Daniel Smith

When arrested for a DUI in San Diego or anywhere in California you will receive a pink sheet of paper know to your DUI lawyer as the Admin Per Se DS 367 under Section 13353 through 13389 of the CVC or California Vehicle Code. The pink sheet will serve as your temporary driver license for 30 days after your arrest unless you request a hearing. About two-thirds of the way down the pink sheet it states "YOU HAVE 10 DAYS FROM RECEIPT OF THIS NOTICE TO REQUEST A HEARING TO SHOW THAT THE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION IS NOT JUSTIFIED." If you meet and take advantage of our free consultation at San Diego Defenders, you will meet with me, Attorney Daniel Smith. As a DUI lawyer I am going to ask you to draw a line down the center of a piece of paper and put the "DUI Court" on one side and "DMV ADMIN PER SE" on the other side. Let's say you were arrested on July 4th weekend, for example, and you were given a court date of August 15. Your DMV hearing must be requested by July 14th or you will lose that right to a hearing . The DMV hearing is an administrative proceeding the DMV uses to take away your driving privileges.

Why is scheduling a DMV Admin Per Se hearing so important? Because in doing so, (San Diego Defenders schedules the hearing for you if you retain us as your DUI lawyer and it is included in out flat fee and we have payment plans to make it affordable) you will have certain advantages. In the this short video, I will tell you that the two most important reasons are that we can receive a copy of your BAC or blood alcohol content and a copy of the narrative police reports. This will give us, as your San Diego DUI lawyer, an opportunity to form a defense strategy in advance of your first court date. You do not have to be present at your DMV admin per se hearing when we challenge the DMV's suspension/revocation order and in most cases do not want you to testify under oath when it can be used against you in the court proceedings. So San Diego Defenders will prepare a request for a hearing on behalf of our clients and set the hearing. When we get the reports and the BAC myself or lawyer Jon Pettis will review the police reports with you. The hearing will usually be set beyond the 30 day mark and the temporary license will be extended to the outcome of the hearing and usually 7 days beyond that date. In the worst case scenario on a first time misdemeanor DUI we can instruct our clients on how to obtain a restricted drivers license 30 days after the date the suspension goes into effect. This is a lot of information to put into such a short video, but call us at (619) 258-8888 and you can talk to a lawyer, me, Daniel Smith, and I will answer your questions about your DUI case.


San Diego Defenders
State and Federal Criminal Defense/DUI & DMV Cases
585 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
24 Hrs. (619) 258-8888
Direct Office Line (619) 233-6900
www.sandiegodefenders.com

DUI Arrest Going to Court and What to Expect with Video Evidence. At San Diego Defenders we receive calls from persons arrested for a DUI and are asked, "what happens next?"

This video describes the procedure and timeline for a DUI. First you should draw a line down the middle of the board and write DMV on one side and Court on the other side. You are given a pink sheet of paper at the time of arrest which acts as your temporary drivers permit for 30 days. In another video we will discuss the 10 day time limit in which to request a DMV hearing and how to get a restricted drivers license. On the Court side you are "Court Date" in which to appear where you will be deciding whether to plead Guilty or Not Guilty by the public defender with a limited amount of information, usually you BAC or blood alcohol level and the report from the officer's point of view. If you choose to plead guilty and fall on the sword, you should think of the ramifications down the road on getting a job, applying for a job, and licensing with different agencies.

DUI's carry more ramifications than ever given this age of digital information. If you hire a private lawyer, like San Diego Defenders, we will plead not guilty and ask for all the evidence. It is important to note that for all the court appearances I talk about on this video, with the exception of trial, you do not have to be present. That means you can concentrate on your job, your school, your family and the important things in life while you DUI lawyers are working hard to leave "no stone un-turned" and to find something to leverage against the DA whose has the burden of proof in a warrantless arrest. The most important bit of evidence these days is the video evidence. Video is a real game changer. Video allows the DUI lawyer to challenge the officer's report which may describe the person arrested as slurring their speech and swaying from side to side when the video clearly shows that is not what happened.

Video evidence has changed the way criminal defense attorneys look at every case. After a series of readiness or settlement conferences in which your criminal lawyer negotiates with the DA or City Attorney, we may bring a motion to dismiss based on a violation of your constitutional rights at the time of the arrest. After that motion and perhaps another settlement conference if we cannot get the better plea bargain or result, we may set the case for trial and although not everyone wants to got to trial, it is important that the prosecutor knows that your lawyer is a trial lawyer and will litigate the case unafraid and confident.

At San Diego Defenders, our reputation is that we are trial lawyers and we litigate fiercely in every case. That is one of the hallmarks of our practice. Dan Smith and Jon Pettis are the most successful DUI defense team in San Diego and will work for you on an affordable payment plan for a flat fee that includes trial. With a full commitment to leave no stone un-turned. Call us at (619) 258-8888 for a free consultation and an affordable payment plan in your DUI case.


San Diego Defenders
State and Federal Criminal Defense/DUI & DMV Cases
585 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
24 Hrs. (619) 258-8888
Direct Office Line (619) 233-6900
www.sandiegodefenders.com

San Diego DUI defense attorney Dan Smith explains basic DUI procedure in military setting. We get a lot of questions at the office from sailors serving, active duty, or reserve about DUI’s. Basically there are a couple of ways a DUI can “go down” and three ways they can be adjudicated. So lets talk about it… theres a DUI you can get on base. Lets say you are on North Island on base, you get a little “squirrelly” in your car and you pick up a DUI on base.

That is scenario 1, scenario 2 is you get a DUI in the “civilian” world. You get one at the Gaslamp or Pacific Beach, you leave, you go through a DUI checkpoint and you end up getting a DUI. It results in a DUI charge on this side and it is probably by SDPD. Over here, it might be the MP on base. The way it’ll “go down” is over here on North Island, at the base, is you might go to non-judicial proceedings (NJP) where you can get busted in rank or lose some pay or consequences of not driving off base, but there are some ramifications when reporting to your command. This same DUI can be sent to what they call “civilian court” or the CVB (civil violations bureau) which you can end up in federal court, in which case you will have to handle the case with our help (hopefully) or with a JAG officer. With NJP your command for the most part.

The third scenario would be getting a DUI off base, you’re picked up by SDPD or CHP and these cases end up in what we call “state court”. So, in state court we got a couple of things we have to deal with, not only the state court itself which could result in a Jury Trial, plea bargain or a number of other things. At any rate, it will have ramifications with your command. So, you’re dealing with your proceedings in state court, with the CVB in federal court or with the NJP/command.

So, the ramifications are quite different for each scenario. Come over and talk to us, we’ll explain just exactly what you should do, what might be most helpful. A lot of you are looking at advancing and this is very important to your career. Our job is to save you career and help you get through this mess. There is a lot of different things to maneuver, give us a call at 619-258-8888 and we will explain just how these different scenarios work and which one you are in. Because there are a lot of time you can get a case and you don’t know whether or not you are being sent to CVB or NJP or a combination. Give us a call, we’ll try to straighten all that out for you and help you. Our job is to save your career and help you get where you are going.

Thanks. I am Dan Smith, we are San Diego Defenders and you can reach us at 619-258-8888. Thank you!



San Diego Defenders
State and Federal Criminal Defense/DUI & DMV Cases
585 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
24 Hrs. (619) 258-8888
Direct Office Line (619) 233-6900
www.sandiegodefenders.com

http://SanDiegoDefenders.com Choosing between a Private Attorney or Public Defender.
Welcome everyone to the DUI Minute, a series of educational videos brought to you by San Diego Defenders. Today's subject is private attorney versus public defender. Now I want to tell everyone that public defenders are great people, but they are overworked. They have tons and tons of cases, and many many times they don't have the time to call you back, and certainly if you're a third party they will not call you back. Now what is the difference between hiring a private attorney versus a public defender? Again public defenders are great people. I started as a public defender, a federal public defender, and I know that it's a great way to cut your teeth to really learn the trial process and get a lot of trials in. But the fact of the matter is that a private attorney can give you a little more time. They have the time in their office to talk with you to sit down and explain the entire process much like we're trying to do with these videos. But one of the most important things that I think goes unnoticed most of the time is that people don't realize if you hire a private attorney, for your DUI, to defend you in your DUI, you do not have to go to court in most cases. That means that you can continue working, you can continue taking your baby to the doctor, you can continue doing all the things that are important to you with the restrictions, of course, of what's happening with your license. But you do not have to go through the court process, stand before the judge, talk to the prosecutor and all those things that go with it- all the crowds, so on and so forth. So there is a convenience factor in there. There is of course the comfort of knowing that you've got an attorney that is really on your side and has the time to explain what is going on through every step of the process. So I want to remind you that one of the primary benefits in hiring a private attorney is that you don't have to go to court under California Code 977, and maybe a different code in your state, but you do not have to attend the court appearances. This is not legal advice. If you're seeking legal advice please consult an attorney whether it's myself or anyone else, and then ask specific questions, because every situation is different. Thank you.

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http://SanDiegoDefenders.com Understanding Felony and Misdemeanor DUI in California. A felony DUI is more serious and it sounds more serious. Generally speaking if you're driving under the influence or driving with a greater then .08 blood alcohol content and you get into an accident for instance and somebody gets hauled off in the ambulance, generally speaking that is going to be charged as a felony DUI. I can give you another example: I had a client that was driving along and hit a parked car that was while the individual was changing his tire. The individual got a scrape above his eye, had to be hauled off, and got a couple stitches. That constituted an injury. If it's a DUI with injury generally it will be charged as a felony. The second most common area that you will see a felony DUI charge is when you get to your fourth DUI; it's not a place that you want to be in. But after you get past your third DUI the state can charge your fourth DUI as a felony, and they will be looking for prison time. A misdemeanor DUI again is your typical DUI you hear about from your friends. They might be coming home from the bar, they might be coming home from a party, and they've had a few too many drinks, and they didn't keep count of their drinks, and they get pulled over for let's say weaving within the lane. Let's say they rolled through a stop sign.

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https://SanDiegoDefenders.com Can my California DUI / DWI get Expunged from my DMV Driving Record? Let's say that you suffered a DUI conviction, and you're now going to school, and you have been offered, like one of my clients of who was in nursing school, an opportunity to do what are called rounds or a series of internships in hospitals where they actually work with patients. Well they simply won't allow somebody that's on probation to hold such a position. This can really hold back somebody's career. Although they're getting the education, they need to do the active participation part, the internship if you will, in order to complete the process. So we can go in, an attorney can go in and ask the court to terminate probation. Let's say that you got five years of probation for your DUI conviction, and let's say you're in the second year of your probation, and you're offered this opportunity for the internship. We can go in, make the motion to terminate probation early after you paid your fines, after you have done any community service or a any public works service you are required to do, and finish up the classes and any other requirements under probation. We can get that early termination of probation, we have to have a good reason, but they are very doable. They're not always guaranteed, but very doable. The second thing is an expungement. What is an expungement? Well in California under penal code 1203.4 you're entitled to have a misdemeanor conviction taken off of your record if you make the motion and you have met the requirements. Again this is not legal advice. If you're seeking legal advice please consult an attorney, whether it's myself or anyone else, and then ask specific questions, because every situation is different. Thank you.

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