Few areas of California DUI law create more confusion — and more avoidable damage to defendants — than implied consent. Drivers regularly refuse tests they should have taken, take tests they could have refused, and conflate field sobriety tests with chemical tests in ways that significantly worsen their case. Implied consent applies only after a…
DUI cases are won and lost on evidentiary challenges. The prosecution’s case — driving observations, field sobriety test performance, breath or blood test results, and the arresting officer’s testimony — looks formidable on paper, but each component is built on a foundation of constitutional requirements, regulatory rules, and scientific assumptions that can be tested. California…
A second DUI conviction in California is treated as a substantially more serious matter than a first — under Vehicle Code § 23540, the enhanced penalty structure includes mandatory minimum jail time, longer probation, an 18-month DUI program, automatic ignition interlock requirements, and a license revocation that can run two years. But the threshold question…
A parked car DUI in California is one of the most misunderstood scenarios in criminal defense law — both by the public and by other jurisdictions’ frameworks that get cited as if they applied here. The short answer is that California is one of only a handful of states that does not allow a DUI…
Getting arrested for a DUI or being a part of a DUI accident is indeed a life-changing event. This is certainly something you will want to avoid posting on your social media account like you may do for other things that take place in your life. We know that social media has a large role…
Driving under the influence is against the law in all 50 states, but the punishments are not federally mandated. DUI is a crime, and if your blood alcohol concentration is .08 or higher, you are considered intoxicated. Each state is mandated to have an open container law, as well as laws that determine how to…
Authorities issued 26 citations at a checkpoint in Jurupa Valley last month. The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department set up the sobriety checkpoint at the intersection of 34th Street and Rubidoux Boulevard. It ran from 7 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 21 until 3 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 22. Fifteen of those citations went to unlicensed drivers. Four…
A simple DUI conviction has sparked one of the biggest political scandals of a year, according to the Washington Post. It all began when Travis County, Texas District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg was caught driving drunk in April 2013 with an open container of vodka. She had three times the legal limit of alcohol in her…
Throughout California, and in other parts of the country, law enforcement officers can set up DUI checkpoints on the road. At these checkpoints, officers stop drivers, ask to see their license and registration and possibly test them for intoxication. The purpose of the checkpoints is to reduce the number of DUI accidents and deter DUI…
Many people say that they do not have to be concerned about DUI laws because they will not drink and drive. These individuals assume that because they are innocent of drinking and driving, they are immune from being arrested. Woman Falsely Arrested on DUI Related Charges The case of a Wisconsin woman named Tanya Weyker…
The legal system has its fair share of errors, a reality that can be scary to think about. Mistakes resulting in misleading evidence or wrongful arrests occur more commonly than you think. Examples of mistakes One recent example involves a California man who was arrested and jailed on two separate occasions, several years apart, after…
Earlier this month, six people were arrested after Riverside County Sheriff’s Deputies set up a DUI checkpoint near Perris. The checkpoint was established at Ramona Expressway at Brennan Drive and ran from 8 p.m. Friday to 2 a.m. Saturday. One person was arrested on suspicion of driving while impaired by drugs, one on a domestic…
If you or a loved one is facing criminal charges in Southwest Riverside County, time is critical. Contact the Law Office of Nic Cocis today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation.
