If you have been charged with a DUI in California, you are certainly feeling anxious and overwhelmed at this point. Most likely, the police have taken your license and you are concerned about the looming deadline for requesting an administrative hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) as well as how a criminal case would affect your personal and professional relationships and opportunities.
When you work with an experienced defense attorney, as a first step, your attorney can request a hearing with the DMV in order to challenge the suspension of your driving privileges. As a result, you will have a greater understanding of the prosecutor’s case against you — and you will be better prepared to proceed with your case moving ahead.
The Three Options to Resolve Your Case
When it comes to settling your California DUI case after you have been arraigned, there are three major alternatives available to you. To begin, you might simply enter a guilty plea to the accusations against you. This has the benefit of being straightforward, but it has nothing else to recommend it, since you will then be subjected to all of the repercussions of a DUI, including a license suspension, possible prison time, DUI classes, fines, and fees, among other things.
Second, you may be able to negotiate a reduced sentence with the assistance of an experienced Orange County DUI attorney. The circumstances of your case (which are frequently revealed during your DMV hearing or through information exchange with the prosecution) can allow an attorney to make a claim that you should be qualified for a lower charge, such as a wet reckless.
Third, you have the option of going to trial before a judge or a jury. What happens during your trial is determined by a variety of variables, including your criminal past and the evidence against you. It is also determined by whether or not there was any police wrongdoing in your case.
Which Way is Best Resolve Your Case?
The majority of DUI attorneys would advise against entering a guilty plea to DUI charges. The burden of establishing criminal accusations against you beyond a reasonable doubt rests with the government. Their burden is alleviated by entering a guilty plea. Hiring attorney may compel them to satisfy that burden at trial, or you and your attorney may arrive to an arrangement that you will plead guilty to a lower offense, like as wet reckless, in exchange for a reduced punishment.
Your attorney will thoroughly examine the facts of your case to see whether there are any grounds to have any evidence suppressed (i.e., excluded from trial), which may have an influence on the outcome of your case as well. In certain instances, the results of this legal examination may even result in your accusations being completely dropped.
To get advice on your specific case, contact Chambers Law Firm at 714-760-4088 now for a free legal consultation.
