An Oakland DUI Attorney Can Help You Avoid Jail Time and Increased Insurance Premiums

An Oakland DUI Attorney can help drivers defend themselves against the serious charges of driving under the influence. A conviction can lead to fines, jail time and higher insurance premiums for years.

Our firm will work to defend your rights from start to finish. Lynn Gorelick will personally handle your case, including any APS hearings you may need to request.

Defending a DUI or Traffic Offense

A DUI conviction on a criminal record is not just embarrassing, it can also interfere with employment and prevent you from obtaining specific trade licenses. It can also cause a spike in your insurance rates for years to come.

An Oakland DUI Attorney can help you fight these serious charges. They can find flaws in chemical blood alcohol tests, question the legality of your stop and arrest, and investigate whether the police followed proper procedures when they took your breathalyzer sample.

They can also argue that a certain amount of therapeutically prescribed Vicodin does not impair driving and that you were not intoxicated at the time of your arrest. This is because the drug is a narcotic analgesic which has side effects including drowsiness, drooping eyes and slower reflexes and reaction times. These issues are important to your defense because they can lead to a dismissal of the DUI charge. This can save you money, jail time and a DUI conviction on your criminal record.

Defending a DMV Hearing

When someone is arrested for DUI in Oakland, they face both criminal and administrative penalties. For example, if they do not request a DMV hearing within 10 days of their arrest, then they will lose the ability to challenge the automatic suspension of their license.

A DMV hearing is separate from the criminal case and takes place in an office with a hearing officer. During the hearing, the hearing officer will review evidence of guilt. A driver can present exculpatory evidence and cross-examine witnesses for the DMV.

At this hearing, a skilled Oakland DUI Lawyer can help drivers fight their conviction by challenging the DMV evidence, including the probable cause to make the arrest and the results of any field sobriety tests. They may also be able to challenge any violation of the client’s rights committed by law enforcement. If the DMV hearing decision is not favorable, a good Oakland DUI Attorney can appeal the decision to Superior Court.

Defending a DUI Conviction

If you are charged with DUI, a skilled Oakland DUI Attorney can help you avoid prison time and other punishments. These attorneys specialize in drunk driving defense cases, preparing and handling all the administrative tasks involved with these types of legal cases, and representing their clients in court.

Oakland DUI lawyers review the evidence in their client’s case and find any legal issues that could lead to dismissal of the charges. They also find ways to introduce reasonable doubt into the prosecution’s case, so that their clients can have a better chance of avoiding a conviction and keeping the case off their record.

One of the most important things an Oakland DUI attorney can do is to make sure there are no violations of the chain of custody for the urine, breath or blood samples that are used as evidence against their client. Even a single opened envelope, missing signature or ripped evidence tape could be all that is needed for the judge to throw out the evidence in an OWI case.

Defending a Jail Time

Getting charged with DUI can mean jail time and a serious suspension of your driver’s license. An Oakland DUI Attorney may be able to work with you to reduce the charges or keep them off your record by building a strong defense for you.

There are many legal defenses to a DUI charge. One of the most common is challenging the validity of the blood test results. Drugs like hydrocodone (more commonly known as Vicodin) can have side effects that impair driving such as drowsiness, drooping eyelids, slower reflexes and reaction times, and impaired judgement.

Field sobriety tests can also be challenged in a DUI case. Common ways that drivers fail these tests include starting before the officer says to, failing to walk heel-to-toe, taking the wrong number of steps, losing balance while completing the test, and eye jerking. A skilled Oakland DUI Lawyer could argue that these were not signs of impairment. They might also challenge the accuracy of the BAC reading and other testing procedures.