See, lots of advice from people who aren’t California lawyers.
DUIs have two components,1) the criminal charge (and those qualified will be appointed a public defender as that is a right if it is a felony and jail time is possible) and 2) the administrative side with possibly of losing his license (no public defender, but possible legal aid or, as suggested, the law students). A DUI attorney you pay for will know how to handle both components. A cheaper one is going to take the ‘standard deal’, which will be based on the charge (DUI/DWAI, and the BAC will determine whether the license will be suspended or not), a more expensive one may not be any better because the cheaper ones do hundreds of cases a year and know the system. The entire thing will cost him no matter how you look at it. Added insurance fees, fines, and worst case, loss of job. He will be better spending more for a better outcome.
If he really makes that little,with a family, I’m sure he’ll qualify for a public defender. I can’t believe he can support a family on that, so maybe your friend doesn’t know what he makes. A single person making that might not qualify, but a head of household might.
As far as his job, I guess the mom needs to get out and look for work, dad can watch the young ones if he can’t go to work. He can also look into job training for a non-driving career.
Advise him to apply for public defender, and have his wife hit the job hunt. Sorry to be so blunt, but that’s the reality. When my SIL’s hubby lost his job, he became the baby watcher, it’s not so unusual.
One doesn’t have to be an alcoholic to get help from AA. Someone who abuses alcohol (which may or may not be the case with the father of the OP’s friend) can benefit from meetings. When alcohol interferes with how you live your life, you have a problem. Clearly, alcohol has interfered with this man’s life. AA can help and it is free.
Absolutely need to get a skilled DUI attorney. The OP’s friend might have simply had bloodshot looking eyes from driving his truck too long while working…not from drinking. Field tests and alcohol tests might have been inaccurate. Could have been a bad or over zealous cop doing arrest. All sorts of stuff could have occurred that OP’s friend is really innocent of charge. Or, guy was drinking and lawyer will help him from getting overly slammed by a judge or prosecutor.
I’m not making light of DUI…it is so stupid drinking and driving. The OP’s friend, if he was indeed drinking and driving, should count his lucky stars he wasn’t in a wreck that seriously injured someone or killed someone. A couple of drinks, and you seriously hurt someone … you can end up doing hard time in a state penitentiary!
For the best chance for the best resolution all around, he needs to get a lawyer. It is indeed a very good possibility that he will lose his job. Happened to our cousin who needed to drive for his HVAC job. When he got in trouble with DMV, he lost his job and never was able to get back into it. It was a defining down turn in his life, and yes, his wife, children and family all suffered. So it is when a family member gets into trouble with the law. That’s why a well connected attorney is essential. Sometimes, by bringing in the outside details, some less severe sentence or accommodation can be made
But really, any company who has drivers cannot afford to have drives with that kind of blotch on the record. If he gets into any trouble this way, the company would get reamed, knowingly having someone with that kind of past incident driving around professionally. So, this is likely to have a lot of very long lasting bad consequences.
Yes, this fellow may be in a jam. The number of mouths eating and one 23k yr. income earner paying for groceries is one of the factors in their disposable income(family of 5?). The alleged drinking and driving can be dangerous and can be costly. But one cannot go back in the past to make different financial decisions, or family decisions.
The opinion to seek an atty specializing in DUI sounds likes an excellent idae to me, to move forward.
It’s an old expression that we can only play cards that are dealt; but once they are dealt, let’s play them the best way we can.
Agree. I worked for a personal injury law firm for one year while I was pregnant with D1. When any kind of company vehicle is involved in an accident which involves injury, they always investigate the driver. And the language in their suits ALWAYS included the words “Defendant knew or should have known that its driver…”
If he’ll lose his job either way (which sounds like will be the case), then it will be difficult for them to pay or justify borrowing money for an outcome that may still leave the H unemployable. Unless there is some other work options for him, this family probably now feels like they’re backed into a corner.
It’s amazing how many people never consider the consequences of drinking and driving and getting a DUI. In my state, it is often advertised that a DUI can cost you up to $15k and loss of job.
If this family is facing the possibility of $15k to defend the dad, getting private counsel will probably not happen.
IF this dad keeps his mouth shut but is able to get an attorney thru legal aid or public defender or elsewhere, he MAY be able to see if there is ANY way to keep this off his record by good behavior going forward over a set period of time or similar. This is something best explored with an experienced attorney who does these types of cases in the area in which he receivd his citation.
As was mentioned, this is a very serious situation and the dad and family should keep their mouths shut and that dad needs to see if he can get help from legal aid or public defender or any union he may be a member of. This is a tough situation that has VERY serious implications for the family.
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This is a tough situation that has VERY serious implications for the family.
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Which is why people need to really take this all very seriously. I think too many people ask themselves, “hmmm, can I drive? Yes, sure, I wont’ get in an accident”, but they don’t realize that even a slight buzz (or even no buzz) can put them over the legal limit.
Goto the traffic court where he will be trialed, lurk around, there will be a lot of lawyers looking for clients around there. Attend few court sessions to see if those lawyers are good or not. If they “live” by the court, they should know the traffic law the best.
You also should interview a few to find out their credentials and fees.
He needs an attorney. I recently had the “opportunity” to hang around the traffic court (not DUI) and things in front of the judge move too quickly to learn much on the spot about process or who’s good. You need a lot of background research to understand what can happen vs what may or may not. It can depend on how his infraction is presented and what else applies. None of us know enough about this particular case to say more than we have.
He starts looking for an attorney with plenty of experience in this, not some newbie. Most will let you know how much they’ve dealt with DUI (the specific attorney, not the firm.) They will also know the judges. This quote underscores the absolute need for legal representation, for CA DUI: “The state of California does allow reduction of DUI charges to lesser criminal or driving offenses in limited instances. For more information and insight, consult with a California first offense DUI lawyer.” It’s like having an expert translator.
And whatever is learned through all this, the guy needs to take it seriously, learn from it.