Sacramento DUI Case Results • California DUI Penalties

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Sacramento DUI Case Results

DUI Arrest and Charges
20 year old college student just trying to get home after being out with friends. Said he thought it would be as easy as every other night but this time he got caught. Law enforcement cited drifting onto white line as the reason for the stop. Officer reported failed field sobriety tests, breath test at the scene of .181/.188 and a later blood test of .19. Case was filed as a standard first offense DUI

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence 6 months jail, approximately $4000 in fines, and a 1 year driver’s license suspension for being under 21

Case Conclusion
Criminal charges dismissed and driver’s license returned. The driving privilege was restored after successfully arguing the stop was no good at a DMV APS hearing. Following that, the matter was set for a suppression motion in the Sacramento County Superior Court. The motion was granted by a judge after the officer’s testimony and our presentation of evidence and the law we believed applied.

DUI Arrest and Charges
28 year old female entertaining a friend from out of town. Friend didn’t feel well, so they decided to go home. On the way home, friend said she was going to be sick and driver pulled over so that friend wouldn’t throw up in the car. Officer saw the unusual driving followed by friend opening doo and throwing up. Officer cited welfare check as the reason for the contact. Bad field sobriety tests, breath test at the scene of .106/.113 followed by .08/.08 at the jail. The case was filed as a standard first offense DUI.

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence of 6 months jail, and approximately $4000 in fines along with DMV license suspension.

Case Conclusion
After many months, expert testimony at a DMV APS hearing and some favorable evidence discovered through the use of subpoenas, the DMV gave the driver’s license back. The criminal case was resolved as a Wet Reckless.

DUI Arrest and Charges
27 year old male got off work met friends for drinks at a nearby restaurant/bar He was stopped for following too closely by two CHP officers that this office is watching very closely, for what we believe is an overly aggressive search for people to stop. Reported failed field sobriety tests followed by breath sample on the PAS device of .086/.089 and a blood test at the jail 30 minutes later of .09. Case was filed as a standard first offense DUI.

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence 6 months jail, $3000 in fines, Driver’s license suspension for 6 months

Case Conclusion
The case was resolved as a wet reckless with no loss of license following an acquittal of VC23152(b). The video of the stop showed the clients car following too closely but provided an argument that it was in stop and go traffic. The video also provided audio that helped demonstrate the client was not impaired. It also showed the officer failed to follow certain procedures that damaged the prosecution’s case.

DUI Arrest and Charges
32 year old male stopped for not using turn signal and for crossing five lanes of traffic at once. He tested 080/.079 PAS (Preliminary Alcohol Screening) at scene and .08/.08 breath test on machine later at jail (40 minutes after the stop.) The DA filed this case as a standard 1st Offense DUI.

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence 6 months jail, $3000 in fines, Driver’s license suspension for 6 months. Driver is also employed by national company requiring a driver’s license and even a Wet Reckless conviction would have caused him to lose his job of many years

Case Conclusion
Successfully argued margin of error in breath test devices, questionable stop, reasonable field sobriety tests. Case dismissed with acquittal on .08 or higher, saving client the cost of expert testimony at a DMV hearing. No fines, no jail time & no driver’s license suspension

DUI Arrest and Charges
35 year old wife and mother of young children stopped for failing to use turn signal, swerving in lane, onto fog line and nearly striking center median.  Officer wrote strong odor of alcohol, glossy, red, watery and bloodshot eyes, along with thick speech.  He also said she failed the Field Sobriety Tests.  The Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) test had numbers of .090/.091 at 2:14/2:16am and the evidentiary test on the Drager 7110 was .090/.090 at 2:32/2:34am.  The DA filed the case as a standard first offense DUI.

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence 6 months jail, $3000 in fines, Driver’s license suspension for 6 months, an Ignition Interlock Device requirement for 5 months, and  an additional DMV APS suspension.

Case Conclusion
Argued the observed driving was not related to actual impairment and was explainable.  There was an insufficient observation period between time of stop and initial breath test, in that the officer failed to wait the required 15 minutes.  Some evidence indicated that there may have been a rising blood alcohol defense.  Lastly, the manner in which the Field Sobriety Tests were described indicated the officer may lack the training required to properly administer them.  The criminal case was resolved as a Wet Reckless with an Acquittal on the .08 or higher charge of VC23152(b), which was necessary to preserve the driving privilege.  The way the case was resolved avoided the need to install the Ignition Interlock Device and the equally expensive SR-22 that DMV would have required had she lost her license

DUI Arrest and Charges
26 year old male stopped after midnight for turning wrong way from an alley onto a one way street in downtown Sacramento.  Drug Recognition Officer wrote in report that there were symptoms of impairment from cannabis. Client disclosed medical condition to the officer that our office determined might be related to an inability to perform certain field sobriety tests. Urine sample showed the presence of a marijuana metabolite. DA filed case as a Standard 1st Offense drug DUI..

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence 6 months in jail, $3000 in fines, Driver’s License Suspension for 6 months from date of conviction.

Case Conclusion
Case was set for trial.  Medical evaluation done on client showed impairment in motor skills due to his medical condition.  District Attorney’s Office dismissed case for insufficient evidence. No DUI conviction and client’s driving privilege preserved.

DUI Arrest and Later Rejection of Charges by District Attorney
22 year old male was arrested for DUI after he made a complete stop at a flashing yellow light rather than just proceeding with caution. Additionally, there were more people in the car than legally allowed. The breath test at the scene registered .083/.086 BAC and a later blood test came back at .08. After a delay of three months and a second screen for drugs, the Sacramento District Attorney rejected the case

DUI Penalties Still Faced After Rejection of Criminal Case
With the criminal charges rejected this client still faced a potential 4 month loss of license or a 1 month suspension followed by a 5 month restriction, if he was willing to sign up and complete a DUI for $593.00

Case Conclusion
Argued a rising blood alcohol defense, with the assistance of an expert. The expert testified that, based on the totality of the circumstances, it was more likely than not that the blood alcohol level at the time of driving was less than .08. Fabulous result for this new college graduate beginning a career without the disability of a criminal record or loss of driver's license. Special thanks to the DA that made the favorable filing decision and the DMV hearing officer that considered the evidence presented.

DUI Arrest and Charges
22 year old male stopped for loud music, veering to the left and straddling a bike lane before starting to make a turn onto a one way street in the wrong direction.  He tested .117/.109 on the PAS (Preliminary Alcohol Screening) device at scene and .11 by urine 38 minutes later.  Additionally, a toxicology report showed 11-nor-9-carboxy-THC (Active ingredient in marijuana.)  DA filed this case as a standard 1st offense DUI.

DUI Penalties Faced
Maximum sentence 6 months jail, $3000 in fines, Driver’s license suspension for 6 months.

Case Conclusion
Argued invalid urine test for purpose of showing the blood alcohol level at the time of driving because the officer failed to have client void his bladder before providing the sample.  DMV set aside the license suspension based on this argument.  The criminal case was resolved as a Wet Reckless.