Orange County DUI Defense Lawyer

If you have received a second DUI, you need to hire an attorney immediately. There are several issues that you will need to discuss without delay. Some of these issues are:

1. Bail: On a second time DUI, the court could ask that you post a bail. This may mean that the Judge may set bail at 10,000, which would mean you would likely have to have a bail bondsman ready to post the $1,000 bail or put up $10,000 in cash. However, in many cases, our office is able to get our clients released on their own recognizance, which means they are not required to post any bail, provided that they complete a number of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Meetings during the week. Attending these few AA meetings can sometimes save a client several thousand dollars in posting bail.
2. You must immediately request a DMV hearing and contest the suspension of your driver’s license. Remember, being convicted of a second DUI can cause your license to be suspended for 1 year.
3. You must make arrangements for a driver, because if your license does get suspended on a second DUI and you decide to drive without a license, and get caught driving under a suspended license, the District Attorney’s office will seek jail time.
4. You need to prepare to serve some jail time commitment. The law requires that you complete at least 96 hours minimum consecutive jail time. In other words, you may need to complete a minimum of 4 days in jail. If you have one prior DUI, most counties in California start out at a minimum of 30 days jail time. Sometimes these offers can reach 60-90 days.

Call the Law Offices of Stull & Stull today to make an appointment so we can advise you regarding the issue of jail. You need to be fully informed of all the consequences that are associated with a jail sentence.

On occasion and in some situations, in lieu of jail time, we are able to negotiate our clients into home electronic confinement. This happens in only a small percentage of cases. When you speak and meet with us, and we can assess the facts of your case, we can let you know whether you are a likely candidate for this program.

There is also a possibility that we may be able to negotiate CalTrans work in lieu of actual jail time. Some courts allow this and some do not.

Another possibility we explore is whether you can qualify to have your jail time confined to weekends only. In this case, if you have a job, you would still be able to work 5 days per week, and report to jail for the weekends.

5. Private Jail: Our firm has special relationships with a number of private jail facilities. In short, you are allowed to complete your jail commitment in a private jail, but are also allowed to be released early in the morning – attend work, and return to spend the evening in jail in order to complete your custody time. Again, this option is available in some cases, but not all will qualify.

In any event, a second time DUI is a very serious matter and requires immediate attention. Please call our office today so we can contact the DMV immediately in order to enter a stay on your license suspension, as well as meet with you to discuss the issues, facts and defence strategy for your case.

Time is of the essence. We may need to obtain discovery from the District Attorney’s office in order to get all the records, logs and police reports in your case. We may also need to conduct an individual investigation on the crime scene or file motions to suppress evidence on your behalf.

Call the Law Offices of Stull & Stull today to make an appointment so we can advise you regarding the issue of jail. You need to be fully informed of all the consequences that are associated with a jail sentence.