DUI Lawyer Azusa, CA

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DUI Lawyer Azusa. DUI law in Azusa is complex. This isn't just an administrative issue; you're also facing jail time, fines, and other penalties. You can face DUI charges even for just refusing to take the tests, and when you refuse, you can face the same penalties as a high blood-alcohol level DUI. And it doesn't matter if it was alcohol, marijuana, or another substance affecting your ability to drive.

If you find yourself in this situation, you don't want to be alone. Trying to navigate the laws and the courts is a fight that you need a team for, which is why the Law Offices of David S. Chesley is prepared for any DUI charges in Azusa, CA.

We are California's best DUI defense lawyers and have over 50 years of combined courtroom experience. When you retain us, you're getting a team of legal experts who know how to navigate the Azusa, CA, judicial system and provide paths to positive outcomes.

If you want to build an effective defense, you need to act now. Get a hold of us right away at (800) 755-5174 or tell us how we can help online to start preparing your defense today.

Azusa, CA, DUI Lawyer Traffic Stop Tips:

Traffic police are just a part of driving. It's not exciting, but knowing what to do if you are in a traffic stop can help you avoid an arrest. Below are four tips from a Azusa, CA, DUI Lawyer for you which can protect you from arrests and charges:

Tip #1: Keep Your Documents Together
After being pulled over, but before the police officer approaches your car, grab your license, vehicle registration, and insurance documentation. With an officer staring you down, asking for documents you may not have had to touch in months, it's easy to get flustered. By following this tip, you stop yourself from appearing inebriated.

Tip #2: Be Silent When Alcohol Is Smelled
You never need to answer a question that might incriminate you. You have Fifth Amendment protections during the entirety of your interactions with the law. Don't talk without an attorney present.

Tip #3: Don't Participate in Field Sobriety Tests, Unless Required
California does not require the majority of people to participate in field sobriety tests, and in fact, you can often refuse without penalty. The two main exceptions are if you are under the age of 21, and/or if you are on probation. If you haven't been arrested, you can decline to participate. However, this isn't the case for every test; if you're already in custody and are asked to perform a breath or blood based test, California law does require you to participate.

Tip #4: Respect the Law Enforcement Officer
Arguing with the officer won't help — it will likely be something you regret. Nobody enjoys being pulled over, but remaining calm and respectful not only makes it easier for the officer; it also benefits your defense: Any time you open your mouth, whether or not the police asked you a question, you are giving the police more evidence, which may help justify an arrest.

What Happens After a DUI Arrest in Azusa?

California DUI Law allows an officer to arrest you independant of your blood alcohol concentration, or even if you don't blow at all. Officers are able to arrest you this way because CA allows them to make subjective judgements, typically via field sobriety tests, then decide whether or not to arrest you based on the results.

Once you've been arrested, the CA legal system will proceed with both a license suspension and criminal charges. Here's the typical process for a DUI case to make its way through the system:

1. Suspension: Your license suspension can begin as soon as you're arrested – when arrested, you will be given a 30-day, temporary license, and you will lose your regular license (at least for now). While you're proceeding through the system, they are contacting the DMV about your DUI arrest, which updates their records to show your license as suspended.
2. Arraignment: After your arrest and before your release, you will attend a hearing, and a prosecutor will tell you the exact laws you're charged with breaking.
3. DMV Hearing: Independant of the criminal charge process, you'll have 10 days after the arrest to contact the DMV for a hearing.
4. Pretrial Motions: Most people accused of DUIs in Azusa, CA, are able to secure pretrial release, although they'll likely need to pay bail. In the interim, your Azusa DUI defense lawyer will laying the groundwork of your defense through motions to suppress unlawfully collected evidence, and a "blood split" motion to reexamine your blood sample.
5. Negotiations With the Prosecutor: While filing pretrial motions, your DUI defense lawyer will communicate with the Azusa district attorney to find a positive outcome for you that avoids a trial through a plea deal. But if the case goes to trial, your attorney should be creating a defense now.
6. Criminal Trial: It's rare that a DUI case will go to trial, but if it reaches that point, we'll have a staunch defense ready for you.
7. Sentencing/Sealing: Depending on how you plea or are found, you may face a punishment. However, if you are found not guilty or enough time has passed, it's possible that your record will be eligible for sealing.

Our DUI legal experts can provide you with advice on the best way to move forward, on both the criminal defense and license side. For advice on any stage with your charges, we have the experience to help you move towards a positive outcome!

Azusa DUI Allegations and Criminal Cases vs. DMV Hearings

Azusa, CA, DUI charges are always a two-pronged challenge: The criminal case and the fight for your license. Different CA organizations cover each of these aspects, but both cases can be fought by the same DUI defense lawyer.

Here are some things you need to know about both, and what our attorneys will do for your liberty and vehicular rights:

Azusa, CA, DUI Criminal Charges

Allegedly violating DUI laws will result in criminal charges, for which you will need to go through the CA legal system.

If you're familiar with the process of other criminal charges, DUI cases follow the same format – after an arrest, you're formally charged in an arraignment, go through pretrial motions/negotiations, and can eventually go to trial.

At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, we present reasonable doubt and attack the accusations. We'll challenge the legitimacy of the traffic stop, display flaws in the officer's analysis, look for contaminations or errors in blood, breath, or urine tests, and hunt for other evidence that can exonerate you.

We have an extremely strong track record of clients who have avoided jail time in Azusa, CA. Commonly, we'll negotiate a plea deal to reduce the charges, typically to a wet reckless, exhibition of speed, or reckless driving charge. We'll also work to give you an alternative to jail, in the form of probation.

Azusa, CA, DUI License Suspension

While it might be tempting to focus exclusively on the criminal case, you also need to consider the DMV and your license suspension. This suspension goes into effect automatically, and to fight it, you'll need to request an administrative hearing within ten days of being arrested.

At the administrative hearing, you're not facing criminal charges. In fact, no matter what the court decision was, it won't automatically give you back your license. Instead, the focus of this hearing is whether or not you were rightfully arrested, if your BAC was at or above 0.08, the legal limit, or, if you refused BAC tests, whether or not you were properly informed of the consequences. When you hire us, we'll work to undermine the legitimacy of the stop, the arrest, and the BAC reading.

After ten days, though, the suspension is probably hear to stay. Outside of rare cases, you don't get another chance to arrange for that hearing. This is why it's important to contact a Azusa DUI defense attorney as soon as you can after the arrest.

DUI Punishments in Azusa

Azusa, CA, DUI criminal penalties can leave a mark on your record for life – even though some are misdemeanors, they can still result in up to a year in jail, or six months for a first offense.

On this table, you can review the different penalties you could be up against, depending on the nature of the allegations:

Beyond any sentence that a judge in Azusa, CA, sentences you to, you also need to worry about collateral consequences, such as loss or increased expense of insurance and career setbacks.

DUIs and Immigration

DUI immigration consequences can be devastating. The level of impact often depends on how many prior offenses are on your record. First-time alleged DUIs don't typically result in deportation. The bad news is that if certain circumstances apply, like DUIs causing injury or repeat offenses, you can qualify for deportation. What's worse, if H.R.875 passes, any DUI can result in removal from the country. If you are trying to become an American citizen, even if you aren't deported, it can set your efforts back by several years.

If you're a United States immigrant facing a DUI, you need to stay in the country and contact a Azusa, CA, immigration lawyer immediately. At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, can provide assistance with all of your legal needs, not just against criminal accusations: We'll explore diversion programs that will protect you from the harshest outcomes, defend you against efforts to expel you from the country, and assist you with the citizenship application process.

After the Case: Expungement/Sealing

Whether you're found innocent or not, you'll want to get back to life as normal, before the charges. It doesn't take long to realize, though, that your arrest and/or criminal record won't go away on its own. Depending on your case outcome, you may be eligible to either expunge or seal your records. Fortunately, if you're in Azusa, CA, our DUI lawyers will also fight to protect you in this way, and give you a chance to clean your record.

When You're Picking a Azusa, CA, DUI Lawyer, Consider These Factors

When you're facing DUI charges, it's vital to pick the right lawyer to represent you. Your team needs the talent, history, and relationships to provide the optimal outcome for your case. When you speak with Azusa, CA, DUI attorneys about your case, ask them about the following:

1. Experience: If it's both for and against the state, even better. At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, our DUI lawyers have previous experience as judges, prosecutors, and law enforcement, totalling over 50 years of experience handling cases.
2. Availability: You should be able to get help fast, whenever you need it. Our team is prepared to help you 24/7.
3. Relationships: Part of getting a positive plea deal is knowing the right people. We have experience working with the prosecutors in Azusa and all throughout CA.
4. Reputation: Not just with clients and friends, but also amongst their peers. We are proud of our reputation with former clients and to be recognized as the top DUI lawyer in California.
5. Track Record of Success: You don't want to trust your case to someone who doesn't know how to win it. Our attorneys do. In fact, 95% of our DUI cases result in no jail time.

Our recent DUI Case results speak for themselves. With us, you can take advantage of a team that knows how to secure positive outcomes for our clients.

DUI Case Types We Defend in Azusa

Whatever DUI charge you're up against in Azusa, CA – the Law Offices of David S. Chesley is prepared to battle against the charges.

Here are some of the DUI allegations we often defend:

DUI Defense Strategies in Azusa, CA

Whatever type of charge you're facing, our Azusa, CA, DUI attorneys can help you fight it. There is no one-size-fits-all defensive strategy against DUI allegations, but below, we've listed out some of the most effective ones.

Contest the Legality of the Arrest
If law enforcement made a mistake while conducting their investigation, we can argue for your case to be dismissed. This defense could be used if, for example, the police officer pulled you over without probable cause, the entire traffic stop could be made invalid.

Flaws in BAC Tests
If you were arrested and given a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test, that can be the center of the prosecution's case. We will highlight the ways that these tests can give false readings, retest in some cases, using a "blood-split" motion, and find any other mistakes law enforcement made that could exonerate you.

Challenge Field Sobriety Tests
Field sobriety tests, like 'one-leg stand,' are a widely-recognized way of evaluating somebody's level of impairment. But you can still challenge them – they are not ironclad proof of guilt. We will audit the test records and look for expert analysis that will show your performance in a more favorable light.

Explain BAC With Medical Conditions
In most cases, law enforcement will follow proper procedure when testing your blood alcohol level. Let's say that this is true for your stop, and your BAC was over the legal limit. This may sound bad, but our lawyers have more defense strategies we can pull from. If you have certain medical conditions, those can cause false positives. For example, some inhalers can artificially raise the amount of alcohol in your breath, depending on how they are used.

Timing is Critical – Talk To Our Azusa DUI Defense Attorneys NOW

DUI allegations are no joke. After you've been charged, it can feel like you don't even have time to think. The police officer takes your license, you might be interrogated, you're given a court date…it's easy to be stressed out. And that's why it's all the more important to get in touch with an attorney right away.

Don't sit by and watch the evidence mount against you. Don't let your license go without a fight. Don't try to handle it on your own. Hire the Law Offices of David S. Chesley to represent you.

We're experts at defending all Azusa, CA DUI charges. We're standing by to answer your call now and will can fight for your license and your freedom as soon as you call. Talk to one of our team members now at (800) 755-5174 or set up an appointment online for a free, confidential consultation.

We also provide the following legal services in Azusa, CA:

• Criminal Defense Lawyer