DUI Defense Services: How Bair Legal Works For You

Being stopped and arrested for driving under the influence is a difficult and scary experience. We believe that hiring and working with your legal counsel should not be an extension of the awfulness, but rather the beginning of the solution. While a DUI can affect your job, your finances, and your freedom, Bair Legal can help you move on. We start the process with a free consultation, so you can decide the level of service that fits your needs.

While every DUI case is different, we have found that most cases fall within one of three levels of defense:

  1. Getting You Through It
  2. Aggressive Defense
  3. DUI "Dream Team"

1-Getting You Through It

If you need to just get this behind you and would like a quick but fair resolution of your case, we are there with you every step of the way. Throughout the process, we work on your behalf to both reduce the aggravation and ensure a good outcome.

Since we are a full-service DUI law firm, you will receive:

  • Free Consultation — We discuss both the facts of your case and your personal circumstances to determine initial defense strategy
  • California DMV Hearing Request — For most people, even non-clients, arrested for DUI in Northern California, we will handle the DMV Hearing Request completely free of charge. We believe the California DMV's procedures are overly complicated, and do not feel anyone should be denied their driving privileges because of bureaucratic nonsense.
  • Complete Analysis of Police Report — We provide a complete analysis of your police report to determine the possibility of Constitutional issues. Even if you just wanted to get this over with at first, there might be grounds for a more aggressive defense. Often, we can use Constitutional issues to negotiate better plea bargains. By relying on Bair Legal's experience, you get peace of mind knowing you are not missing out on a better deal just because you did not know to ask for it.
  • Examination of Other Evidence — Besides the police report, we also obtain and analyze other evidence used against you. We examine machine calibration reports, audio and video evidence, and other physical evidence. If there are problems with the evidence, Bair Legal has the best chance of finding them. Not only have we gone through the same courses as police officers, but we actually train other attorneys in field sobriety testing.
  • Representation at DMV Hearing by our Specialist — If a DMV Hearing was properly requested, we will represent you at the hearing. We are upfront with you — these hearings are really hard to win. However, we do win some because are fully prepared on the facts of your case and knows DMV rules inside and out.
  • Court Appearances by Top DUI Lawyers — Any lawyer can save you a trip down to the court house. But with Hudson Bair, you can be confident that you are getting the best in the business. He has been handling DUI-specific cases for over 20 years, and is not distracted by handling divorces, probates, and other legal matters on the side. Review the rest of our website to learn more about Hudson's credentials. You might also benefit by reviewing this article on Understanding California DUI Lawyer Qualifications.
  • Plea Bargain Negotiation by Lawyers Who Know the DA's — The same case circumstances can have different outcomes depending on the county of arrest and the District Attorney overseeing it. Over the years, Bair Legal has defended thousands of DUI cases throughout Northern California and has come to know all of the court houses (and even most of the DAs), so you can be confident in our advice on the possible outcomes of your case.
  • You can contact a lawyer anytime during normal business hours and get help with items such as DMV re-licensing procedures, enrolling in the correct DUI class, or submitting other documents. With Bair Legal, you have a full team standing with you.

2-Aggressive Defense

If you choose an aggressive DUI defense, Bair Legal has the skills and experience to press your case. While you receive all of the benefits of our "Getting You Through It" defense listed above, time is not a limiting factor. It might be a sad commentary on the American legal system, but the fact is you can often get a better outcome by continually refusing to accept what is offered. Of course, it is not enough to just say "No, No, No." Your counsel needs to provide valid arguments as to why what's on the table is not good enough.

If you choose an aggressive defense with Bair Legal, one flat fee covers continuous appearances on your behalf, negotiating with district attorneys, and filing papers as long as we believe we are making progress towards a better resolution. An aggressive defense typically lasts about a year, but some of our cases have been open for over three years.

Depending on circumstances, aggressively defending your DUI case might also involve:

  • A Motion to Suppress — While there are different motions to suppress, the most common one in DUI cases is to challenge the procedures used by the law enforcement officer to stop your vehicle. Although these motions are extremely complex and involve debating very fine points of the law, the effort can be worthwhile because a successful motion to suppress often leads to complete dismissal of charges.
  • Re-Testing of Evidence — All labs make periodic mistakes with individual samples, and there has been a lot of publicity over routine mishandling of evidence at the San Francisco labs, in particular. Because of this, Bair Legal works with some of the most respected blood labs to re-test evidence.
  • Pre-Trial Motions — Often, District Attorneys will only make good deals if they think you are going to force them to trial. While you might not want to go to trial for your case, an aggressive defense might require the appearance that you are willing to go all the way. Because Bair Legal does take several cases to trial every year, they know for our clients this is not an idle threat.

3-DUI "Dream Team"

Bair Legal has tremendous resources within our own office to bring to bear in fighting your DUI case. If you are facing loss of your career, significant jail time, or other life-altering consequences, we can bring in a team of expert witnesses and consultants to do everything possible to win your case.

Bair Legal's years of experience and consummate professionalism have earned them wide-ranging respect within the DUI defense industry. As such, we are able to work with top-notch experts including a Forensic Toxicologist, Federal Lab Inspector, Jury Consultant, and Master Field Sobriety Test Instructor. Whether you need these experts to strengthen your negotiating position or go to trial, Bair Legal will bring them together and coordinate their actions.

If you are facing life-altering consequences from a Northern California DUI arrest, no other law firm can gather as good a team to defend your case as Bair Legal. If your life is about to get thrown upside down, take serious action and call us at (510) 434-1400.