If you are facing a DUI charge, you need the professional legal counsel of an experienced DUI attorney on your side. If you have been charged with DUI and your case is being heard at either the Van Nuys Courthouse East or the Van Nuys Courthouse West location – serving Van Nuys, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Reseda, Northridge, Porter Ranch, and Malibu – you need a dedicated DUI attorney who has considerable experience successfully handling cases like yours in the specific location in question. The better your DUI attorney knows the courthouse – and its culture – where your case is being tried, the better your chances of coming away with a beneficial resolution.
The Van Nuys Courthouses
Every courthouse has its own systems, procedures, preferences, and overall ways, and the Van Nuys courthouses are no different. If a DUI charge has been levied against you, you need every legal advantage you can get, and one such advantage is finding a criminal defense lawyer near me who knows the ins and outs of the courthouse in which your case is being heard (whether Van Nuys East or West). Going into a courthouse cold – without a close working knowledge of not only the rules and regulations but also the judges, personnel, and staff – can leave you at a disadvantage. Having a formidable DUI lawyer in your corner who knows the ropes in your Van Nuys courthouse is the best path forward.
Associated Fines and Penalties
If you are convicted of DUI in the Van Nuys area, you can expect the fines and penalties you face to be steep, including the cost and expenses associated with all the following (as applicable):
- Property damage to the vehicles involved (your own and the other driver’s)
- Bail
- Car towing and/or impoundment
- License reinstatement fees and the cost of losing your primary form of transportation
- Probation costs
- DUI education programs
- Any associated work losses (if you can no longer drive to your place of employment, for example)
Having a skilled criminal defense lawyer whose practice focuses on DUI defense and who knows his or her way around the Van Nuys Courthouse (East and West) on your side helps to ensure that you make the right decisions for you – and your case – throughout the legal process.
The DUI Charge against You
Being charged with driving under the influence of alcohol is not the same as being guilty of the crime. In order to convict you of the charge, the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were impaired by alcohol while behind the wheel. Let’s break this down into the basic elements.
A Reason for Pulling You Over
To begin, the officer that pulled you over in the first place must have had a legal justification to do so. He or she cannot pull you over on a hunch; instead, they must have reasonable suspicion that a crime is being or recently has been committed. Some of the most common reasons for pulling drivers over include driving infractions – such as speeding, running a red light, failing to dim your high beams, and more – and some of the reasons for extrapolating probable cause for a DUI charge from here include signs such as the following:
- You have red, bloodshot eyes, and/or your pupils are dilated.
- You smell of alcohol.
- Your speech is slurred.
- You exhibit what is deemed erratic behavior.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt
Further, the state must be able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you were impaired by alcohol. Beyond a reasonable doubt is a strict legal standard that means it would be unreasonable to believe that you were not impaired. Impaired in this context means either that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was over the legal limit of .08 percent or that the amount of alcohol that was in your system impeded your ability to drive safely.
Your Implied Consent
When you get behind the wheel of your vehicle and take to the road, you give what is known as implied consent for being tested regarding your BAC. Refusing to submit to such a test leads to license suspension and can enhance the penalties you ultimately face. It is important to note, however, that your implied consent only holds if the officer who stops you and gives you the breath test has probable cause to do so in the first place.
The Prosecutor Handling Your Case
When you proceed with an experienced DUI attorney who understands how the Van Nuys courthouse ticks and has a close working relationship with the prosecutor handling your case, it can make a world of difference. It’s very likely that your attorney has worked with the prosecutor before, which means that he or she knows how best to negotiate your case’s optimal outcome. In the end, there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to DUI charges and case outcomes, and the more familiar with the Van Nuys courthouse (and the professionals who run it) that your DUI attorney is, the better off you are.
Reach out to an Experienced Van Nuys DUI Lawyer near Me
If you have been charged with DUI, the consequences of a conviction are too great to leave to chance, and you need a savvy DUI attorney who has a wealth of experience in the Van Nuys courthouse in which your case is being heard in your corner. Mark Rosenfeld at the Law Office of Mark Rosenfeld is a seasoned DUI lawyer who has a stellar track record of successfully defending clients like you in both the Van Nuys Courthouse East and the Van Nuys Courthouse West – serving Van Nuys, Encino, Sherman Oaks, Reseda, Northridge, Porter Ranch, and Malibu. Mr. Rosenfeld is a dedicated DUI attorney who takes pride in his proven commitment to his clients, and he is well-positioned and well prepared to also help you. For more information, please do not hesitate to contact or call us at 310-424-3145 today.
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