Attorney Troy Slaten explains the DUI process and what factors affect your case.
When someone is accused of DUI in California there are two separate actions that are immediately initiated. There is the administrative action that is started by the Department of Motor Vehicles and then there is the criminal action. That is where the district attorney, or the city attorney in some instances, seeks to prosecute the person criminally. So, both of those separate actions require aggressive representation. The DMV is obviously seeking to take away your driving privilege and the district attorney or the city attorney in some instances is seeking to prosecute you criminally and punish you with fines and possibly jail and other things. When somebody contacts me, we immediately put all of our resources in action. We immediately contact the DMV to ensure that the person has a right to a DMV hearing. Because the DMV is an administrative agency and it's not a criminal proceeding all the rules, rights and protections that someone has in criminal court do not apply. For example, if you fail to request a DMV hearing within ten days of your arrest you give it up, you have forfeited your right to a DMV hearing. That is why it is so important to contact an attorney immediately so they can request a DMV hearing on your behalf and ensure that you don't lose that right. Then, there is the criminal case. What happens first is an arraignment. This is a fancy legal word for having the charges read against you, but it is important to hire an experienced DUI attorney possibly even before the arraignment date, because the sooner we get on the case, the sooner we can start conducting our own investigations. We may even be able to contact the district attorney's office to try and encourage them to file charges that would be appropriate in the case.
We want to give you peace of mind. We want to let you know that when you contact our firm and hire Floyd, Skeren and Kelly we are able to get a successful resolution. We have done so to the satisfaction of our clients in over 95% of the cases without even having to go to trial. |