DUI w/ Hit & Run charge

[baseball33]

I am a California resident.

I was in an accident a couple of months back that totalled my car. I was drinking and given field sobrieity tests along with a breathalizer test. I blew a .18, which is obviously well over the legal limit. This is a night I regret and plan on accepting all responsibility for that night.

When I got into my accident it is on a street (residential) that comes to a T-shaped (where I dead-end and have to either go right or left. I had the accident 2 blocks from my house. This street has apartments along it so the entire street is filled with all the overflow parking from the apartments. When you come to the T in the road it also is filled with parked cars. I hit a parked car about 30 feet from the T. I scraped the entire right side of my car and it was still operable. I thought I would pull over to the next spot on the street instead of blocking the entire road. I drove about a block before I realized there was no place to pull over so I mad a U-turn at another T-shaped intersection. At this point a man blocked me in and grabbed my keys from my car and claimed I was running from the scene.

When the police arrived the office asked me, "After you were drinking where were you heading?" I told her, "My house." In the police report she said I was heading to my house after I hit the car.

I was charged with:
Driving while under the influence of drugs/alcohol
Driving with a BAC of .18
Hit and Run accident

I plan on pleading guilty to the first 2 since I was guilty of those things and accept that. I plan to plead not guilty to hit and run.

I have been going to AA and the DUI classes for 2 months (which is well before I was even told of my court date) on my own without the court ordering it. This is my first run-in with the law besides 2 speeding tickets.

I am worried I might get jail time. If I am charged with the hit and run, what are the usual punishments? This is really worrying me.

[FlyingRon]

Originally Posted by baseball33

When the police arrived the office asked me, "After you were drinking where were you heading?" I told her, "My house." In the police report she said I was heading to my house after I hit the car.

The officer is reporting what you said. You hadn't stopped at the scene and you said you were going home, so what did you expect them to assume? If you had said you were looking for a safe place to stop so you could deal with the duty to stop at the scene, you probably wouldn't have been written up for that charge.

California sanctions vary by jurisdiction, but you're in bad shape for being at a high BAC and being involved in an accident. You really need to consult a lawyer. Jail time (other than whatever you've been detained for already) isn't too likely, but it will cost you a lot of time and money as well as license suspension.

[seniorjudge]

When the police arrived the office asked me, "After you were drinking where were you heading?" I told her, "My house." In the police report she said I was heading to my house after I hit the car.

It's plea bargain time.

[seniorjudge]

Standard answer

Here are some hints on appearing in court:

Dress professionally in clean clothes.

Do not wear message shirts or caps.

Don't chew gum, smoke, or eat. (Smokers...pot or tobacco...literally stink. Remember that before you head for court.)

Bathe and wash your hair.

Do not bring small children or your friends.

Go to court beforehand some day before you actually have to go to watch how things go.

Speak politely and deferentially. If you argue or dispute something, do it professionally and without emotion.

Ask the court clerk who you talk to about a diversion (meaning you want to plead to a different, lesser charge), if applicable in your situation. Ask about traffic school and that the ticket not go on your record, if applicable. Ask also about getting a hardship driving permit, if applicable. Ask about drug court, if applicable.

From marbol:

“Judge...

You forgot the one thing that I've seen that seems to frizz up most judges these days:

If you have a cell phone, make DAMN SURE that it doesn't make ANY noise in the courtroom. This means when you are talking to the judge AND when you are simply sitting in the court room.

If you have a ‘vibrate’ position on your cell phone, MAKE sure the judge DOESN'T EVEN HEAR IT VIBRATE!

Turn it off or put it in silent mode where it flashes a LED if it rings. AND DON'T even DREAM about answering it if it rings.”

(Better yet, don’t carry your cell phone into the courtroom.)”


Here are seven stories that criminal court judges hear the most (and I suggest you do not use them or variations of them):

1. I’ve been saved! (This is not religion specific; folks from all kinds of religious backgrounds use this one.)

2. My girlfriend/mother/sister/daughter/wife/ex-wife/niece/grandma/grand-daughter is pregnant/sick/dying/dead/crippled/crazy and needs my help.

3. I’ve got a job/military posting in [name a place five hundred miles away].

4. This is the first time I ever did this. (This conflicts with number 5 below, but that hasn’t stopped some defendants from using both.)

5. You’ve got the wrong guy. (A variation of this one is the phantom defendant story: “It wasn’t me driving, it was a hitchhiker I picked up. He wrecked the car, drug me behind the wheel then took off.” Or, another variation: “I was forced into it by a bad guy!”)

6. I was influenced by a bad crowd.

7. I/my kid/my whatever has surgery scheduled.


[url]http://forum.freeadvice.com/showthread.php?p=854687#post854687[/url]

Public defender’s advice

[url]http://newyork.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/70300494.html[/url]


Other people may give you other advice; stand by.

[laurathelawyer]

You will talk to a lawyer before you plea. You don't plea to both counts one and two, only one of those. (I recommend count 2 because count 1 could mean you were UI of drugs.) If you take the plea to the DUI, I would expect the DA to drop the hit-and-run, though you would be liable for damage. In my jurisdiction at least, no one would do any time in jail on those charges.