Speed Traps: Can I Avoid A DUI Conviction?

DUI Lawyer in Orange County         

There are many ways to get stopped by law enforcement and subjected to a DUI investigation; you may get stopped at a DUI checkpoint, perhaps you will get pulled over for an equipment violation, or the officer may stop you because he clocked you on radar exceeding the speed limit. DUI Attorneys in Orange County know that in most cases, before proof of a car’s speed that is clocked by a radar unit may be used against the driver, the posted speed limit must have been justified by an engineering and traffic survey conducted within the past 5 years before the date of the alleged speeding violation. (California Vehicle Code Section 40802(a)(2)) In some instances the speed survey needs to be conducted within the past seven or 10 years.

When a driver is pulled over because his speed was clocked with a radar unit and the driver is subsequently arrested for a DUI (drunk driving), the driver’s Orange County DUI Lawyer should argue that the traffic stop was unlawful and that it was a violation of the statutory exclusionary rule in the “speed trap” law. An Orange County DUI Attorney   can do this by filing  suppression motion under Penal Code Section 1538.5, which is a request to the DUI court to throw all the evidence out. However, there IS case law that the Orange County courts can cite which holds that the speed trap exclusionary rules of Vehicle Code Sections 40803 and  40804 only apply when the defendant is charged with speeding, and do not apply when the charge is DUI, even if the defendant’s rate of speed in the speed trap led to the initial traffic stop. People v. Hardacre (2004) 1116 Cal.App.4^th 1292. 

Although the Orange County courts fall under the jurisdiction of the 4^th District Court of Appeal in Santa Ana, the judges will still follow law from other appellate districts. Therefore, although your DUI Lawyer in Orange County should still bring the motion to suppress, there is a good chance that the motion will be denied.
If you are charged with a DUI, DUI with injury, or a DUI drugs call the Law Offices of EJ Stopyro today for a free and confidential telephonic consultation with a DUI Attorney in Orange County. You can discuss possible defense in your case and learn what your options are. Or visit our website at www.EJEsquire.com.

Orange County DUI lawyers