Once you’ve been stopped by a San Francisco police officer for a possible DUI, the officer has already made a decision that he or she has probable cause to stop you.  As you roll down your window to talk to the officer, and the officer smells alcohol on your breath, the likelihood that you can leave at that point is slim.  And then you begin to speak.

The most damaging evidence in a DUI case are the statements you make to the officer.  Admissions of drinking, the amount you’ve consumed, and other responses to questions the officer is asking you.  A San Francisco DUI attorney is going to try to determine if these damning statements can be suppressed under Miranda.

In a situation where you have been “arrested” the officer must give you your Miranda advisals:  telling you that you have the right to remain silent, seek advice of an attorney, that anything you say can be used against you.  The question becomes “when” you’ve been arrested.  In a DUI case, the officer most likely has determined you are under the influence based on errative driving, slurred speech, the smell of alcohol, and other usual factors.  Additional questions are asked in an effort to further allow you to incriminate yourself, and have the statements used against you in court.  Without the advisals.

A qualified San Francisco DUI attorney will determine which statements are “spontaneous” and thus allowed into a trial, and those which are solicited after you are technically under arrest.  Those statements can be suppressed because they were made without the Miranda advisal.

Beyond the obvious advice, which is to say nothing other than your name during an arrest, sometimes that advice goes out the window when you are in a panic, or are attempting to get out of a DUI at the road stop.  It doesn’t work.  If you remain silent, there are no statements to suppress.  If you talked too much, hire a DUI attorney to get those statements thrown out.

It’s 2 a.m. in the morning, and you have been out and about in San Francisco, and it’s time to drive home to the Marina District.  You know you have had too much to drink, but you get in your car anyway.  You drive one block and are in a residential area.  You stop your car, turn the engine off, and fall asleep.

Later an officer taps on your window, and begins the DUI stop procedures.  You are arrested for DUI.  But you weren’t driving.  Can you get out of a DUI conviction?  Maybe.  Maybe not.

You may not know this, but you can be convicted of a DUI even if you aren’t operating, moving or driving a motor vehicle.  The issue is whether you have control of the vehicle.  This comes into play if you have the car keys, either in the ignition or within reach.  In addition, you are in control if you are in the driver’s seat.  More obvious signs are a running engine, or stopped in traffic, asleep, or having been observed by a police officer driving.

Other circumstances are less obvious.  Sitting on your car hood or fender.  Sleeping in the back seat.  Again the issue is control.  You do not need to be seen driving by an officer.

What it all comes down to is the issue of driving and control – a fact issue.  A good San Francisco DUI attorney can help to sort through the facts and the law, and fight to throw out the charge.  It’s never cut and dried.

You’ve been charged with a DUI after a night out in the Mission in San Francisco.  You have a court hearing coming up.  The San Francisco police officer gives you a citation, along with your temporary driver’s license.  What else could go wrong?

At the arraignment hearing, you receive your trial information, telling you what you are charged with.  You notice a few extra things.  These are called enhancements or aggravating factors.  They are either charged by the District Attorney or added later by the judge.  They are meant to increase the punishment of the DUI.

Some examples:  Driving under the influence with children in the car.  Soeeding or driving reckless.  Having a blood alcohol level above a certain level.  Refusing a test for measuring blood alcohol content.  Being in an accident, or worse, causing injury to another person, even one who is a passenger in your car.

If you haven’t consulted with a qualified San Francisco DUI attorney yet, now’s the time.  Any one of these enhancements could result in additional fines, additional jail time, or increased time in revocation of your license.  Don’t try to handle this on your own.  A qualified DUI attorney can try to eliminate the enhancements, challenge the arrest itself, or do other legal maneuvers to your benefit.

Sheriff Tommy Thomas has been accused of being racist due to some emails that were discovered.
You decide for yourself:  http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/feature?section=news/13_undercover&id=6231156
As you may remember from other blogs, the Harris County Texas Sheriff has been criticized and sued.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yxf67bhoVVg

Thanks to Harrisonburg Virginia DWI Attorney Bob Keefer, www.BobKeeferLaw.com, for keeping me informed of this apparent abuse of police power.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Department had to know that conducting surveillance on Plaintiffs in a civil rights violation suit was wrong.

The Ibarra brothers, a local business owner and a Judge sued Harris County.

Business Owner Loyd Henderson was a plaintiff; his security camera showed Henderson being shoved to the floor and cuffed without warning by a Harris County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Henderson had called the Sheriff’s Departmetn for help after a robbery.

Municipal Judge April Walker was also a Plaintiff in that suit; Judge Walker was arrested after calling the Sheriff’s Office for help.

The Deputy that was called to help calm a neighborhood dispute threw Judge Walker to the ground and handcuffed her.

Judge Walker was charged with impersonating a public officer and assault on a police officer.

The Ibarro Brothers, as mentioned in an earlier blog, were arrested while videotaping the arrest of a neighbor.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1V74ZjZ74o

Harris County Texas Sheriff’s Deputy Craig Miller was killed in an unfortunate motor vehicle collision on February 21, 2008.

Deputy Miller was on his way to relieve another Deputy conducting surveillance on a suspected criminal activity.

Jose Vieyra, driving a box truck, pulled out onto Katy Freeway in Houston, Texas, in front of Deputy Miller.

Deputy Miller did not attempt to brake as there were no skid marks in his lane; Miller passed away at the scene.

Vieyra was charged with criminally negligent homicide.

Now the Rest of the Story:

- Deputy Miller was not wearing his seatbelt,

- Deputy Miller had a .27 blood-alcohol content,

- Vieyra had a valid driver’s license at the time of the accident,

- Vieyra had no criminal record,

- Initially Sheriff’s Dept. indicated that the .27 would not effect Vieyra’s charge,

- Charges against Vieyra, in light of Deputy Miller’s .27 bac,were dismissed,

- Vieyra may be deported as his papers had expired.

Harris County is known for its surveillance efforts:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1V74ZjZ74o

Thanks to Harrisonburg DWI Lawyer Bob Keefer, www.BobKeeferLaw.com, for providing us with this information.

You have your first court date in San Francisco Superior Court coming up.  It’s the arraignment, where you’ll get a copy of your charges filed by the District Attorney.  The judge asks you what your plea is.  You just want this all to end.  What are your options?

If you plead guilty, the judge will then find you guilty of a DUI.  You will be sentenced on that day to jail time, huge fines, a DUI three month course, probation, and a permanent conviction on your record. 

This is guaranteed.  And you will have done it without the benefit of seeing the police report, or testing the BAC results, or seeking the advice of a San Francisco DUI attorney.  And once it’s done, there’s little chance of going back and changing your mind.  It’s over.

Fighting your case will allow a qualified San Francisco DUI attorney to review the evidence, talk with the District Attorney, and do everything possible to affect the outcome of your case to your advantage.  Perhaps the officer had no reason to stop you at 2 a.m. in the morning on Geary Boulevard in the Richmond District.  Perhaps the BAC device is defective, and that 0.08 is really a 0.05.  Maybe the witnesses in the case are unavailable for trial.

In the end you have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. Don’t go into a DUI charge alone.  A DUI conviction will plague you long after that first scary court appearance.

You’ve gone out for drinks in San Francisco.  Later, on the ride home through the SOMA district, you get stopped by the San Francisco police.  You are arrested, and a subsequent Blood Alcohol Content test has you at 0.14, over the legal limit in California.  When you are arrested in California, there are two different cases:  the criminal case and the Department of Motor Vehicle administrative case.

You must request a DMV hearing within ten days of your arrest.  Otherwise you automatically lose.  By losing, you lose your license for 120 days.  You also need to obtain SR-22 insurance proving you in fact have insurance.  You will need to obtain proof of enrollment in a DUI school for at least three months.

If you have a DMV hearing and win, and you win your criminal matter, then nothing will happen to your license.  If you, however, lose your DMV hearing, but win your criminal matter, you still need to get the SR-22 insurance proof, take the DUI school, and have your license suspended.  Why?  Because the DMV case and the criminal matter are completely separate, and one does not effect the other.

Hiring a qualified DUI attorney in San Francisco will help guide you through the maze of the DUI laws, and explain the consequences of every possible result from a DUI arrest.

You are applying for a new job.  You are asked if you have ever been convicted of a crime.  You remember back to that DUI you got when you were out on the town in the Richmond District in San Francisco three years ago.  You have to admit that you have a DUI.  Say good bye to that job.  Even if the question isn’t on the application form, your potential employer will run a criminal background check, and that DUI will be there.

What do you do?  One option is to expunge your DUI record from your criminal history.  If you have successfully completed probation, paid all your fines, committed no other crimes (other than traffic infraction tickets) you can petition the court to expunge or erase the conviction.  When the Court grants your petition, you can mark “No” on an employment application asking for criminal conviction. 

The expungement does not free you from future enhancements if you get another DUI, nor does it prevent you from admitting to a conviction that was expunged for certain California licenses and immigration applications.  But it does allow you to lessen the burden of a prior conviction to let you get that job you want.

A qualified San Francisco DUI can explain the process of expungement and its benefits, and prepare your petition.

Whether you are driving in the Richmond District in San Francisco, or asleep at the wheel in the Mission District, it is important to know what exactly is “drunk driving” in California.

The legal definitions of “driving” and “drunk” can be inteprreted in many ways.  You can be driving even though you are approached by a police officer in a parked park with the engine off, or in an accident with the keys out of the ignition.  The key is whether the police, and the District Attorney, can place you in the driver’s seat.

Being “drunk” doesn’t necessarily mean having a lot of drinks in the SOMA area.  The key is whether you are legally impaired.  This can be accomplished not only by alcohol, but illicit drugs, prescribed drugs, cough mediicine, or other substances which impair your ability to drive.

Obviously, once you have been arrested and charged with a DUI, a qualified DUI attorney in the San Francisco area can help determine whether you fall into the legal definitions under the law.