Lemoore DUI Lawyer
Arrested for DUI in Lemoore?
Lemoore is a city in Kings County, California and home to Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore. The city is located 7.5 miles west-southwest of Hanford and is a part of the Hanford-Corcoran Metropolitan Statistical Area; as of the 2010 Census, 24,531 people called Lemoore their home. Whether you're a long-time resident of Lemoore, or visiting the NAS Lemoore on business, or visiting one of the city's attractions such as the Sarah Ann Mooney Memorial Museum, or the mixed martial arts organization Tachi Palace Fights, people get arrested for DUI in Lemoore all the time.
If you were one of the unfortunate ones to get arrested for this extremely common offense, then we urge you to contact a Lemoore DUI attorney from the Law Offices of Michael E. Mitchell, A Professional Law Corporation at once to start working on your defense. You have just 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a DMV hearing; this is the hearing that addresses your driver's license suspension and it is your opportunity to dispute the charges against you. We can represent you at this hearing, as well as at your separate criminal hearing which will address your criminal penalties.
At our firm, we have defended many residents of Lemoore and Kings County for driving under the influence of alcohol and drugs, and we have handled many cases for men and women who were in the United States Navy and cited for DUI while on base. Many people wonder if there is anything that can be done to defend a Lemoore DUI case, and the answer is, "absolutely, we can defend your case."
Consequences of a California DUI
In the United States, it's against the law to drink and drive with a blood alcohol concentration of .08%, if you're under 21 that number goes down to .01%, which means you literally can't have anything to drink before you drive if you're underage. If you refuse to submit to a chemical test (blood, breath, or urine), or if you are under the age of 21 and have .01% BAC or greater, then your driver's license will be automatically suspended for 12 months in both cases. For a standard first-time DUI in California, the penalties include:
- From 96 hours to 6 months in jail
- Fines ranging between $390 and $1,000
- A 6 month driver's license suspension
- The mandatory completion of a 30 hour drug and alcohol education course
- For driver's with a BAC registering above .20%, the mandatory completion of a 60 hour drug and alcohol education course
The above penalties are for a first time DUI without any aggravating factors. Aggravating factors refer to circumstances that make the situation more severe. Such aggravating factors that may result in additional fines and lengthier terms of imprisonment include: having an excessive blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.15% or more, having a minor passenger under the age of 14 in the vehicle, refusing to submit to a chemical test, having a prior DUI conviction within 10 years, causing bodily injury or death to someone else, causing bodily injury or death to multiple victims, excessive speed, reckless driving, driving on a suspended or revoked license, being in an accident, causing property damage, and being on probation for another criminal case. For example, if the drunk driver injured several people in a single accident, then he or she shall receive a sentence enhancement of one year in state prison for each additional injured victim; the maximum number of one year enhancements in this situation is three.
Thanks to alcohol education campaigns such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MAAD), and law enforcement campaigns, the numbers of DUI arrests have gone down over the years. However, in the last decade law enforcement across the nation has seen a dramatic increase in the numbers of drugged drivers on the roads.
Since drugged driving has become more prevalent and an increasing cause for concern, law enforcement is now on the lookout for drivers who are impaired by alcohol and any controlled substance. Since common antihistamines, anti-anxiety drugs, pain medications, and anti-insomnia medications are known to cause drowsiness and sometimes blurred vision, it's unlawful to drive while impaired, whether it involves alcohol or any legal or illegal drug. This means that in today's society, you can literally get arrested for DUI if you're still under the influence of pain killers or your anti-anxiety medication, and it is found that such substance impaired your ability to drive.
Consult with a Seasoned Lemoore DUI Attorney
At our firm, our lead attorney Michael E. Mitchell addresses a drunk driving charge in a variety of ways. For example, he may subpoena the reports from the police officers who made the arrest, and he can subpoena the chemical test records. We also check to see if there are any video or audio recordings of the alleged incident. We analyze any field sobriety testing procedures in the walk-and-turn test, the one-leg-stand and the horizontal nystagmus test. Lastly, we scrutinize whether or not there was probable cause to make the arrest.
By gathering witness statements and searching for additional witnesses, we obtain more ammunition to negotiate with the prosecutor assigned to the case. After we do our best to convince the judge, if all else fails, we bring the case before a jury and let them decide. If you are searching for a DUI attorney in Lemoore who will look out for your best interests and your best interests only, then look no further than the Law Offices of Michael E. Mitchell, APC today!
Lemoore Resource Links
DUI Information Center
City of Lemoore
Naval Air Station Lemoore