WHAT TO DO AFTER A CALIFORNIA DUI ARREST

About 500 people a day are arrested for DUI in California. People get arrested in different ways for this crime in California - drunk driving. Sure during the holiday season we see an increase in arrests as people leave holiday parties, but also during the summer months. Vehicles drive into DUI checkpoints, or simply violate the rules of the road and the cops get you. Sometimes you don't have to do anything - or someone else will crash into you and there you are - DUI when the cops arrive. If there is a serious accident, and people are injured besides the DUI driver, the case can be a felony or misdemeanor - and hard jail time is a reality if you lose.

Where ever the case is going you should have the help of legal counsel for the DMV and court process - if simply just to protect yourself from a future arrest.

People arrested for California drunk driving need to be helped right away - they cannot go into denial about the situation. First the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) drivers license suspension or revocation must be stopped for the short term. If the arrested driver doesn't contact the DMV within the first 10 days after arrest, the taking of the license is automatic 30 days after arrest (every day counts - even holidays and weekends).

In the California DUI Court, the criminal case begins with the arraignment. At this court appearance, if you don't have an attorney / lawyer and you want one, simply ask the judge for additional time to obtain one. You can apply for the public defender, but you'll likely have to pay for them too - so get a private California DUI defender. The system is going to make you go to jury trial if you won't take a plea bargain - and in many California courts, you might not get to plea bargain because of "policy".

Keep reading up on what to do by looking at the other pages here - through time tested case law and adversarial technique DUI cases can be successfully challenged - but not alone. The State of California has made the drunk driving case hard to win, but you can if your case is ripe, and needs litigation. Get a consultation asap w/ a qualified California DUI lawyer near the court for your case - get a lawyer within 10 days of arrest for DUI in California.