By Dale Gribow
With holiday parties looming, many of you may have already been stopped and offered a breath or blood test while returning from dinner or a party. IF you took a breath test and BLEW and did not follow my suggestion of a Blood test you may have a challenging DUI case pending.
I have discussed DUI’s and the need for education so that everyone realizes it is not the number of drinks consumed. It is the amount of alcohol in the drinks. If you are stopped and you have consumed more than two drinks of alcohol when stopped, you should be courteous and explain to the officer “that upon the advice of my attorney, Dale Gribow, I exercise my right to remain silent until you call him at (760) 837-7500 and he Okays it (Of course they will not call me). My attorney has advised me that the VOLUNTARY FIELD SOBRIETY TESTS AND BREATH TESTS at the scene are OPTIONAL (unless I am on probation). Thus I elect not to take them. I want to cooperate and am happy to take a BLOOD TEST”.
Though I am sometimes referred to as a criminal defense lawyer, I choose to not view my DUI clients as “criminals”. I prefer to view them, and more importantly to treat, them as good, honest people that have found themselves in a scary and unfortunate situation and not treat them as criminals, but rather someone that screwed up.
I look upon my job as protecting the Constitutional rights of every American who drinks and drives and thereafter gets arrested for Drunk Driving. I change “hats” when as a lawyer I SUE Drunk Drivers for damages on behalf of my clients.
If you drink and drive you are not making an intelligent decision. If you then don’t know what you should do when you are stopped for a possible DUI, you are screwing up again. IF you then hire an attorney from out town you have hit the Trifecta. They do not know the local DMV Hearing Officers, the DA’s and the Judges. On top of that, if you do not take down your social media you hit the Trifecta with a star. The DA’s investigators will use this information to learn about you, your friends and your drinking issues.
The issues presented by a DUI are confusing to the uninitiated. An arrest kicks in two separate proceedings with the court and DMV. One does not affect the other. DMV suspends your license for 4 months. However, after a 30 day suspension, you can get a Restricted License by filing an SR22 showing you are insured, pay a reissuance fee and show proof of enrollment in a DUI class. If not requested your license is gone for 4 months.
In order to save your Driver’s License you must request a DMV hearing within 10 days. Go to DMV and request a DMV Identification Card as your CDL was taken during the STOP and SNATCH. While at DMV get a record printout for $6 that you show the Riverside County Drinking Driving Program if/when you are ordered to attend a DUI class.
DMV is not as organized as one would expect. Do not rely on a telephone call alone when you request the hearing. DMV employees will say you will be contacted later but that often does not happen and then it is too late and they claim there is no record of your requesting a hearing. When we request your hearing, we ask for a STAY which freezes the 4 month suspension that occurs 30 days after the citation/arrest. Then we send a letter to DMV memorializing our request and you receive a Temporary License.
The 10 days starts from the date of the stop and includes weekends. The issuance date is on the Pink Order of Suspension/Temporary Driver’s License Endorsement which is the Administrative Per Se form. The DMV hearing is an administrative per se hearing where you are technically presumed guilty unless you can prove the contrary.
If you have a few drinks and are stopped, remember that Cops and DA’s are not your friends. No matter what they tell you, they are just trying to make a case and doing their job. If you are stopped and arrested do yourself a favor and do not talk to anyone and call a lawyer.
Since my legal radio show, I have preached that People Don’t Plan to Fail, They Fail to Plan. Hopefully this article will allow you to intelligently plan for the worst and NOT BLOW IT!
During the Holidays DON’T DRINK AND DRIVE, CALL A TAXI………IT IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN HIRING ME!
Dale Gribow has been selected every year as a “TOP LAWYER” by Palm Springs Life, and is also AVVO PEER rated SUPERB by fellow attorneys. Gribow has been named Man of the Year 7 times by both The City of Hope and the City of Palm Desert.
For more than 30 years, Dale Gribow Attorney at Law has been committed to protecting client’s civil and constitutional rights. Regardless of whether the matter concerns a Serious Accident, DUI, Business, Real Estate or Estate Planning issue every case is diligently handled with the utmost of respect and care. The Gribow firm offers clients decades of experience and success, thus making Gribow the attorney of choice for thousands of clients.
To contact Dale 760 837 7500 or dale@dalegribowlaw.com
