DUI Arrest, What Can One Do?

Parent Cafe
1

Hello all. Might be the wrong forum, but I need advice from the adults on the website.

My friend’s dad was just stopped and detained on DUI charges. He hasn’t told me the specifics, since he’s having trouble handling the situation with his mother. I assume that his father submitted to the alcohol testing, and that led to his detainment.

I’ve already told him what I could gather (keep in mind this is for the state of CALIFORNIA): first time offenders risk a 4 month suspension, and he has a 10 day period after the arrest to request a hearing, which I think is highly recommended.

Now, I seen that he could be issued an order of suspension with a 30 day temporary license. Does this happen if his license gets revoked/suspended? What should his next step be? I think consultation for DUI attorneys is free, so I recommended he go to one as soon as possible, but what else should I tell him?

There’s one more thing: his dad is a truck driver, with a commercial license. Now, he wasn’t detained while operating a commercial vehicle, but this is still bad for him. While he can request a special license at a DMV field office to go to and from work, his work itself involves operating a vehicle.

I am not defending his father’s drunk driving, but suspension of his license would be DISASTROUS to my friend’s family. We come from the same place; both our families are very low income (23-25k/yr), and his mother has to take care of both his baby brothers, while my friend goes to a CC full time. As such, which is typically the case with Latino families back home, his father is the only source of income their family has. Having his license revoked would essentially render him unemployed, and I don’t want that to happen to him and his family.

Please, any advice for how he can advance, or what he can do would be appreciated.

2

He needs a California lawyer, not a friend of his son’s who is studying to be an engineer giving advise he got from asking strangers on a website, who are also not California attorneys, for advice.

Sorry, this is too complicated for you to handle. Part of the process is criminal and he would be assigned a public defender if he can’t afford a lawyer. The suspension of his license is a civil matter with the DMV and he needs to go through legal aid if he needs help with that.

3

@twoinanddone‌

Trust me, I know this is too complicated for me to handle. But, I know the parent forums usually have people like yourself willing to help point people in the right directions. Thank you.

4

He should see if he qualifies for a public defender, which would be a free attorney provided by the state for people who meet income and asset limitations. He can call the office of the public defender as soon as possible and ask them to help him apply for assistance from them. Good luck! You are a very caring friend but he needs a professional. Click on the link for the county he was ticketed in for contact information.

http://www.cpda.org/County/CountyPDWebSites.html

5

You are caring, but having other people do all the dirty work for him is enabling. He needs to face the consequences of his actions, and part of that is dealing with the legal issues and logistics.

6
  1. He needs to stop drinking.
  2. Get lawyer
  3. Don't say or do anything about this matter other than through his lawyer. Keep mouth shut...let lawyer do all the talking.
7

In most states, refusing to take a breathalyzer or blood test will result in conviction. Submitting to a test might prove you innocent.

I suggest beyond what others said, that is, pursue a public defender or pro bono law service, that your friend’s dad look into advice from his union if it appears he will lose his CDL as well.

And yes, your mind is going to the races and you will NOT be able to help your friend let alone his father. Your only advice should be to have your friend’s father get legal representation, and find out from his work about whether he can continue or not. If the father is in a union, they may have advice.

I also agree about the converse - what the heck was the father thinking to be caught drinking and driving if he drives for a living!!?!?! It is HIM who messed up, and if the incident puts your friend’s family at risk, YES your friend may have to quit school and get a job until his father can return to work.

I know that if I lost my job or my spouse did, it is very likely my son would have to switch colleges or drop out and work. THAT IS REAL LIFE. There are many many people who end up delaying or not going to college because of family circumstances, including death of a parent (possible outcome from drunk driving!) or loss of a job (very possible in the white collar world).

The situation is very sad, but there is very little chance your friend will be able to continue business as usual. They need professional legal advice.

8

I would immediately stop posting info about this on the Internet…anywhere. Your friend’s dad needs a lawyer to tell him what to do, not a bunch of random folks on an Internet forum.

9

(remember that the friend is airing his family’s financial and personal business to his friends - it seems like that family is totally in the dark about these things)

10

He need a lawyer who specializes in criminal cases like this and to go to Alcoholics Anonymous.

11

He needs a lawyer who specializes in DUI arrests. A DUI arrest is not necessarily indicative of an alcohol addiction or abuse at all. We have no information about that. That is not the issue here.

12

Another problem he may run into is his employer’s policy on drivers getting DUI’s.

13

Alleged. Damn it people!

He probably cannot afford not to get a lawyer considering he’s a truck driver. But I imagine any drunk driving conviction, regardless of sentence, will end his career as a truck driver. He will probably need to get into a new line of work.

14

Thanks, all.

@rhandco‌ I know, this isn’t any of my business, so I should be keeping my nose away from it. However, it was my friend who asked me to inquire on his behalf, since he had no idea where to start, otherwise I wouldn’t be here posting any of this. As much as I want to help him, I don’t know much of this either, so I figured asking on CC would be worth a shot, seeing as so many adults congregate to this website.

15

Good luck to him. It is very sad when an adult in a young person’s life lets them down. As amazing as it seems, there is free legal counseling available, but it may be a lot of legwork to get access to it.

If your friend is applying to colleges, the best advice on that is to watch and wait. It is not unusual for someone to lose their job or be laid off for six months, and there is no reason to mention his father’s DUI as the cause of unemployment to the colleges, let alone that his potential for employment may be ruined.

16

OP, he needs to get a lawyer right away. Also, I don’t know about California, but in the state where I live they do not provide defendants with Public Defenders for DUI charges.

17

I don’t think we should be criticizing this student who is just concerned about his friend/family.

Yes, the dad needs to get an atty who specializes in DUIs. And, he shouldn’t talk to ANYONE but his atty.

While getting a DUI is not proof of being an alcoholic, it usually is an indication of being a person who uses poor judgement and DRINKS AND DRIVES. So, it may be helpful for the dad to quit drinking and if his atty can somehow use that to his benefit, then super (don’t know if that’s something an atty would do or not…that’s the counselor’s decision).

18

First, do not discuss the specifics of the case on the web. Second, I highly recommend listening to the advice given above - he needs a lawyer specializing in DUI. If he cannot afford one, and if for some reason he is not entitled to a public defender, check with local law schools that run pro bono law clinics. Those are run by law professors and practicing lawyers with the assistance of upper level law students. He might be able to get some help there. He has nothing to lose by calling and inquiring.

If a lawyer costs him $2-$5K, and the prospect of losing his job costs him significantly more, guess what option is more economically viable?

19

While I agree that paying $2k-5k is better than having no job, what does a low income person do if they don’t quallify for a public defender. Where are they supposed to get the money from?

20

This is what pawn shops and payday lenders are for.

Though, if he’s dead to rights on it (you don’t need to tell us TC, keep it to yourself if you know), he’s probably going to lose his job with or without a lawyer.