Drug Possession, Weapons Charge And Impersonating A Police Officer

Criminal Defense Attorneys in Orange County

If you are facing charges for a crime in Orange County, whether DUI, drug possession, assault, or any other criminal offense, it pays to have a criminal defense lawyer in Orange County with outstanding credentials and a lot of experience. After being arrested, a person can be released either on their own recognizance or upon posting of bail. When an arrestee is released from custody on bail or on their own recognizance, they are given a court date. This court date is the first appearance and is called the arraignment. At the arraignment, the person accused of a crime is advised of the exact charges against them and their rights—including a right to acriminal defense lawyer and the right to a jury trial.

Typically, the arraignment is followed by a series of “pretrial conferences” where the accused person’s defense attorney meets with the Deputy District Attorney to discuss their case. Discussions revolve around the police report and all the evidence in the case. The strengths and weaknesses of the case are discussed and the attorneys will attempt to resolve the case without a trial.

The following actual case result by Orange County Criminal Defense Attorney EJ Stopyro is an example:

Jerry used a police badge to pull over several motorists in his neighborhood and admonish them about their driving. Jerry told the drivers that he was an undercover police officer and he threatened to arrest them if they didn’t slow down. One of the victims wrote down Jerry’s license plate number and called the police to report the encounter. Tracing the license plate number, the police went to Jerry’s house and contacted him. They searched his car and found several illegal weapons, police paraphernalia including badges and radios, and some illegal prescription drugs.

Jerry was facing a lengthy jail sentence. However, Mr. Stopyro pointed out that Jerry was only stopping people who were driving unsafely. He argued that “Jerry’s heart was in the right place” and that a jury may be sympathetic to Jerry. He also pointed out a lack of prior criminal activity. In order to avoid a trial, the DA agreed to a no jail offer whereby Jerry would complete drug treatment and do 20 days of Caltrans labor. (Department H-1 of the Harbor Justice Center)

If you are charged with a crime in Orange County and would like to know what your options are call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with a Criminal Defense Attorney in Orange County today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro

Orange County DUI Lawyer

DUI Charge Reduced To A Wet Reckless

Orange County DUI Lawyer

Having a DUI on your record can have devastating consequences on a person’s career, not to mention the severe penalties for a DUI conviction. Sometimes, a skilled DUI Lawyers in Orange County can successfully get a charge of DUI reduced to a charge of reckless driving. (wet reckless)For some clients such a reduction can be of paramount importance. The following case result was achieved by the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro for our client, Ralph, who is a school teacher and who could not afford to have a DUI on his record.

Ralph was involved in a fender-bender when he pulled into a gas station to get gas. When sheriff's deputies arrived, they smelled alcohol on Ralph’s breath and noticed he had poor balance and slurred speech. Ralph failed his field sobriety tests and was arrested for DUI. A blood test showed his blood-alcohol was 0.12%.

Mr. Stopyro interviewed Ralph about the incident and learned that the arresting deputy never gave Ralph the choice of a blood test or a breath test once Ralph had been arrested for DUI. Rather, the deputy simply told Ralph that he would have to submit to a blood test. Mr. Stopyro filed a motion to suppress the blood-test result on the grounds that the arresting deputy failed to give Ralph a choice between breath and blood. Mr. Stopyro alleged that such a failure was an impermissible infringement on Ralph’s constitutional rights. Rather than litigate the motion, the District Attorney agreed to reduce the charge to reckless driving. (Department H-2 of the Harbor Justice Center)

If you have been arrested for DUI in Orange County and would like to know if you could get your charges reduced or dismissed call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an Orange County DUI lawyer today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro

Orange County DUI Attorney
DUI Attorneys in Orange County

DUI And The Citizen Informant

DUI Attorney in Orange County

If a civilian reports a possible DUI (drunk driver), this information can be used to establish probable cause to stop the driver, even if the police officer never sees any bad driving himself. If the civilian identifies him or herself to the police, the DUI “tip” is upgraded from an anonymous tip to a “citizen informant”. DUI Lawyers in Orange County will tell you that this means that the information that the DUI tipster provides is presumed to be reliable.

However, even if we attach a presumption of reliability to the information provided by the DUI tipster, this does not dispense with the requirement that the citizen informant furnish underlying facts sufficiently detailed to cause a reasonable person to believe that a crime had been committed. People v. Ramey (1976) 16 Cal.3d 263, 269. This means that if a citizen informant merely reports a possible drunk driver, this is NOT enough information to permit a stop of the suspected drunk driver.

The citizen informant must provide information that would itself be probable cause to permit the stop if the officer had seen it himself. So, for example, if a citizen inform reports a suspected DUI driver who ran a red light, or swerved into other lanes, this WOULD be sufficient information to allow a police officer to conduct a DUI traffic stop, even if the cop never saw any bad driving himself. But if the informant merely speculates that a driver may be drunk, without more, then this in NOT enough to permit a stop. In that case the officer must see a law violation himself before he can stop the suspected drunk driver.

The penalties for a DUI in Orange County can be stiff, especially if you have a prior DUI or your blood test or breath test is high. If your blood alcohol level is low, or if the District Attorney has a weak case, then you may be able to get a wet reckless if your Orange County DUI lawyer is skilled. (check his case results)

If you would like to consult with an experienced DUI lawyer, call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
32072 Camino Capistrano
2nd floor
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

Orange County DUI Lawyers

Orange County DUI Lawyer

DUI Attorneys in Orange County

An Anonymous Tip Can Be Used To Stop You

Drivers are encouraged by freeway signs to “report drunk drivers”. And case law now says that an anonymous tip can be sufficient probable cause for the police to pull you over for DUI. Prior to 2006, if an anonymous tip were the basis of a DUI traffic stop, DUI Lawyers in Orange County could have the case thrown out if the police officer did not himself see a traffic violation that constituted probable cause. In People v. Wells (2006) 38 Cal.4^th 1078, the police received and broadcast information from an anonymous tip of “a possibly intoxicated driver weaving all over the roadway”. The DUI tipster also gave a description of the suspect vehicle. A police officer saw the vehicle and pulled it over. The police officer never saw any weaving or “bad driving”.

The California Supreme Court held that there is a “public safety” exception to the requirement that a police officer must observe a law violation before detaining a motorist. The Court said that a drunk driver is similar to a mobile bomb and that public safety concerns, balanced against an individual’s 4^th Amendment rights, would justify a brief DUI detention by the police. However, the Wells court said that there were three requirements before an anonymous tip can provide reasonable suspicion to justify a DUI traffic stop:

1)      First, the person giving the tip must sufficiently identify the vehicle and its location to ensure that the same vehicle is stopped;

2)      The tipster must have actually witnessed a traffic violation that compels an immediate DUI stop; and

3)      At least the innocent details of the tip (i.e. color of vehicle, number of occupants, etc.) must be corroborated by the officer.

If these criteria are met from the tipster, then the anonymous tip will be upheld as sufficient probable cause to conduct a DUI traffic stop.

If you have been arrested for DUI in Orange County and would like to know if you could get your charges reduced or dismissed call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an Orange County DUI lawyer today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro

Orange County DUI Attorney

 

DUI and Hit-And-Run Don’t Have To Lead To Time In Jail

DUI Lawyers in Orange County

Although the potential penalties for a simple first-offense DUI are fairly severe—possible six months of jail time. A “standard first-offense DUI” will typically not result in any jail time actually imposed. However, a drunk driver involved in an accident who leaves the scene of that accident can usually expect to be sentenced to a fair amount of time in jail. However, if your DUI Attorneys in Orange Countyis creative enough to find an issue to litigate, you may be able to avoid going to jail.

The following actual case result from our law firm is an example: In People v. Chad P. Chad was driving home after a night of drinking. While in his neighborhood, he drove into the rear of a parked car causing serious damage. He got out, looked at the damage, and then drove away from the scene without leaving his information. Several witnesses saw and heard Chad’s vehicle hit the parked car. The witnesses called 911 with Chad's license plate number as well as a description of Chad.

The police ran Chad’s license plate number, got his address, and responded to his apartment. When they arrived, they saw Chad outside of his apartment building. When they commanded him to stop he ran around back and climbed up to his back balcony. He hid in his apartment. The police broke the front door down and arrested Chad inside. His blood-alcohol was 0.16%

During pretrial negotiations Mr. Stopyro pointed out that the collision occurred close to Chad's home, that Chad knew the owner of the damaged vehicle, and contended that Chad did intend to return in the morning and exchange information. Mr. Stopyro also relied on Chad's otherwise clean record and his status as a full-time worker to convince the District Attorney to dismiss the Hit & Run, not charge Chad with resisting arrest, and make a no-jail, probation-only offer for the DUI. (Department H-2 of the Harbor Justice Center

If you have been arrested for DUI in Orange County and would like to know if you could get your charges reduced or dismissed call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 to consult with an Orange County DUI lawyer today. The consultation is free and confidential. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Law Offices of EJ Stopyro

Orange County DUI Lawyer

Orange County DUI Attorney