As a criminal case, even a first Bay Area DUI conviction can carry serious penalties including:
The California DMV records DUI convictions for a minimum of 10 years. A DUI on your record can not only lead to higher auto insurance premiums but also jeopardize credit rating and employment. DUI penalties rapidly escalate if you have had prior DUI convictions, were stopped for speeding, had an accident while driving under the influence, or other factors. For more information, review our table of California DUI Penalties.
An individual faced with any serious criminal charge, including DUI, has to make potentially life-altering decisions. It is always recommended to have the advice of one's own legal representation. Because of the requirements of a DUI defense case, an expert DUI attorney can best protect your rights, understand the evidence, and negotiate strong plea bargains.
Often attorneys who do not specialize in DUI cases approach the defense with the idea of obtaining a "good" plea bargain. However all criminal cases raise Constitutional questions, and if any of your rights were violated, your DUI charges may be dropped.
Specialist DUI attorneys know where to look for possible Fourth- and Fifth Amendment violations. At Bair Legal, our success at getting DUI cases dismissed encourages us to seek this avenue at every potential possibility.
In an entirely separate process, the California DMV determines whether you will get to keep your license and under what conditions.
A specialist DUI attorney can help you delay suspension, get a restricted license, or retain your California driver license without restrictions.
The DUI attorneys at Bair Legal guide our clients through the DMV process from requesting an administrative hearing to representing them at the hearing.
The prosecution's DUI case often relies on the measured blood alcohol level (BAC). After all, it seems pretty straightforward — if California law says 0.08 BAC is the limit and the accused's BAC exceeded this amount, then they were driving under the influence. But specialist DUI attorneys know that BAC evidence is not always as strong as it first appears. Determining a person's blood alcohol level requires the use of scientific measuring instruments. Due to poor calibration, improper use, or lax laboratory procedures, these devices can prove unreliable.
Specialist DUI defense attorneys understand the strengths and weaknesses of the various kinds of scientific instruments for measuring BAC whether in blood, breath, or urine. The DUI attorneys at Bair Legal even led the fight in getting San Francisco Bay Area counties to admit that these machines malfunction.
BAC tests might also be measuring things other than blood alcohol level. Various types of medications, medical conditions, and even (perhaps surprisingly) recent use of mouthwash can raise questions of test validity. Bair Legal published an article showing that breath tests performed on a person with acid reflux disease can measure alcohol in the stomach rather than the blood.
Attorneys who do not specialize in DUI defense cases might also overlook the fact that blood alcohol tests measure BAC after not while a person was driving. Since it can take up to two hours for consumed alcohol to enter a person's blood, this can mean the difference between driving under the influence and merely being “tested under the influence.” At Bair Legal, we have successfully used the Rising Alcohol Defense to get DUI charges acquitted after trial, reduced, and even dismissed entirely.
Irrespective of trial success and case dismissal rates, sometimes a client's best interests are served with a plea bargain. Instead of merely obtaining a plea bargain, specialist DUI attorneys negotiate plea bargains to ensure the best possible outcome for their clients.
While the court system seems like an impersonal institution, it is ultimately made up of real people. Prosecutors are more likely to yield in DUI plea bargains when they know the defense is knowledgeably and vigorously pursued by a specialist.
At Bair Legal, our hard-earned reputation puts prosecutors on notice that we will not accept unfair plea bargains.
In DUI plea bargains, we have seen amazing results including dismissals and charge reductions.
Even if we cannot get the charges reduced or dismissed, we can obtain the lowest possible sentence.
Our DUI defense successes include:
Successfully representing a California DUI case requires a high degree of skill, experience, and understanding of the state's DUI law. By specializing in DUI defense, Hudson Bair provides responsive, top-quality legal advice and representation, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, in all counties in the San Francisco Bay Area. In his many years of experience, he has successfully defended every type of case imaginable — from over-the-limit breath, blood, and urine tests to test refusals, from good driving or bad driving to no driving.
The San Francisco DUI firm Bair Legal has amassed an enormous pool of information on testing devices and laboratory procedures. We are the only San Francisco Bay Area firm to have taken sworn testimony from Dr. Marceline Burns, the woman who "invented" field sobriety tests. We are also the only firm with an Intoxilyzer 5000, similar to those used by many of Northern California law enforcement departments.
Get the DUI attorneys who know the law, have a proven track record of successful DUI defense, and are willing to go the distance for you.
If you are charged with a DUI in Northern California, call Bair Legal today.