. You may be entitled to have the result of whatever test you took SUPPRESSED. This means the result would be thrown out. This makes it very difficult to prove a DUI against you in court and you may be able to get the charge reduced to a wet reckless or even dismissed altogether.

So if you’ve been charged with a DUI in Orange County it is important that you consult with an Orange County DUI attorney. Call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an OrangeCounty drug DUI lawyer today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
DUI Lawyers in Orange County
Orange County DUI Attorney

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

DUI Defense: You Can Drive Drunk When It’s Necessary

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Orange County DUI Lawyer
DUI Attorneys in Orange County

Everybody knows the evils of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in Orange County. And the harsh punishments handed down by the Orange County courts in DUI court proceedings are common knowledge. But what if you are in a situation where driving drunk might actually be a good idea since it is the only real alternative you have? Will you still be arrested and convicted of a DUI in Orange County even in those circumstances? Well, the law may be blind but it aint stupid. And when circumstances make it necessary for you to drive, even though your blood-alcohol may be over the .08% as measured by a blood test or a breath test, the law DOES take that into account. If your OrangeCounty DUI attorney can present a compelling argument why driving was necessary you could be acquitted altogether.

California Criminal Jury Instruction Calcrim 3403 states that a defendant charged with an Orange County DUI is NOT GUILTY if the defendant acted because of a “legal necessity”. In order to prove a legal necessity your DUI Lawyer inOrange County must show: 1) that you drove in an emergency situation to prevent further significant harm; 2) that you had no other alternative but to drive while intoxicated in Orange County; 3) that your drunk driving didn’t create an even greater danger than the one you drove to avoid; 4) that when you drove drunk you believed you were doing it to avoid a greater danger; 5) a reasonable person would have believed that driving drunk in Orange County was necessary under the circumstances; and 6) that driving drunk in Orange County didn’t make the emergency worse.

Necessity can be a complete defense to an Orange County DUI in court. However, the defense of necessity is NOT available at the DMV hearing and will not save you from a DMV license suspension. If you’ve been charged with a DUI in Orange County it is important that you consult with an OrangeCounty DUI attorney. Call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an experienced Orange County drug DUI lawyer today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
DUI Lawyers in Orange County
Orange County DUI Attorney

Saturday, September 22, 2012

DUI Drugs in Orange County: What the DA has to Prove

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Orange County DUI Lawyers
DUI Attorney in Orange County

California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) states: “It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.” (emphasis added) You’ll notice that there is no limit on the amount of drug or alcohol that is in your system, such as .08%. This means that the prosecution doesn’t have to show that you had a certain amount of drugs or alcohol in your system; rather, they must prove that you were 1) driving and; 2) under the influence at the time of driving in order to convict you of a drug dui in Orange County.

So, what exactly does it mean to be under the influence for purposes of being convicted of a drug-related DUI? Well, as any drug DUI lawyerin Orange County will tell you, according to the California Supreme Court, a person is “under the influence” for DUI purposes if, as a result of taking a drug or drugs, that person’s mental or physical abilities are so impaired that he or she is no longer capable to drive the vehicle with the caution of a sober person, using ordinary care, under similar circumstances. Moreover, in order to convict you of a drug DUI the prosecution must prove that the drug you took could affect your nervous system, brain, or muscles so as to impair, “to an appreciable degree”, your ability to drive a vehicle. (California Vehicle Code Section 312)

This is why field sobriety tests play such a big role in OrangeCounty drug DUI cases. The results are often the DA’s best evidence that your nervous system, brain or muscles were impaired to an appreciable degree. Of course, if you were arrested for a drug DUI in Orange County you were not afforded the option of taking a breath test. A blood test is mandatory when the arrest is for a drug related DUI arrest in Orange County. The blood test will provide a qualitative and quantitative result of which drugs were in your system and how much.

As for the DMV, a blood test that results in a blood-alcohol reading below a .08% will not trigger an APS suspension, which will save you from the DMV hearing. However, a license suspension will still result from a conviction for a DUI as a result of the court proceedings, whether the DUI is based on alcohol or drugs.

So if you’ve been charged with a drug DUI in Orange County it is important that you consult with an Orange County Drug DUI attorney. Call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an OrangeCounty drug DUI lawyer today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.
 
Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
DUI Lawyer in Orange County
Orange County DUI Attorneys

Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Domestic Violence: Can My Spouse Be Forced To Testify?

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Orange County Domestic Violence Lawyers
Domestic Violence Attorney in Orange County

The “Spousal Privilege” is a centuries old facet of our legal system designed to honor and preserve the sanctity of marriage. Under this doctrine, one spouse cannot be compelled to testify against the other. Yet any Orange County Domestic Violence lawyer will tell you that it is routine in Orange County for the District Attorney to force one spouse to testify against the other at a domestic violence trial. How can this be?

The spousal privilege is codified in California at Section 970 of the California Evidence Code. The Evidence Code applies to all court proceedings, including Orange County domestic violence cases. It states: “Except as otherwise provided by statute, a married person has a privilege not to testify against his [or her] spouse.” Seems pretty clear, right? Well, it’s the “except as otherwise provided” part that changes things.

Section 972 of the Evidence Code states, in relevant part: “A married person does not have a privilege under this article in: (e) a criminal proceeding in which one spouse is charged with: (1) a crime against the person or property of the other spouse or of a child, parent, relative, or cohabitant of either, whether committed before or during marriage.” Thus, with a stroke of the pen, the California legislature has altered the centuries-old spousal privilege to allow one spouse to be forced to testify against the other where the other spouse is charged with domestic violence or any other crime against the other spouse or any family member.

So if you’ve been charged with domestic violence in Orange County your spouse will not be able to invoke the spousal privilege to avoid testifying against you. To protect your freedom and reputation it is essential that you consult with a domestic violence lawyer in Orange County. Call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an OrangeCounty domestic violence attorney today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Domestic Violence Lawyer in Orange County
Orange County Domestic Violence Attorneys

Monday, September 17, 2012

A DUI With a Child in the Car Means Jail


Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Orange County DUI Lawyers
DUI Attorney in Orange County

So you and a friend decide to meet for lunch and take a break in the middle of your busy day. You order lunch and have a drink or two. After catching up you hit the road and get on with your busy day. It’s off to soccer practice to pick up your 13-year-old. Then, on the way home from soccer practice you make a call on your cell phone. All of the sudden you hear the motorcycle cop beeping his siren behind you. Oh no!

The officer comes to your window and asks for your license and registration. But when the cop smells alcohol on your breath the stop turns from a routine cell phone ticket to a full fledged DUI investigation. The officer asks you to perform some roadside field sobriety tests, and you agree. You tell the officer that you want to talk to an Orange County DUI lawyer but he the tells you that you cant. Then, the cop asks you to take a Preliminary Alcohol Screening Test (PAS), which is a voluntary breath test. Again, you agree. The next thing you know you are being arrested for an Orange County DUI. Your car is impounded and your child is taken home by another police officer. You are taken to jail, given the option of a blood test or breath test, and told your driver’s license will be suspended by the DMV.

Unfortunately, it gets worse. Not only will you face charges for a DUI but you will also you will also be charged with a child endangerment enhancement. Any DUI lawyer in Orange County will tell you that if you are convicted of a DUI in Orange County and there was a child under the age of 14-years-old in the car at the time, you will face MANDATORY JAIL TIME pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23572. This section mandates jail time of 2 days for a first-offense, 10 days if the DUI is a second-offense, 30 days for a third-offense DUI and 90 days for a fourth-offense DUI. This mandatory jail time MUST be served consecutive to any jail time imposed for the underlying DUI.

If you are accused of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs and you face a child endangerment enhancement you need to talk to an Orange County DUI attorney. Typically, the only way to defeat the enhancement is to successfully defend the underlying DUI charge; either through a rising defense or other successful DUI defense. Call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro today at (949) 559-5500 for a consultation with an experienced Orange County DUI lawyer. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
DUI Lawyer in Orange County
Orange County DUI Attorneys