By Dale Gribow
You need not attend Stagecoach to be “HELD UP”. Why do I say Held Up? Because your life may be put on hold for a number of reasons.
You may have gotten caught with an illegal substance while at stagecoach. Last week 2 separate guys called within 20 minutes of each other. Both were from New York and in the finance biz and both were at the airport returning to NY.
While entering Stagecoach security they wanted to be sure their “stash” was hidden. Before security they each tried to secure their baggies holding MJ & Coke for one and Mushrooms and MJ for the other. One dropped his baggie trying to secrete it in his waistband. The other guy dropped the baggie and the contents spilled right in front of the undercover cops.
During concerts many ABC plainclothes officers wait for attendees to do something wrong. This could be shifting or using controlled substances; underage drinking and of course using a false ID. I even had one last week using his wife’s handicapped parking while she was not in the golf cart.
Each arrestee has their life “held up” having to deal with finding and hiring a local lawyer, raising the money for legal fees and fines and fighting the charges. Many concert goers are from out of town and do not know the names of local lawyers who handle a lot of DUI’s. Thus an inordinate amount of time is spent “FINDING A LOCAL LAWYER”.
After leaving the concert their life can be held up too. They can cause or be involved in a motor vehicle accident where they are injured and need to hire a local Coachella Valley attorney to assist them. If they had been drinking and/or are under the influence of anything, then whether they caused the accident or are the victim, when the police arrive their life will again be “held up” when they are arrested for a DUI.
An accident causes one’s life to be Held Up by treating with a doctor and possibly being unable to return to work for a while. They may treat for many months to get better and though they can work it will be a major disruption of their life.
Dealing with the DUI case will take about 6+ months. After a plea or conviction their license will be suspended and they will have to attend DUI classes and deal with their insurance going up for years.
An arrest for a DUI kicks in two separate proceedings…….the Court and a DMV hearing. Both are looking to punish you. DMV looks to suspend your license if the reading is .08 or more, while the court focuses on jail. The outcome of one proceeding does not necessarily affect the other.
With a DUI in addition to court they have to deal with DMV… which they must contact within 10 days. The DMV hearing is a statutory hearing that presumes a driver is per se guilty if the reading is .08 or higher. There is a 98% chance the DMV hearing will suspend their license. Thus, even if they win in court they will have to deal with the DMV suspension for years.
When DMV suspends your license, it is for a four month period. If you ask for a restricted license, the suspension is for 5 months. Sometimes, we have clients who enter a plea in Court to something BEFORE the DMV hearing. Even though the court does not suspend your license as part of the plea, the court will notify the DMV in Sacramento that the driver pled to a DUI or reckless etc., and that the driver is sentenced to attend a drinking driving program. That notification will trigger a letter from Sacramento’s DMV called an Order of Suspension (for 6 months).
To avoid all this aggravation:
DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, CALL A TAXI OR UBER………IT IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN CALLING ME!
If you have any questions regarding this column or ideas for future columns please contact Dale Gribow Attorney at Law at 760-837-7500 or dale@dalegribowlaw.com.
DALE GRIBOW
“TOP LAWYER” – Palm Springs Life (DUI) 2011-2016
10.0 AVVO DUI Perfect Peer Rating
“Preeminent” – Martindale Hubbell Legal Directory
“Best Attorneys of America” Selected by “Rue” (Limited to Top 100/State)
