DUI Lawyer Compton. If you're up against a DUI in Compton, it can feel overwhelming. This isn't just an administrative issue; criminal charges can result in prison, fines, and additional harsh penalties. If you declined to take an alcohol test, you can face separate charges, and that can even result in tougher penalties. And fighting against a DUI case involving drugs is very different than fighting against a DUI involving alcohol.
Regardless of whether you're innocent or not, you need someone in your corner. Trying to defend yourself against the charges is a problem you shouldn't have to solve without help, which is why the Law Offices of David S. Chesley is here to fight for your rights.
We are California's premier DUI defense lawyers and know the ins and outs of DUI defense strategies that work. When you choose us, you're getting a team of accomplished defense attorneys who know how to defend your rights in the Compton, CA, judicial system and provide paths to positive outcomes.
If you want to build an effective defense, you need to act now. Talk to a lawyer now at (800) 755-5174 or tell us how we can help online to start putting together your defense strategy today.
Compton, CA, DUI Lawyer Traffic Stop Tips:
You may be a careful driver who doesn't violate any traffic laws, but even if you've done nothing wrong, you need to know how to navigate the situation. Here are four tips from a Compton, CA, DUI Lawyer for you to use the next time a police officer stops you on the road:
Tip #1: Be Prepared With Your Documents
Keep your license, insurance card, and vehicle registration together and easily accessible. If you're struggling to locate them and keep hold of them, the officer may think you're intoxicated. When you're already prepared to give them to the officer, you stop yourself from appearing inebriated.
Tip #2: If You or the Officer Smells Alcohol, Don't Speak
You aren't required to answer any questions if the officer says that they smell alcohol. You have the right to remain silent during the entirety of your interactions with the law. Call your DUI lawyer and stay quiet until they arrive.
Tip #3: Don't Automatically Consent to Tests
Participation in field sobriety tests is not required for people over the age of 21 who aren't on probation. If you haven't been arrested, you can decline to participate. However, California does require individuals to participate in in blood and breath tests after they've been arrested, and refusing in these circumstances will lead to an automatic license suspension.
Tip #4: Be Polite and Don't Argue
Acting belligerent and uncooperative won't help — it can end up making your case harder to defend. You should be respectful for more than its own sake, though; it also aids your defense: By acting out or arguing, you are giving the police more evidence, which could contribute to their probable cause to arrest you.
What Happens After a DUI Arrest in Compton?
California DUI Law allows an officer to arrest you independant of your blood alcohol concentration, or even if you don't undergo any tests at all. California allows the police to make a call about whether or not you were driving impaired regardless of your alcohol level, generally with field sobriety tests, then make arrests based on how you do.
Once this happens, 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:
- Suspension: Your license suspension can start the minute the officer arrests you – on the spot, you will be given a 30-day, temporary license, and your actual license will be taken. In the meantime, the police are ensuring that the arrest is added to your DMV record, beginning the formal suspension.
- Arraignment: At some point when you're in jail, you will attend a hearing, and a prosecutor will announce what charges you're up against.
- DMV Hearing: While all of the criminal proceedings are going on, you'll need to set up an administrative hearing with the DMV within 10 days to fight the suspension.
- Pretrial Motions: In most DUI cases, you'll be released in some capacity pending a trial. Meanwhile, your Compton DUI defense lawyer will file pretrial motions, likely including some to review the arrest footage, and a "blood split" motion to have another test run on your blood sample.
- Negotiations With the Prosecutor: Alongside pretrial motions, your DUI defense attorney will work directly with the Compton prosecutor to present you with plea deal offers that could protect your freedom. But if the case goes to trial, your attorney should be building a defense now.
- Criminal Trial: It's unlikely that your DUI case will go to trial, but we don't count on that possibility and will be ready if it does.
- Sentencing/Sealing: Depending on how your case proceeds, you may face some form of sentence. However, if you are found not guilty or enough time has passed, you can explore record clearing options with our lawyers.
Our DUI legal experts can help you out, no matter where you are in the process, on both the criminal defense and DMV side. Whether you've just been arrested or are on the eve of your trial (or anywhere in-between), give us a call so that we can help!
Compton, CA, DUI Differences: Criminal Cases vs. DMV Hearings
Compton, CA, DUI charges can be twice as complicated as some other charges, because of their two-sided nature: The criminal case and the license suspension. In CA, these are always two separate processes, but a skilled DUI defense attorney will help you with both.
Here are some things you need to know about both, and insights into how we protect your freedom and vehicular rights:
Compton, CA, DUI Criminal Charges
Allegedly violating DUI laws will result in criminal charges. And that means you'll have to go to Compton, CA, court.
Criminal cases, including DUIs, all follow the same basic process – first, you're arrested. Second, you're informed of the charges at an arraignment. Third, you go through pretrial motions and negotiations. And finally, if it comes to it, a trial.
At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, we defend your freedom and dissect the allegations. We'll debate the legality of the traffic stop, poke holes in the subjective analysis of the officer, look for weaknesses in the breathalyzer test, and see if there's anything the police missed that can show you are not guilty.
If you're facing jail time in Compton, CA, our attorneys can help you avoid it. For many clients, we'll get the prosecutor to reduce the charges, typically to a wet reckless, exhibition of speed, or reckless driving charge. We'll also search for a deal that protects your freedom and avoids any jail sentence.
Compton, 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 regardless of where you're at in the criminal process, and if you want to fight it, you'll need to request an administrative hearing within ten days of being arrested.
In many cases, the status of your criminal case doesn't have a huge impact on the DMV hearing. In fact, even if you secure a plea deal for a reduced charge, that won't (directly) affect your license suspension. Instead, this administrative hearing is focused on if you were lawfully arrested, if your BAC was at or above 0.08, the legal limit, or, if you refused to blow, whether or not you were properly informed of the consequences. At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, we'll question the legitimacy of the stop, the arrest, and the BAC reading.
Outside of that ten-day window, though, you're out of options. Outside of rare cases, you don't get a second chance to schedule that hearing. This is why it's essential to contact a Compton DUI defense attorney as soon as you can after an arrest.
Potential Penalties for a DUI in Compton
Compton, CA, DUI criminal penalties are intimidating – while some are 'just' 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 facing, depending on how exactly your charged and your history:
| Alleged DUI Offense | Jail/Prison Time | Fine |
|---|---|---|
| First Time DUI | 48 Hours to 6 Months | Up to $1,000 |
| Second Time DUI | 96 Hours to 1 Year | Up to $1,000 |
| Third Time DUI | 120 Days to 1 Year | Up to $1,000 |
| Fourth Time DUI (Felony) | 16 Months to 3 Years | Up to $1,000 |
| DUI Injury (Misdemeanor) | Up to 1 Year | Up to $1,000 |
| DUI Injury (Felony) | Up to 4 Years | Up to $5,000 |
| DUI Manslaughter (Misdemeanor) | Up to 1 Year | Up to $1,000 |
| DUI Manslaughter (Felony) | 4, 6 or 10 Years | Up to $10,000 |
Beyond any sentence that a judge in Compton, CA, sentences you to, you also need to worry about collateral consequences, such as rising insurance rates and potential punitive actions from professional licensing organizations.
DUIs and Immigration
DUI immigration consequences are very serious. The good news is that, currently, a first-time DUI is generally not grounds for removal. 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. For individuals working on the naturalization process, even if you aren't deported, it can count against your "good moral character," which you need to establish before becoming a citizen.
If you're a United States immigrant facing a DUI, you need to stay in the country and contact a Compton, CA, immigration lawyer immediately. At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, we don't stop at just defending you against the criminal charge: We'll explore diversion programs to protect your record, fight against removal proceedings, and guide you through your citizenship application.
After the Case: Expungement/Sealing
Whatever happens in the court case, you'll probably be looking to move on as soon as possible. Unfortunately, your arrest and/or criminal record keeps coming up and getting in your way. Depending on your case outcome, you could have an avenue to either expunge or seal your records. Our Compton, CA, DUI defense team can also assist you with sealing/expunging records, and give you a chance to clean your record.
Top DUI Defense Attorneys in Compton: What You Need to Know
When you're facing DUI charges, it's important to pick the right lawyer to defend your innocence. Your team needs the abilities, background, and relationships to provide the optimal outcome for your case. Here are the main things to look for in your Compton, CA, DUI defense lawyer:
- Experience: Experience gives your attorney knowledge on how to win these cases. At the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, you will work with a team of attorneys including former judges, prosecutors, and police officers, totalling more than 50 years of experience with the law.
- Availability: You shouldn't need to wait till 9 AM on Monday to contact an attorney. You can speak with one of our team members 24/7.
- Relationships: An attorney who knows the local prosecutor can use that relationship to their advantage. Our team will leverage our connections with the prosecutors in Compton and all throughout CA.
- Reputation: Both in the community and in the legal sphere. The Law Offices of David S. Chesley is proud to have received top ratings from several legal evaluators and to be recognized as the top DUI lawyer in California.
- Track Record of Success: Winners win. It's as simple as that. And we win, a lot. In fact, 95% of our DUI cases result in no jail time.
Our recent DUI Case results speak for themselves. We want you to be our next success story.
DUI Case Types We Defend in Compton
Whatever DUI charge you're up against in Compton, CA – our DUI defense attorneys are prepared help you navigate the charges.
Below, you can review a list of the DUI cases we regularly defend:
- Boating Under the Influence
- Breathalyzer Test
- Commercial Driver CDL DUI
- Disorderly Conduct
- Disturbing the Peace
- DMV Hearing Defense
- Driving with a Suspended License
- Driving Without a License
- Driving Without Insurance
- Drug DUI
- Drunk in Public
- DUI Alcohol
- DUI and Professional Licenses in California
- DUI Blood Test Defense
- DUI Causing Injury
- DUI Checkpoint Defense Attorney
- DUI Defense Costs
- DUI Expungement in California
- DUI Immigration Consequences
- DUI License Reinstatement
- DUI Probation Violation
- DUI Marijuana
- DUI Prescription Drugs
- DUI Refusal Cases
- DUI Penalties
- DUI with Child Passenger
- Evasion
- Exhibition of Speed
- Felony DUI
- Field Sobriety Tests
- First-Time DUI
- Fourth DUI Felony Escalation
- Hit and Run
- Hit and Run DUI
- Hit and Run with Injury or Death
- Ignition Interlock Device Violations
- Out-of-State DUI
- Public Intoxication
- Reckless Driving
- Street Racing
- Second Time DUI
- Third DUI California
- Underage DUI
- Watson Murder / DUI Murder
- Wet Reckless
DUI Defense Tactics in Compton, CA
When you work with the Law Offices of David S. Chesley, your Compton, CA, DUI attorney will draw from years of experience with effective defense strategies. There are several defensive tactics available, but not every one will work for your case. Below are some of the most common ones we use.
Contest the Legitimacy of the Arrest
If the police did not follow proper procedure while stopping and examining you, your case could be thrown out on legal grounds. This defense is effective if, for example, you were not read your Miranda rights before an interrogation, anything you said could be thrown out.
Flaws in Chemical Tests
If you were arrested and given a breathalyzer, blood, or urine test, that can be the center of the prosecution's case. Our team will look into any potential procedural errors, re-examine the evidence to look for alternate explanations, and advocate for you during the discovery process to identify flaws in the state's evidence.
Challenge Field Sobriety Tests
Field sobriety tests, like 'horizontal gaze nystagmus,' are a widely-recognized way of evaluating somebody's level of impairment. But these tests are subjective. We will examine the evidence and point out situations where law enforcement unfairly failed our clients on these tests.
Explain BAC With Medical Conditions
It's easy to feel like you're out of options if you were tested and your BAC was .08 or higher. While properly conducted BAC tests are hard to disprove, we won't give up yet. 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 – Speak With Our Compton DUI Defense Attorneys RIGHT AWAY
When you're up against Compton DUI charges, it can feel like you don't even have time to think. You lose your license, you could find yourself in an interrogation room, you're given a court date…it's easy to be stressed out. And that's why it's all the more important to call aCompton, CA, DUI attorney right away.
Don't give up and let the district attorney win. 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 defend you.
We're experts at defending all Compton, CA DUI charges. We're equipped with the tools to build your case right now and will begin protecting your license and your liberty now. Talk with one of us now at (800) 755-5174 or fill out our contact form online for a free case review.
We also provide the following legal services in Compton, CA:
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