DUI - BAC level 0.07

[dui_dude]

I talked to a defense attorney. He said that he could get me a dry wreckless at the least. He was charging 7.5K .... is that reasonable ? what are the average rates ? It's a first time charge against me.

[seniorjudge]

Why did you purposely delete your state?

[dui_dude]

Originally Posted by seniorjudge

Why did you purposely delete your state?

oops sorry .... it's California. Santaclara county

[SillyPuddy]

At the price for a plea down, I'd take the DUI.

[dui_dude]

Originally Posted by SillyPuddy

At the price for a plea down, I'd take the DUI.

Well the attorney said that I should be able to get a "Wet Reckless" on my own without his services. The only reason I would hire an attorney is if he could remove the

1.) "alcohol" part of the crime,
2) save my car insurance
3) No points on DMV

Do you guys think 7.5k is worth it or should I shop more and bargain for the fees ?

[moburkes]

He's not saving your car insurance premiums.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by dui_dude

Well the attorney said that I should be able to get a "Wet Reckless" on my own without his services.

That may or may not be true ... a "wet reckless" is not a charged offense, it is a plead offense.

The only reason I would hire an attorney is if he could remove the

1.) "alcohol" part of the crime,
2) save my car insurance
3) No points on DMV

There is no way that an attorney can guarantee ANY of those.

If you go to trial and prevail on the charge of CVC 23152(a), then all the above would come into play. Otherwise, any conviction - including a wet reckless - would count against you in all three areas.

I doubt he can guarantee a reckless driving conviction (CVC 23103 as opposed to the wet reckless of CVC 23103.5) though I suppose it is possible. However, there are many DA's that feel reluctant to accept a plea to an offense whose elements have not been met. I cannot recall the details of your stop, but unless you were weaving all over the road and potentially a danger to others, the elements of 23103 were not likely met.

Oh, and $7,500 seems awfully high for a plea deal!

- Carl

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by dui_dude

I talked to a defense attorney. He said that he could get me a dry wreckless at the least. He was charging 7.5K .... is that reasonable ? what are the average rates ? It's a first time charge against me.

**A: no, so negotiate. Maybe offer to buy him/her a few drinks at the local watering hole.

[dui_dude]

Originally Posted by CdwJava

I cannot recall the details of your stop, but unless you were weaving all over the road and potentially a danger to others, the elements of 23103 were not likely met.

Oh, and $7,500 seems awfully high for a plea deal!

[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?t=372761&page=3[/url]

This was my case ... if that reminds you. I am not sure why he said 7.5K ?? He asked me what i did for a living ? Al I said was that I am engineer ..... Is it possible it's based on that ?

[dui_dude]

Well I entered the wrong side of the road, because my GPS told me to take a left turn and i entered the wrong lane and could not correct myself because of the barriers between the two sides of the road. I then stopped my vehicle on seeing a car in front of me about 20-30 meter away. It was a cop car standing. He did not want to talk about driving on the wrong way and straight over questioned me about drinking. I said Yes to it and ofcourse followed with an arrest at BAC 0.07

Another question. As I agreed to the officer that I drank 2 glasses, and ofcourse I was driving. So technically I "was" driving with alcohol, irrespective of the fact if I was impaired or not. So, my question is how can my defense lawyer "fight this statement" for section 23152.a. The statement in that section holds for me. What would make a DA 'not' charge me for at least that section ? I don't see how its possible .... but I am no Lawyer and No cop to have seen such scenarios either. Could you please enlighten me.

Thanks

[rissaface]

i was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign (in California) and i had a front headlight out. the cops asked if i was drinking i said i did have a couple of drinks. i took the blood test after being arrested and a week later found my bac to be .07 i looked into hiring lawyers and they told me i would get a dui if i went to court without them. i was looking at paying 5k (which later everyone told me was too much). i went to court without a lawyer to see what charges they brought against me, i had intentions of asking for continuance as soon as i found out. i got to court only to find out the D.A. had not made a decision. It has been 9 months. If the D.A. doesn’t make a decision a year from my arrest then all charges are dropped. i was given the advice not to get a lawyer from this forum and it has so far saved me 5k.
i currently have a friend who is in DUI classes and one of the guys in his class got out of his first DUI (which involved running into parked cars) because the DA did not do anything within the year.

I know of two people who only paid 2k for the lawyers. i would really consider the cost if you are going to get a lawyer.

[dui_dude]

Originally Posted by rissaface

i was pulled over for rolling through a stop sign (in California) and i had a front headlight out.

What county was it in ?

If the D.A. doesn’t make a decision a year from my arrest then all charges are dropped. i was given the advice not to get a lawyer from this forum and it has so far saved me 5k.

Well, I had called the DA's office and they said that they are going ahead and filing the charges against me.

I know of two people who only paid 2k for the lawyers. i would really consider the cost if you are going to get a lawyer.

Again, which county was it ? Could you give a brief info about their BAC level and how the Lawyers fared in their benefit.

[dui_dude]

Originally Posted by CdwJava

That may or may not be true ... a "wet reckless" is not a charged offense, it is a plead offense.

There is no way that an attorney can guarantee ANY of those.

I agree, but what are the probabilities of him being able to clear me off DUI or even get the charges cleared.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by dui_dude

I agree, but what are the probabilities of him being able to clear me off DUI or even get the charges cleared.

No one can possibly answer that question.

- Carl

[dui_dude]

Originally Posted by CdwJava

No one can possibly answer that question.

- Carl

I agree ... I meant have you seen cases where it was so obvious the guy had alcohol but was not charged or given a traffic violation. Like in my case, I agreed to having 2 glasses of drink and was driving in the wrong direction.