As a DUI attorney in Los Angeles, the majority of clients who retain me to represent them accept that they were driving a vehicle and that they submitted to a breath or blood test with a reading over the limit of .08%. In other words, most people who hire me are, on the face of it, guilty of DUI but nevertheless would like to find a way out of a conviction or at least minimize the penalties and the impact of a conviction on their lives.
However, occasionally a client claims innocence and wants an absolute dismissal. This is sometimes wishful thinking or based on a misunderstanding of their situation, but sometimes the accused party is actually not guilty.
I was retained earlier this year, by a male defendant who had been arrested and charged with DUI, following a traffic collision in Bellflower. The police arrived on the scene of the collision and witnessed my client trying to push his disabled car with his passenger. He was pushing from the driver's side and had the car keys in his possession. The vehicle was also registered to him and, most damaging of all, he admitted to being the driver at the time of the collision. He was arrested and gave a breath test of .10%. His passenger was allowed to leave the scene.
When he visited me in my office the day after he was released from custody, he explained that he had admitted to driving at the insistence of his passenger who had consumed more alcohol, but that his passenger was driving his car at the time of the collision. I interviewed his passenger who confirmed that he was in fact the driver and, before the police arrived, they had both decided that it would be better for my client to tell the police he was driving as he had drunk less alcohol.
I was able to convince the DMV Hearing Officer at his DMV hearing in Commerce that he was not the driver of the vehicle and the suspension proceedings were set aside. The experienced DMV Hearing Officer provided us with a detailed written decision explaining why my client and his passenger witness were credible. This decision helped in his court proceedings.
It took three court appearances to convince the deputy district attorney handling the case in Bellflower, that my client was not guilty, but the case was eventually dismissed yesterday. If you have been falsely accused of DUI and you are interested in defending your case with an experienced DUI lawyer, please contact Gold & Witham for expert representation.