If you or someone you know has been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), the most important decisions to be made are whether to hire an attorney and, if so, which attorney to hire. Non-attorneys need to know that DUI defense is a specialized area of the law. There are complex issues involving the interplay between the DUI criminal case and the DUI Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) case. Also, if an individual holds a professional license, such as a doctor, lawyer, stock broker, nurse, teacher, or pilot, there are other potential ramifications to that person's ability to continue practicing their profession. As well, if the person arrested is a non-citizen, there are issues which may affect that person's privilege to remain the United States.

Once the decision has been made to hire an attorney, the next question is whom to hire. The best advice I can offer is to seek out someone who specializes in DUI cases and has demonstrated familiarity in the particular court where the case will be filed. It is not necessarily the best decision to hire an attorney simply because he or she has an office in the same city as the courthouse. In making the decision, answering the following three questions may prove to be helpful. First, is the attorney competent? Second, do you trust the attorney to do what he or she said they would do? Third, can you work work with them?

If the answer to any of the above three questions is no, you should consider interviewing another attorney.

Please take some time to visit our websites:

San Francisco DUI Attorney
San Mateo DUI Lawyer
Marin County DUI Defense
Northern California DUI Defense Lawyers
San Francisco County DUI Defense Lawyers
California DUI Defense Lawyers
Oakland DUI Lawyers

Most driving under the influence (DUI) arrests initiate two separate cases. The first case is the DUI criminal case which is ordinarily prosecuted by the District Attorney in the county where the DUI arrest occurred. The second case is the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) DUI case which commences a driver's license suspension action if the person has a California driver's license or a privilege suspension action if the person is licensed by a state other than California.

In the DUI criminal case, the prosecuting attorney will ordinarily file a document called a "Complaint" which alleges two separate violations of the California Vehicle Code. The first violation is driving under the influence in violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (a), while the second violation is driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or greater in violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (b). To state it differently, the prosecuting attorney gets two chances to convict a person of DUI.

The California DMV is interested in whether a person was driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more. This is one of the same charges the prosecuting attorney will allege, but there is a difference. While the prosecuting attorney must prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, the DMV must only prove the DMV DUI case by a legal standard referred to as preponderance of the evidence. What preponderance of the evidence means is that the DMV must prove the case by establishing it was more likely than not that the person accused of DUI was driving with a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08% or more.

Please take some time to visit our websites:

San Francisco DUI Attorney
San Mateo DUI Lawyer
Marin County DUI Defense
Northern California DUI Defense Lawyers
San Francisco County DUI Defense Lawyers
California DUI Defense Lawyers
Oakland DUI Lawyers