DRUNK DRIVING DEFENSE SITES ON THE INTERNET

• Boulder-Denver-Greeley-Ft. Collins, I-70 Corridor and Beyond
  • Jim Forslund: When you've been arrested for a DUI and you don't think it's fair, you need a lawyer who can protect your rights...make sure you're treated fairly...and who knows how to get results. Drinking and driving offenses.
• Colorado Springs
  • Stephen Anderson
• Durango
  • Phillip Snyder: If you have been arrested for an alcohol or substance related driving offense, you could face stiff penalties if convicted--including jail time and a monetary fine. Hiring a lawyer to review the details of the arrest, the evidence against you, and the mitigating circumstances is an essential ingredient in assuring yourself that the judicial system is treating you fairly.
• Grand Junction
  • Dick Gurley
• Pagosa Springs
  • Robin Auld: DUI? Who Says You Have To Lose Your License and Your Freedom?
• Trinidad
  • Rodolfo Reveles

• Ross Putnam:

  Do you need legal representation if charged with a DUI on Guam?

  Like the rest of the United States, DUI is considered a serious public safety matter on Guam. If suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, you will be detailed and possibly arrested. Penalties for DUI on Guam can be severe and include:

  Possible jail time of 48 hours to 1 year.
  Potential fines of up to $4,000.
  Administrative suspension of license of up to 6 months.
  Judicial loss of license of 6 months to 5 years. .
  Possible confiscation of vehicle.
  Significant increase in automobile insurance costs.
  Inability to obtain employment requiring a security clearance.

  How can an attorney help avoid or mitigate the above penalties?

  Protect your rights. When you are stopped for suspected DUI , you have specific rights established by law. A competent attorney will be able to review your arrest and booking records to ensure that proper procedure was followed. If not, the charges may be dropped or changed to a lesser charge.

  Negotiate a lesser plea. The goal of the Guam legal system is to ensure the general public safety and save lives, not to jail or fine as many people as possible. Guam courts are overloaded with cases to such an extent that once charged with DUI, a driver may not have a scheduled court date for as long as 1 year. Depending on the situation, your attorney may persuade the prosecutor that the situation can be corrected, and Court time and money saved, by negotiating a lesser plea rather than pursuing a DUI conviction.

  Represent you in an administrative license suspension proceedings. Ensure your rights are protected and license is not suspended without due process. The administrative hearing and suspension are based on the Guam Implied Consent Law and is separate and distinct from action in a criminal court on the DUI charge.

  Guam DUI Law

  The Guam SAFE STREET ACT, Public Law 22-20, Title 16 Guam Code Annotated, Chapt. 18, July 23, 1993, defines DUI as driving with a blood alcohol rate of 0.08% or higher and specifies mandatory jail time for any DUI conviction.

  If you are stopped while driving on Guam and suspected of driving under the influence of alcohol, you will likely be asked to consent to a field sobriety or blood alcohol breathalyzer test. Guam operates announced DUI checkpoints where drivers will be observed and, if suspected of DUI, may also be asked to consent to a breathalyzer test. Should you fail either, you will likely be arrested.

  In most cases you will be booked and released if you are capable and have alternative means to return home. Your vehicle will be left at the location where you are arrested and may be towed if it is obstructing traffic.

  Implied Consent. The Guam implied consent law stipulates that any person who operates a motor vehicle on the public roadways of Guam shall be deemed to have given consent to a blood alcohol test. Refusal to submit to a blood alcohol test may result in an administrative suspension of your driver’s license by the Guam Department of Revenue and Taxation for up to 6 months.

  Administrative vs Judicial Penalties. It is important to note the difference between a DUI conviction and an administrative suspension of your driver’s license. A judicial conviction in a court of law may result in a criminal record, jail time, fine, suspension of driver’s license or other penalties. An administrative suspension of your license does not involve a trial in a criminal court nor does it result in a criminal record. The two penalties are separate and distinct, are adjudicated by separate and distinct bodies of the Government of Guam and may both be imposed simultaneously and concurrently. This does not constitute double jeopardy.

  Guam DUI Penalties:

  1st Offense (Misdemeanor)

  Imprisonment: Minimum mandatory 48 hours.
  Fine: Mandatory $1,000.00 not more than $5,000.00.
  Loss of Driving Privilege: Six (6) months suspension.
  Additional Penalties: The judge may require the offenders to pay restitution to persons injured or for property damaged.

  2nd Offense (Misdemeanor)

  Imprisonment: Minimum mandatory 7 days.
  Fine: Mandatory $2,000.00.
  Loss of Driving Privilege: One (1) year suspension with no exception.

  3rd Offense (Third Degree Felony)

  Imprisonment: Minimum mandatory 90 days.
  Fine: Mandatory $3,000.00.
  Loss of Driving Privilege: Revocation of not mess than 2 years.
  Additional Penalties: Possible forfeiture of vehicle.

  4th Offense (Third Degree Felony)

  Imprisonment: Minimum mandatory 1 year
  Fine: Mandatory $4,000.00.
  Loss of Driving Privilege: Revocation of not mess than 5 years.
  Additional Penalties: Possible forfeiture of vehicle.

  DUI With a Child on Board (Third Degree Felony)

  Imprisonment, fine, loss of driving privilege.
  Applies to any person convicted of operating a motor vehicle while under the influence with a passenger under the age of 16, or if the child under 16 was injured as a result on an accident.

  DUI Vehicular Homicide (Second Degree Felony)

  Mandatory prison sentence of from 5 to 15 years.

  Drinking While Driving (Misdemeanor)

  Applies to any person who drinks any alcoholic beverage or consumes a controlled substance while driving a motor vehicle upon a highway.

  Drinking in a Motor Vehicle (Misdemeanor)

  Applies to any person who drinks any alcoholic beverage or consumes a controlled substance while driving a motor vehicle upon a highway.

  Open Container (Misdemeanor)

  Applies to the driver, passenger, and/or registered owner who has in his possession while in a motor vehicle upon a highway, any bottle, can, or other receptacle containing any alcoholic beverage which has been opened, or a broken seal, or the contents of which has been opened.

• Brook Hart: You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
• David Sereno: In Hawaii, a DUI may occur in several different ways and may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor or a felony. Under Hawaii law jail time is always a possibility. It is critically important to hire an attorney who has the experience to get a good result.
• Paul Cunny: The Fourth Amendment expressly protects "the right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures." Usually, the prohibition against unreasonable searches and seizures requires police officers to obtain a warrant before performing a search or arresting someone. Although there are several exceptions to the warrant requirement, police officers cannot normally search someone's home without a warrant. In fact, as people have a heightened expectation of privacy in the home, the U.S. Supreme Court has historically afforded the highest level of protection to the right of privacy in the home.
• John Burge: Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol, or drugs, is a very common crime. It usually is heavily enforced, due to close scrutiny by groups such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving. This crime also effects the most average, everyday citizens. Since the required blood alcohol content (BAC) is so low (.08) in Hawaii, it is easy to get arrested if you have as little as two beers, and drive.
• Timothy I. Mac Master: In our country, all persons charged with committing a crime are innocent until proven guilty. You are legally innocent unless you are proven guilty. Even if you were DUI, a knowledgeable and skilled attorney may be able to help you to "stay innocent" by avoiding a conviction.
• Earle Partington If you are arrested for driving under the influence of intoxicating liquor or drugs, you are in serious trouble. You will face two separate and complex proceedings, one civil and one criminal, that must be dealt with at the same time.

• Hector M. Hernandez Nazario: En San Juan y Cabo Rojo. Ayuda legal para manejar ebrio.

• Christensen Law Offices:

   In South Dakota, drunk driving (DUI / DWI) penalties are severe:

  1 ^st Offense: $500 fine, 30 day loss of license
  2 ^nd Offense: $500 fine, 10 days of jail time, 1 year loss of license
  3 ^rd Offense: Considered a felony, punishment can vary

• Thesenvitz & Mickelson: You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
• Day Morris & Schreiber: You should consult an attorney for individual advice regarding your own situation.
• Jack Hagopian: If you or someone you know is charged with a crime, choosing experienced quality legal representation can be the single most decision made about the case. Every good criminal defense attorney must be a good experienced trial attorney. Every lawyer, like every doctor or other professional, has his first surgery or case. When your future is on the line, you need someone who has the experience to advise you whether to go to trial or not and the reputation to back it up. Quite often, cases do plea bargain at the last minute and it is a great advantage to have an attorney who is known to aggressively try and win cases.
• Bantz, Gosch & Cremer: There is an inequality of power and material resources in the criminal justice system. The government has a large staff of lawyers, police and agents, sophisticated crime labs and experts, and a huge budget provided by the taxpayers. This gives them a tremendous advantage because the legal system is based on the premise that "the whole truth" is that presented at the trial. If a defendant cannot challenge the government's case, or submit his or her own witnesses, then the jury by default will probably accept as true whatever evidence the prosecutor produces.
• Timothy Rensch
• David Palmer: Your right to an impartial trial means that your case should be decided by a judge or jurors who do not have preconceived notions about the type of offense being charged. It also means that your case should be decided by a judge or jurors who have not already made up their mind about your guilt.
• John Wilka: It is important to remember that not all is lost when you are arrested’Äîit is not against the law to be over the legal limit at police station, only when you are behind the wheel.

Other Countries

• Beijing-Chen & Associates

• Christian Vinaa:
  
  
  

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• Raffles Law: When a driver is charged under section 67 or 68, evidence that he had at the material time a blood alcohol concentration in excess of 80mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood creates a presumption that he was incapable of having proper control of the vehicle. The onus then falls on the accused to rebut the presumption. He may not do so, however, by showing that he has a great capacity for alcohol, since the specific limit set in section 70 is plainly intended to preclude the individual accused from introducing medical evidence as to his personal tolerance for drink.

• Hawke's Bay-Bannister and von Dadelszen: The police officer who is dealing with you in these situations can take two approaches. The officer can make it easy for you or he/she can make it hard for you. Invariably, if you, as a potential offender, are arrogant, obnoxious or abusive, you will be dealt with differently than a person who is polite and cordial. After all, it is the police who decide whether or not to release you that evening. In many cases, the police will give a non-demanding offender a lift home. Those who are offensive will, at the worst, find themselves locked up in the cells to "sober up" or, at best, find themselves walking home.