official dui. public defender tried to reduce it on the account that they didnt have me blow until about an hour after i was pulled over. the argument was that i had just got out the bar and was fine, but my alcohol level raised by the time i took the breathalizer at the station (i blew .13). he said the da's have to acknowledge that argument, but it turned out in the report i told the cop i had my last drink "an hour ago" so that blew our whole case. he was pretty cool and seemed to actually try to help me.
one thing i learned though is that the pd's and the da's are all like homies. they all see each other everyday and im sure if they like each other they probably help each other out here and there. the whole time i would be in court (and because of my dui i ended up having to go like 5-6 times for different reasons) i was just observing them trying to hear everything were saying during the waiting times. and they were all relatively young, they were playful with each other, would ask about each others weekend, would ask shit like "are you going to mikes thing tomorrow night?" judge has nothing to do with your sentence. he just reads out what the da's and pd's agreed on. the pd would go up and tell the judge "we've agreed to reduce the charge to a wet reckless," the judge turns to the da's and says "do the people agree with this?" they say "yes your honor, the people are in agreement" and thats it. the judge then just officially reads your sentence. so, at least in san diego court, i think getting a public defender could possibly help if youve got something for them to work with
as far as lawyers go. be careful cause theyll make it seem like they can help just to get your business. i know a couple ppl who were convinced by lawyers they MIGHT be able to reduce their charge, and didnt do a damn thing. even if that shit comes back .09 they likely wont give a fuck. especially if in the report it says you had devils cabbage with you. the best way is if the cop pulled you over illegally or something like that. a good lawyer can make the case that they have to drop your charge due to that. or possibly even a good public defender (and if he/she is friends with the da's that can't hurt).
and as far as the dmv...FUCK THEM. my homie got his shit fully dropped from the court court (as he should of considering it was 9 in the morning and he stopped drinking the night before) but the dmv court still convicted him. you're gonna have your license suspended for 3 months (after your 1 month grace period) no matter what. the real court WILL NOT suspend your license, just give you a fine and make you do the classes. but dmv court is a bitch and will likely convict you and not let you get your license until you complete the classes. just get your classes and all that shit done as soon as possible, because once you complete all that then you're eligible to have your license back from the dmv. and if you apply for a restricted license you have to show proof that youve enrolled in the program, pay hundred something bucks, then pay another hundred something bucks once your ready to have you license again.
one thing i learned though is that the pd's and the da's are all like homies. they all see each other everyday and im sure if they like each other they probably help each other out here and there. the whole time i would be in court (and because of my dui i ended up having to go like 5-6 times for different reasons) i was just observing them trying to hear everything were saying during the waiting times. and they were all relatively young, they were playful with each other, would ask about each others weekend, would ask shit like "are you going to mikes thing tomorrow night?" judge has nothing to do with your sentence. he just reads out what the da's and pd's agreed on. the pd would go up and tell the judge "we've agreed to reduce the charge to a wet reckless," the judge turns to the da's and says "do the people agree with this?" they say "yes your honor, the people are in agreement" and thats it. the judge then just officially reads your sentence. so, at least in san diego court, i think getting a public defender could possibly help if youve got something for them to work with
as far as lawyers go. be careful cause theyll make it seem like they can help just to get your business. i know a couple ppl who were convinced by lawyers they MIGHT be able to reduce their charge, and didnt do a damn thing. even if that shit comes back .09 they likely wont give a fuck. especially if in the report it says you had devils cabbage with you. the best way is if the cop pulled you over illegally or something like that. a good lawyer can make the case that they have to drop your charge due to that. or possibly even a good public defender (and if he/she is friends with the da's that can't hurt).
and as far as the dmv...FUCK THEM. my homie got his shit fully dropped from the court court (as he should of considering it was 9 in the morning and he stopped drinking the night before) but the dmv court still convicted him. you're gonna have your license suspended for 3 months (after your 1 month grace period) no matter what. the real court WILL NOT suspend your license, just give you a fine and make you do the classes. but dmv court is a bitch and will likely convict you and not let you get your license until you complete the classes. just get your classes and all that shit done as soon as possible, because once you complete all that then you're eligible to have your license back from the dmv. and if you apply for a restricted license you have to show proof that youve enrolled in the program, pay hundred something bucks, then pay another hundred something bucks once your ready to have you license again.
