I field calls from people who were arrested on a San Diego DUI charge. In their set of facts is an accident/collision. If a collision is part of the fact pattern, the prosecution and judge will believe more punishments are required. These are the cases that a lawyer should be retained on. Call our office for a free consultation at 858-751-4384.
The flip side of a collision is that in many cases the police did not actually see someone driving. The police are notified by a passerby or a tow truck driver. The person arrested may have told the police they were driving, but that does not close the book on defenses. You have to utilize these defenses to help defend your case and bring down punishments.
A San Diego DUI resulting in a collision is considered an aggravating factor in the case to the prosecution. It is much more of a challenge for the defense to obtain an offer when there is a collision. The prosecution will begin negotiations well past what are normal guideline offers when there is an accident. If two people walk into court and both have a BAC of .12%. One of them was stopped for speeding and the other was contacted after colliding into three cars. I will tell you they will begin negotiations with two totally different offers from the prosecution. A DUI defense attorney has hopefully gathered the police reports, videos, and other evidence before court so they can begin breaking down the government’s case. If you were arrested for a San Diego DUI and it involved a collision call our office now to be proactive at 858-751-4384.
Where this blanket policy becomes an issue for the prosecution is when a collision is minimal. For example, if someone gets in a slight fender bender. No one is hurt and the client took care of the damage before the first hearing. You show this is the case and usuaally with some good advocacy the prosecution will disregard the accident.
Another example is when there was an accident, but there are true issues in the case (such as the client may not in fact be the driver). The prosecution will remain steadfast in the face of questionable evidence because there was an accident. The one benefit in DUI that has a collision is that the officer did not see driving. Noone may have seen who was driving. Someone may have walked out of a house. Another driver may have been sitting in their car for some minutes making sure they were ok and did not see who was driving. These facts need to be examined.
These scenarios are commonplace for attorneys who regularly deal with San Diego DUIs. It is vital to be proactive in the situations and get the facts in order. The prosecution (and judge) will read “accident” and “collision” and their amenability to give a reasonable offer becomes more of a challenge. Taking care of this issue early inevitability assists a client in achieving a more favorable resolution of their San Diego DUI case. Be proactive and contact the Law Offices of Mark Deniz at 858-751-4384.
NEW PUNISHMENTS
In the last few years the courts have used more technology to add to the punishments of a DUI with a collision. Some of these items include
-Ignition Interlock Device: A device that hooks up to your car that you need to blow into to start the vehicle.
-Ankle Monitors: These can either be home detention or monitor alcohol only.
CONCLUSION
DUIs with collisions can be some of the tougher cases to head into court with. The fear wth these cases is that someone could be in an accident and in these cases it happened. However, these cases can also be potentially some of the best cases because usually police were called to a scene. The person may have not even been arrested and sent to the hospital. Finally, all those symptoms police look for (red watery eyes, unsteaady gait, etc) is usually the same look people have after an accident. These are cases that must be thoroughly examined. Call our office at 858-751-4384 to be proactive and get started.
