One case I recently had was a prescription drug case. My client came to me with her second DUI. She had a serious back injury. She had compressed discs in her back causing severe chronic pain. She was on prescription medication – pain killers – for her back. In her first DUI, she got into an accident. She went to court and pled guilty on her own without realizing what was coming next.
The chronic pain continued, and she was still on prescription medication. She had another accident. That’s when she came to me, on the second DUI. While we were defending the second DUI, she picked up a third DUI for prescription medication in a traffic accident.
At that point, we put her into a residential treatment program and started to get her help. We had her scheduled for surgery to fix the back problem, not just mask it with pain medication. We got her back fixed. We got her into rehab, because she was in need of some help to get clean. We got her clean and sober. We fought that case in court for about 10 months. We were then able to settle the case where the district attorney had been looking for about six months in county jail. We were able to walk our client out of court with no jail time at all. That was a settlement where we were able to keep our client out of county jail, which was her main goal.
Another case we successfully resolved through trial was a second-time DUI for a commercial driver. Because of his California Highway Patrol (CHP) arrest, my client was looking at a lifetime ban from driving. His commercial license was on the line. We took that case to trial the first time, and we hung the jury in favor of not guilty. The district attorney decided that they wanted to try it again, so we did. My client was driving about 75 miles-an-hour in a 30 mile-an-hour zone. He had a 0.12 breath test both in the field and back at the station with a highly-trained CHP officer.
The second time we tried it, we still had all of the court transcripts and information from the first trial. We were able to get an acquittal. Our client was found not guilty of all the charges. His driver’s license was completely reinstated, and he was able to get back to work as a commercial driver. DUI cases can be won, but they need to have the right attorney, and the right attorney needs to go the distance.
On a Personal Note
I think it’s important to have an attorney that understands what someone is going through. Of course, you want someone who is well-trained and well-qualified, someone who focuses their practice on handling DUI cases. But, you also want someone who is going to take the time to listen and understand what’s important to you, and you want someone who is willing to fight for that goal. Not everybody is looking for a jury trial. Not everybody is looking for the same thing. You need someone who is going to listen and do what can be done to protect you and your good name.
Although not every case should go to trial, it is important to remember that a DUI case can be successfully defended and won.
Personal Attention
