West Hollywood DUI Attorney
West Hollywood is a favorite spot for police to hang out and pick people off for DUI cases. There are so many bars and restaurants in such a condensed area that it is easy for the police to simply wait outside the most popular ones and pull people over one after the other.
Or they can simply set up a checkpoint and cast a much wider net over the people in this area who are simply trying to enjoy the nightlife and fun there. Of course, it is not lawful to pull people over for no reason.
The police will have to establish probable cause to pull a person over or comply with the rules related to checkpoints.
There is no court in West Hollywood, and the Hollywood court does not handle DUI cases anymore. Therefore, most patients are sent to the Airport court (LAX Courthouse), the Metro court in downtown Los Angeles, or the Van Nuys courthouse in the San Fernando Valley.
No matter which one of these courthouses your case is pending, your best strategy is to hire a local DUI defense attorney who has had success handling DUI cases arrested in West Hollywood and has been down the path you are about to travel.
It makes no sense to handle it yourself. And, your mentality should be to do it once, do it right and never do it again!
Prosecutors and judges will evaluate how dangerous you were the night of your arrest. They will look at how you were driving, whether you were speeding, involved in an accident, how high your blood alcohol level was, and a host of other factors related to DUI cases.
Your DUI defense attorney will sit in the best position to advise you and point out the mitigating aspects of your case and the positive attributes related to your life and family situation to the judge and prosecutor to resolve your issue.
WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CONSEQUENCES YOU ARE FACING IF YOU WERE ARRESTED IN THE WEST HOLLYWOOD AREA, AND WHAT CAN YOU DO TO MINIMIZE THEM?
In most DUI cases, you are looking at a fine, an alcohol school, a probationary period, and a loss of your driver's license for some time.
However, this is usually the bare minimum, and punishments involving jail, community service, Cal trans, alcoholics anonymous classes, and other disciplines can be applied if the circumstances of your arrest warrant the same. Not all DUI's are the same, and hence the punishments and vehicle code sections can vary as well.
Once in a while, I will get a client who says, “I am guilty; I will just take what you usually get.” Unfortunately, this is a dangerous attitude and could be costly to the person in more ways than one.
The point is that there are many different punishments and variations on penalties depending on how dangerous you are perceived to the community and how effectively your DUI defense attorney can argue for you.
In other words, there are no cookie-cutter solutions to every single DUI case. People get themselves involved in all kinds of different situations. Because there are such a wide variety of blood alcohol levels, not everyone gets the exact charges and punishment in every DUI case.
I make it a goal of mine in the first meeting with the client to have them lay out all of the truthful information on the table and begin putting together a plan for success based on the client's circumstances.
This includes how high their blood alcohol was, what their criminal and driving record looked like, the reason for their pullover (this can range from an accident to a simple moving violation), and how well they did on the field sobriety tests, according to the police.
In the end, we are looking to give the client peace of mind and a solid plan moving forward. This includes what they can do to help themselves and their attorney. Once the client knows what they are realistically facing and what they can do to help achieve the best result, I notice a sense of calm and control come back to the client. And, then it is just a matter of executing the plan we come up with and following through with the court to a successful end.