NATIONAL CITY DUI LAWYER

National City DUI Lawyer

Facing DUI (driving under the influence) charges in National City can be confusing and frightening, and without the benefit of reliable legal advice from an experienced DUI defense attorney, you could end up serving time in jail, paying considerable fines and losing your driving privileges, in addition to other devastating DUI penalties. Any time you are charged with DUI in National City, your future, your finances, and your freedom are on the line. As a misdemeanor, National City DUIs carry a potential county jail sentence, but if the DUI is prosecuted as a felony, you could serve time in state prison if you are found guilty of the DUI crime. If you or someone you know has been charged with a DUI offense in National City, or throughout San Diego County or Southern California, you should do everything in your power to protect your rights and your family’s well-being. Consult our skilled and resourceful DUI lawyers at Sevens Legal, APC today to discuss how to successfully defend yourself against National City drunk driving charges.

Skilled National City DUI Defense Attorney

The severity of the penalties resulting from a DUI conviction in National City depends a great deal on the facts of the DUI case and the defendant’s criminal record, i.e. whether he or she has prior convictions for drunk driving. Under California law, the punishment for a first-time DUI offense is not quite as harsh as the punishment for a second-time DUI, or a third, fourth or subsequent DUI. That being said, the severity of the penalties for all National City DUIs hinges on the competence of the attorney representing the defense. If at any point you are facing drunk driving charges in National City, you want to do everything you can to protect yourself from the long-lasting and far-reaching impact of a conviction, and hiring an experienced National City DUI lawyer is the first step towards beating the DUI charges and clearing your name.

Our DUI attorneys at Sevens Legal are familiar not only with California DUI laws but also with the National City court system, and our legal team has more than four decades of experience defending clients in National City, San Diego County and throughout Southern California against drunk driving charges. We know how severely a DUI conviction would affect your life and your loved ones, and we will be aggressive and tenacious in helping you acquire a satisfactory resolution to your case. DUI is a criminal charge that skilled defense lawyers can successfully beat, and with our National City legal team representing you, you can automatically improve your chances of getting your charges reduced, negotiating a lighter sentence, or walking away free, depending on the specific details of your case.

National City DUI

DUIs in National City typically occur because of a traffic stop or sobriety checkpoint. If you are pulled over or stopped by the police and your driving patterns or physical appearance suggest that you could be intoxicated, the officer who stopped you may begin conducting a DUI investigation, which typically involves the officer observing you for signs of intoxication and asking you to take a roadside breath test and/or execute field sobriety tests. If you fail the tests, or your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) measures 0.08% or higher, the officer may use the test results as probable cause for arrest. If you refuse the roadside breath test, which is your right unless you are under 21 years of age or currently on probation for DUI, and the officer still has a reasonable suspicion that you are intoxicated, you can legally be put under arrest for drunk driving and ordered to take a DUI breath or blood test when you get to the police station.

DUI – CA Vehicle Code § 23152

California Vehicle Code § 23152 VC is the legal statute that governs drunk driving crimes in National City, and in most cases, a driver arrested for DUI will face two separate charges: VC § 23152 (a) and VC § 23152 (b). The former is the element of the law that makes it illegal to drive a motor vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and the latter is the element of the law that makes it illegal to drive a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration measuring 0.08% or higher. These charges may sound like two slightly different ways to describe the same offense, but in reality, they are two separate crimes arising from the same illegal act and can, therefore, be charged independently of one another.

DUI Penalties in National City

DUI is a fairly common crime in National City, but with California’s strict laws against drunk driving, individuals charged with DUI face tough penalties if they are convicted of the crime. Furthermore, because DUIs are considered “priorable” offenses in National City, each subsequent DUI occurring within a ten-year period carries increased criminal penalties. What that means is, if you are convicted for a first DUI offense, and then nine years and 11 months later, you are arrested for another DUI, the new DUI would be considered a second-time DUI and would be punished as such upon conviction.

First-Time DUI Offenses

If you do not have any prior DUIs and you are arrested for drunk driving in National City, you could face criminal charges for a first-time DUI. First DUIs are misdemeanors under California law and these crimes typically carry the following criminal penalties:

• A county jail sentence of up to six months,
• A maximum fine of $1,000, plus additional fees and costs,
• Misdemeanor probation,
• Three to nine months of alcohol education classes,
• A six-month driver’s license suspension, and/or
• Installation of an ignition interlock device (IID).

Second-Time DUI Offenses

If, within ten years of your first DUI conviction, you are arrested for a new DUI, you could be charged with a second DUI. Second DUI offenses are also usually prosecuted as misdemeanors, but they carry increased penalties upon conviction. If you are convicted of a second offense DUI in National City, you could face the following criminal penalties:

• A county jail sentence of up to one year,
• A maximum fine of $1,000, plus additional fees and costs,
• Misdemeanor probation,
• 18 to 30 months of alcohol education classes,
• Driver’s license suspension for two years, and/or
• IID installation.

Third-Time DUI Offenses

If you have two prior DUIs on your criminal record and you are arrested for a new DUI within ten years, you could face criminal charges for a third DUI. Absent any aggravating factors, third offense DUIs are typically prosecuted as misdemeanors and carry the following criminal penalties:

• A county jail sentence of up to one year,
• Up to $1,000 in fines, plus additional fees and costs,
• Misdemeanor probation,
• 30 months of alcohol education classes,
• A three-year driver’s license suspension, and/or
• IID installation.

Fourth & Subsequent DUI Offenses

If you are faced with a fourth or subsequent DUI that occurs during a ten-year period, your situation requires immediate intervention by an experienced DUI defense lawyer. Fourth and subsequent DUI crimes can be prosecuted as felony offenses, rather than misdemeanors, and a conviction carries the following penalties:

• A state prison sentence of 16 months, two, three or four years,
• A maximum fine of $1,000, plus additional fees and costs,
• Felony probation,
• 30 months of alcohol education classes,
• A four-year driver’s license suspension,
• IID installation, and/or
• Registration as a Habitual Traffic Offender.

National City DUI Arrests

Your Right to Remain Silent

When you are taken to the police station after a DUI arrest, the police are required to read you your Miranda rights before questioning you about the DUI. A key component of the Miranda warning involves your right to remain silent, which comes from the self-incrimination clause of the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution, and that means you are not obligated to answer any questions that could cause you to incriminate yourself. You may feel the need to explain yourself to the police or try to talk yourself out of a DUI charge, but your best bet is just to remain silent and wait for your attorney.

Your Right to an Attorney

If you are facing National City DUI charges, it is your right to represent yourself in criminal court. However, even for a first-time DUI, hiring an attorney who specializes in DUI defense is the best chance you have of beating the charges and clearing your name, and there is no time to waste. Under California law, you have only ten days from the date of your DUI arrest to contact the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) and request an administrative hearing to challenge the suspension of your driving privileges. The sooner you hire our DUI lawyers to represent your case, the sooner we will get to work defending your rights and helping you avoid the adverse consequences of a DUI.

National City DUI Defense

DUI is a serious criminal charge, and a DUI conviction in National City can result in a lengthy county jail or state prison sentence, significant fines, driver’s license suspension, and other life-altering penalties. That being said, simply because you have been charged with DUI in National City does not necessarily mean the court will find you guilty of the crime and sentenced you to jail. Like in any other criminal case, California law presumes that you are innocent unless you can be proven guilty of the crime, and the prosecutor is the one who bears the burden of proof. In order to convict you of DUI in National City, the prosecution is responsible for proving each element of the crime of DUI beyond a reasonable doubt, which means to the degree that no reasonable person could reasonably doubt that you are guilty of committing the crime. Under California law, the two most important elements of a misdemeanor DUI crime include the following:

• You drove a motor vehicle, and
• When you drove, you were under the influence of alcohol or had a BAC of 0.08% or higher.

Strategies for National City DUI Defense

If you were pulled over in National City and arrested for DUI, your case may seem pretty cut and dry, especially if you took a breathalyzer test and your BAC measured 0.08% or higher, meaning you were legally intoxicated under California law. In reality, though, DUI cases are rarely hopeless. The police sometimes make mistakes, the proper procedure isn’t always followed, and DUI tests aren’t always 100% accurate, and if you have a skilled DUI lawyer on your side, he or she may be able to capitalize on these errors to get you acquitted. Some possible defense strategies your DUI attorney can present at trial to challenge the prosecution’s version of events include the following:

• Unlawful arrest
• Police misconduct
• Illegal DUI checkpoint
• Unlawful blood draw
• Violation of your Miranda rights
• Violation of Title 17
• Inaccurate DUI test results
• No probable cause

Our National City DUI Attorneys Can Help

When it comes to aggressively protecting your legal rights and defending yourself against damaging criminal charges that could alter the rest of your life, there is no substitute for skill, experience, compassion, and professionalism, and those key qualities are what you’ll find in the DUI attorneys at Sevens Legal. Our lawyers specialize in DUI defense and we have extensive experience representing DUI clients in National City and the surrounding areas. When you hire our legal team, we will meticulously review the facts of your case, ensure that you understand your legal options, advise you of the possible consequences of a DUI conviction, and devise the strongest possible defense based on your specific situation. Whatever kind of DUI charges you are facing, our defense attorneys will stand by your side at every stage, from the minute you hire our attorneys to the very conclusion of your criminal case. And if your case goes to jury trial, we will use our extensive knowledge of National City criminal court procedures to challenge the prosecution’s evidence and mount the strongest possible defense available to you. No matter how desperate your situation may seem, we will work to help you get the best outcome possible in your National City DUI case, whether that involves getting the DUI dismissed altogether or getting the charges or sentencing reduced.

National City DUI Defense Attorneys Near Me

DUI charges in National City, as minor as they may seem on the surface, can change the course of the rest of your life. Even being arrested for DUI carries a negative social stigma that can destroy your reputation and your standing in the community, and if you are charged with and convicted of the crime, you could lose your job or your professional licensing, and your financial well-being could also be at risk. If you have been charged with misdemeanor or felony DUI in National City or elsewhere in San Diego County or Southern California, the very first thing you should do is contact a knowledgeable DUI defense lawyer. Our team at Sevens Legal prides itself on offering qualified and competent legal representation, and we can help reduce the adverse consequences of a National City DUI arrest or conviction.