First time DUI and never been in trouble with law, please help

[wanderingstar00]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? State of California is where this happened....this is the first time I have ever been in trouble with the law. I was coming from a concert a couple weeks ago and had about 3 vodka mixed drinks. i guess i was very intoxicated and also very out of it because i lost my phone and i did not remember how i left the parking lot of the concert, or how i got from los angeles and ended up near disneyland (oc). the cops were behind me and they said i ran a red light and drove for about a mile before i noticed they were behind me and i finally stopped the car. they pulled me over, i did the sobriety test (they did not tell me what mt results were, so i don't know what it came out to be), they searched my car and found ecstasy pills in my car that i did not know was in my car, my boyfriend(now ex) left them in my car (earlier in the day before the concert, my ex boyfriend and i got into a fight in my car and he became physical with me, grabbing my arms very hard and calling me the b-word. i got so scared, i let him get out of my car first, i locked the door, and drove off and left him on the street, in fear that if i got out the car with him he was going to yell at me or hit me or grab me again. he tried to stop me from driving away so he hopped on top of my ford escape and punched the front windshield, there is a huge crack there now and going down to the middle of the car. and we were going to the concert together and meeting with friends and he left his ticket and the pills in the car without me knowing. and i had and still do not know where he left the pills in my car or where the cop found the pills at in my car because i did not ask and i told the cops the pills were not mine but my ex-bf's, sorry had to add that)and i was arrested, they blood tested me and put in a jail cell . worst day of my life. i called home and was bailed out the next day and spending the night 24hrs. the next day my parents and I went to the bailman and signed papers and paid for that, and then met with a lawyer to talk about the case.


i go back to court the beginning of august, and i do not know what to expect at all. since they found ecstasy pills in my car, what will be the penalty and could i be going back to jail even though they were not mine (but i know they can not prove that since they were in my car)? what could be my penalty/punsihment? do you think the lawyer can help me or its out of his hands? i'm so so scared, i have been having nightmares every night and not able to relax. and i haven't been able to go anywhere, stuck in the house, but its wayyyyy better than being in jail trust and believe me. i'm so scared though. what will happen during the court appearance, this will be my first time seeing the judge? do u think this will be my only time going to court or do u think i might have to go back to court again? do u think they are going to put me back in jail ??? please help me and thank you. by the way, i go to college fulltime, i am a senior majoring in graphic design and marketing and i work part time as an assistant for a real estate broker. please help.....

[FlyingRon]

DUI is serious enough, drug possession makes it very serious. You need a lawyer especially considering you have no accurate idea of what happened due to your altered state. Listen to your lawyer. DUI is unlikely to cause more jail time, and probably not even the drugs, unless there is more here than meets the eye. You will be paying substantial monetary fines and fees, and participating in a number of programs for drunks and drug users as part of a period of probation.

[wanderingstar00]

Originally Posted by FlyingRon

DUI is serious enough, drug possession makes it very serious. You need a lawyer especially considering you have no accurate idea of what happened due to your altered state. Listen to your lawyer. DUI is unlikely to cause more jail time, and probably not even the drugs, unless there is more here than meets the eye. You will be paying substantial monetary fines and fees, and participating in a number of programs for drunks and drug users as part of a period of probation.

hello i have another question can you please help?

i just spoke with my attorney who just had a telephone hearing with the DMV to discuss my temporary license and the case. i asked my attorney what my blood alcohol level and breathalizer test results were. he told me that when i was pulled over and did the breathalizer test the results came out to be below the legal limit, 0.0099 and two hours later after i was taken in and arrested, they took a blood test and that came out to be 0.0102 (he said it went up when the blood test was taken). will this change anything with my case at all? i stay in california and the limit is 0.08 and i am 24yrs. will my license still be suspended? will i be able to drive to work and school? please help and thank you.

[CdwJava]

What charges do you face? (code sections, please)

If you were driving under the influence of drugs and the blood test came back positive for certain drugs, you can still be found guilty of DUI though your lkicense might not be suspended until AFTER a conviction.

- Carl

[wanderingstar00]

Originally Posted by CdwJava

What charges do you face? (code sections, please)

If you were driving under the influence of drugs and the blood test came back positive for certain drugs, you can still be found guilty of DUI though your lkicense might not be suspended until AFTER a conviction.

- Carl

The code sections are HS11377, VC2800.2, 23152(A), 23152(B)

I was not under the influence of drugs. When I was pulled over though they found ecstasy pills in my car which I did not know was there (earlier in the day before I was pulled over later that night, my boyfriend at the time, now ex-boyfriend, and i got into a physical fight in my car and he got out of my car and i drove off and left him there on the street. he left pills in my car without me even knowing or telling me he had them at all.) i told the police the pills were not mine and i did not know they were in the car. I got a restraining order against my ex-bf and filed a domestic violence report on the incidient that happened that day in the car and a previous incidient where he became physical with me another time before that.

will this help anything? can u please help? thank you.

[CdwJava]

Originally Posted by wanderingstar00

The code sections are HS11377, VC2800.2, 23152(A), 23152(B)

So, among all those offenses, if you have a BAC of under .08 then the 23152(b) is gone. If there is no proof of any drugs in your system, then they will not be able to support a 23152(a) either.

You will have to provide a defense for the 11377 if they can establish a prima facie case that the ecstasy was yours. Is your ex-boyfriend going to jump on that grenade and confess to the drugs being his? I doubt it. But, your attorney can try to raise that for reasonable doubt ... though, the prosecution could bring your ex to the stand and he will likely deny any knowledge of the dope. So, this charge will be tougher to beat, I think.

As for the VC 2800.2, what was THAT about? That charge is for fleeing or evading a peace officer in a motor vehicle! Drugs won't help that one at all.

- Carl

[wanderingstar00]

Originally Posted by CdwJava

So, among all those offenses, if you have a BAC of under .08 then the 23152(b) is gone. If there is no proof of any drugs in your system, then they will not be able to support a 23152(a) either.

You will have to provide a defense for the 11377 if they can establish a prima facie case that the ecstasy was yours. Is your ex-boyfriend going to jump on that grenade and confess to the drugs being his? I doubt it. But, your attorney can try to raise that for reasonable doubt ... though, the prosecution could bring your ex to the stand and he will likely deny any knowledge of the dope. So, this charge will be tougher to beat, I think.

As for the VC 2800.2, what was THAT about? That charge is for fleeing or evading a peace officer in a motor vehicle! Drugs won't help that one at all.

- Carl

the VC 2800.2 charge was because i did not notice the police was behind me when they pulled me over and i drove for a half a mile before i noticed them and finally stopped the car, i was not trying to get away and i told the police that i did not see them behind me and i cooperated with police and did not fight the police at all. i was pretty out of it while i was driving (i believe/i think someone put something in my drink while i was at this concert in the VIP area, date rape drug possibly when i was at the party, and i know that stuff does not show up in blood test, and i remember a guy following me around the whole time, but i know that is not going to change anything with my case at all and i can not prove anything at all on that ). but i did not try to fight the police or run away. i just did not see the police behind me but once i did i stopped immediately.