Law Offices of EJ Stopyro
Orange County Drunk Driving Lawyers
DUI Attorney in Orange County
If you drive under the influence of drugs you not only risk
a DUI conviction, you may also face a mandatory 90-day jail sentence just for
being under the influence of a non-prescribed drug. (CaliforniaHealth & Safety Code §11550(a)) If you have a prescription for the drug in
your system, then H&S Code §11550(a) does not apply and you will only face
charges for a DUI. However, if the drug in your system is illegal or if it
requires a prescription which you don’t have, then things could get ugly.
Usually, if someone is arrested ONLY for being under the
influence of a controlled substance, they can avoid the 90-day jail sentence by
successfully completing a state approved drug treatment program; either
Proposition 36 or P.C. 1000. However, if the complaint also include a
non-drug-related offense, such as DUI, then you cannot enroll in Proposition 36
drug treatment and if you have ANY prior drug charges you are also ineligible
for PC 1000. Therefore, if you are convicted of BOTH a DUI and H&S Code
§11550(a), you may face a mandatory jail sentence of 90 days, even if the DUI
is a first offense DUI.
At the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro we regularly handle these
“mixed complaint” cases. If our client is ineligible for drug diversion then to
avoid the mandatory jail we must either convince the District Attorney’s office
to dismiss the H&S Code §11550(a) charge as part of a plea bargain or go to trial an prevail on EITHER the
DUI charge or the H&S Code §11550(a) charge. Because of our willingness to
go to trial and our winning record when we do go to trial, we have been very
successful at convincing the DA to drop the H&S Code §11550(a) charge.
If you face charges for driving under the influence of drugs
or alcohol in Orange County
Law Offices of EJ Stoyro
Orange County DUILawyersDrunk Driving Attorney in Orange County
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