Santa Barbara DUI Lawyer

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Santa Barbara DUI Lawyer

If you or your loved has been charged with or are being investigated for a DUI, you should immediately contact a Santa Barbara DUI Lawyer at The H Law Group to defend you against your DUI charges. Our DUI attorneys have the experience and knowledge to reduce the consequences associated with your DUI. You can contact us by emailing us at nima@thehfirm.com or by calling us at 1 (213) 370-0404.

At The H Law Group, we handle simple DUI cases, as well as more complicated ones that involve a crash or injuries. We also handle marijuana DUI cases, which are becoming and more prevalent since the legalization of marijuana in the State of California. At The H Law Group, we have an excellent track record of achieving great results for our clients, so hire us and allows us to fight for you. So, if you’ve been charged with a DUI or marijuana DUI in Santa Barbara, California, don’t hesitate to contact us and schedule your free consultation.

California Vehicle Code Section 23152 makes it a crime for a person to operate an automobile while he or she is under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. 

If a police officer catches you driving while you’re intoxicated, he may arrest you, and the district attorney’s office will charge you with a DUI. California punishes DUIs harshly, so it’s essential to have an experienced and aggressive criminal defense attorney at your side fighting for you. Our Santa Barbara DUI attorney is here to help you navigate the Santa Barbara criminal justice system.

In Santa Barbara, the consequences of being convicted of a DUI are severe and will affect your future. Many of our clients have reported losing their job after a DUI conviction, all of them had to pay hefty fines, and some have even had to pay restitution. In addition to these consequences, many have been sent to jail as a result of their conviction. So, to lessen these consequences or avoid them altogether, please contact an experienced Santa Barbara DUI Lawyer at The H Law Group. 

Our lawyers will ensure that they achieve the best possible outcome for you. If they don’t have the charges against you dismissed, they will seek to negotiate a favorable plea deal for you. They will also ask the prosecution to place you on probation instead of sending you to jail. Our DUI attorneys have had tremendous success fighting for our clients, so you are in good hands.

AUTOMATIC SUSPENSION OF YOUR DRIVERS LICENSE AFTER BEING ARRESTED FOR A DUI IN SANTA BARBARA, CALIFORNIA

If you’ve been arrested for a DUI in Santa Barbara, CA, you may have noticed that the arresting officer took away your driver’s license and gave you a pink temporary license. If you do not contact the DMV and schedule what is known as an administrative DMV hearing within ten days of your arrest, your driver’s license will be suspended within 30 days of your arrest for drunk driving or driving while under the influence of marijuana or drugs. To keep your license, you must schedule and win your DMV hearing. If you lose at your DMV hearing, your driver’s license will be suspended for four months for a first time DUI. However, if you refused to take a chemical test at the station, your drivers license will be suspended for one year pending the outcome of your case. That said, if you’re convicted of a DUI in Santa Barbara, the DMV will add two points to your driving record. As such, to avoid losing your license and points added to your driving record, you should hire an experienced Santa Barbara DUI attorney to fight the charges against you.

That said, in addition to being charged with a DUI, the prosecution may have also brought charges under California Vehicle Code (CVC) Section 23152(b) for driving an automobile with a blood alcohol level of above 0.08%. If the prosecution succeeds in convicting you of driving with a BAC of above 0.08%, the same consequences that apply to a DUI apply to you. 

Having a DUI conviction is terrible for a variety of reasons; here are some of them. The significant consequences of a DUI conviction are the loss of your driving privileges, having to spend time in jail, having to pay hefty court fees and fines, having to enroll in an alcohol or drug education program, and being placed on probation for three (3) to five (5) years. So, if you’ve been charged with a DUI, you should not take it lightly as it can have a devastating impact on your future. Some of the other consequences include losing your job because of a DUI conviction, becoming not eligible for housing, and increased insurance costs as a result of your conviction. If you’ve been arrested for drunk driving or a DUI, you should immediately contact an experienced DUI attorney in Santa Barbara to represent you and lessen the consequences of your DUI.

HOW DOES A DUI ARREST OCCUR IN SANTA BARBARA, CA?

In Santa Barbara, California, most DUI arrests start with a police officer patrolling an area. While patrolling the area, if he observes an individual break a traffic law, such as running a red light, speeding, swerving, or driving with a broken tail light, the officer will use that traffic infraction to stop you and investigate further. Once he has stopped you, an officer will use the stop to determine whether you’ve broken any other laws, such as drunk driving or driving while under the influence of marijuana and/or drugs. For example, if the officer smells an odor of alcohol and/or marijuana or observes that you have bloodshot eyes or are slurring your speech, he will ask you to exit the vehicle and complete a variety of field sobriety tests. We are here to tell you that you are not required to perform any of the field sobriety tests, and it’s encouraged that you don’t because the police officer will hand over the results or the footage of you performing the sobriety test over to the prosecution to use it against you. 

After a police officer has administered a field sobriety test, he may ask you to complete a roadside breathalyzer test. You are not required to take this test. However, if the police officer proceeds to arrest you and take you down to the police station, you are required to complete any chemical testing that the officer asks you to complete. Refusing to take a chemical test at the police station or a hospital will result in a lengthier suspension of your license and will result in the prosecution increasing the severity of the punishment. As such, know which tests you have to complete and which ones you don’t have to complete. If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of being charged with or arrested for a DUI in Santa Barbara, California, you should immediately contact an experienced Santa Barbara DUI Lawyer to defend you and achieve the best possible outcome in your case.

UNDERSTANDING YOUR DUI SITUATION

California is among the strictest states when it comes to investigating and prosecuting DUIs. The State of California has spent millions of dollars training law enforcement personnel on how to detect and handle DUI cases. As such, law enforcement officers will use all of the evidence they’ve collected against you. Most of the evidence that we see used against our client comes in the form of an officer’s observations of characteristics such as bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, or the odor of alcohol or marijuana emanating from a suspect’s mouth. Also, if you perform poorly on a field sobriety test, the failure will be used against you by the prosecution to prove that you were impaired at the time of the stop.

For the future, you should know that you are not obligated to perform a field sobriety test, so if you’re ever asked by a police officer to complete such a test, politely refuse because they will use it against you. 

Also, if a police officer asks you to perform a roadside breathalyzer test, you are not required to perform it, and we encourage you not to perform it because if you do perform it and you fail, the results will be used against you. That said, although you are not required to take a roadside chemical test, if you’re taken to the police station, you must submit to any chemical testing that a police officer asks you to take. If you refuse to take a chemical test at the station or the hospital, your refusal to do so will increase the length of the suspension of your license, as well as used by the prosecution to punish you more.

If you’re arrested in Santa Barbara or elsewhere in the State of California, you should contact the experienced Santa Barbara DUI Lawyers at The H Law Group to represent you.

SANTA BARBARA DUI ATTORNEY

If you’ve been charged with a DUI, marijuana DUI, drunk driving, or DWI, you should immediately contact a Santa Barbara DUI Lawyer at The H Law Group to defend you. Our attorneys have the experience and knowledge necessary to achieve the best possible outcome for you in your criminal matter. We believe that everyone needs a good criminal defense, and we will do everything we can to ensure that you’re treated fairly by the legal system. Schedule your free consultation today by calling us at 1 (213) 370-0404.