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Providing DUI Defense for Seal Beach

Arrested for DUI in Seal Beach?

There is no other event where time is more urgent than following your DUI arrest in Seal Beach. As soon as you are arrested your permanent driving license is taken from you and replaced with a temporary one that is only valid for 30 days. At the time of your Seal Beach DUI Arrest, you are given 10 calendar days to schedule a DMV hearing where your defense of your DUI charges will begin. If you fail to schedule it, you will have your license suspended at the end of 30 days.

The hearing is very important to you and you will want an experienced Seal Beach driving under the influence attorney to schedule your DMV hearing for you. Nothing short of a Seal Beach DUI attorney should be entrusted to build your defense and represent you in your case. Remember, the sooner you find the right DUI defense attorney, the more time you will have to prepare and develop your defense for trial.  This is especially true because Seal Beach Police vehicles are equipped with video units which capture the enforcement stop, the field sobriety testing and any breath testing conducted at the scene.  The can provide critical information to an experienced DUI defense lawyer who can build a defense based on mistakes made by the police.

 

What You Need to Know Now

The most important hurdle you have to overcome right now is the lack of time with which you have been given to work. Your odds of having your case dropped and avoiding severe penalties are much better if you schedule a DMV hearing. While the trial will end with a dismissal or a conviction, the hearing will be your first chance to looking at the evidence, interview any of the witnesses, including the arresting officer or a forensic scientist.  Either way, you should certainly benefit from scheduling a DMV hearing as opposed to foregoing one.

 

If Your Case Goes to Trial

If your case is sent to trial, it does not mean that your odds of mounting a successful defense are hopeless. Even if you have a BAC that is higher than the legal limit, your attorney will be able to determine from a number of factors if an error might have caused a false positive to be recorded in your case. This is why it is so important to find an expert Seal Beach DUI attorney with the knowledge of DUI laws in Seal Beach and Orange County so that you will have the best defense possible in the event your case were to proceed to trial.

 

What You Need to Know About the Seal Beach Breath Test

The machine used to measure BAC is not infallible, and neither are the people who administer it! If the officer has not had a great deal of experience with the device, he/she may not have the skills necessary to administer the test properly. There is also a law that requires officers to keep you under a continuous 15 minute observation period before administering the test in order to ensure other factors are not at play.

Often, the breath test is given after the individual is pulled over and arrested—a relatively short time after the individual consumed their last drink. If fewer than two hours have passed prior to administering the test, this may invalidate the results because of mouth alcohol or alcohol that has not yet been fully absorbed into the bloodstream.

The margin of error of the machine is one of the shortcomings that can have a huge impact on the breath test results. With a variable of .02 considered acceptable and a legal limit of .08, the error of margin is 25% of the same value that constitutes legal intoxication. If your true reading is at .07 which is under the legal limit, the variation may take it to .09. The result is an arrest for DUI in spite of your not being intoxicated.

Medications, health conditions and even the weather can affect the results of a BAC test and cause higher-than-accurate or false-positive results. Considering the impact that a DUI arrest can have on your life, you need a Seal Beach DUI lawyer who has extensive knowledge of the Seal Beach and Orange County DUI laws and will use them to build a strong defense in your case.

 

Discovery Items

Seal Beach Police Department has Audio of initial contact and In-Car Video.

Orange County DMV Office

790 The City Drive, Suite 420

Orange, CA 92868

 

Seal Beach Courthouse

West Justice Center

8141 13th Street

Westminster, CA 92683

 

Get Driving Directions to our office

Call (949) 497-1729 for a free consultation.

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By Barry T. Simons: “It is my honor and privilege to fight for my clients; challenge unjust laws; protect our Constitution and to be a thorn on the side of injustice”.

By Barry T. Simons: “It is my honor and privilege to fight for my clients; challenge unjust laws; protect our Constitution and to be a thorn on the side of injustice”.