DUI DWI

Los Angeles DUI Lawyer

Criminal Defense Protecting Defendants’ Rights Since 1992

A Los Angeles DUI arrest can trigger two separate proceedings: a criminal case and a California DMV action affecting your driving privilege. The defense may turn on the legality of the traffic stop, the officer’s observations, field sobriety tests, chemical testing, and how evidence was handled. Arrest paperwork, test records, court documents, and DMV notices should be preserved so the applicable deadlines and allegations can be reviewed promptly.

Have you been charged with a DUI? Call Shevin Law Group today at (818) 918-5838 or contact us online to schedule a meeting with our DUI lawyer in Los Angeles.

California DUI Charges & Potential Penalties

The California Vehicle Code prohibits driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. California Vehicle Code section 23152 also separately prohibits covered drivers from operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08 percent or more. These are distinct theories, so the prosecution may rely on alleged impairment, a chemical test result, or both.

Potential consequences include probation, fines and assessments, custody, an alcohol or drug education program, an ignition interlock device, and a driver’s license suspension or revocation. The actual exposure depends on the charged statute, prior DUI history, chemical evidence, refusal allegations, injury facts, and other sentencing circumstances.

How prior offenses may affect the case:

First offense: A first DUI is commonly filed as a misdemeanor when the case doesn’t involve injury or another basis for felony treatment. Possible orders include probation, a DUI program, fines, custody, license restrictions, or an ignition interlock device.
Second offense: A qualifying prior conviction can increase potential custody, program, ignition interlock, and license consequences. The prosecution must still establish the present charge and any alleged prior conviction.
Third offense: A third qualifying offense can carry greater criminal and driving-privilege consequences. The court evaluates the prior record, current allegations, and applicable sentencing law.
Subsequent offense: Additional qualifying convictions within the applicable look-back period may create felony exposure. The charging decision depends on the alleged priors and the statutes that apply.

An ignition interlock device is a breath-testing unit connected to a vehicle’s ignition system. Depending on the case and applicable DMV rules, installation may be required or may affect available driving options. Our drunk driving attorney can review how the criminal allegations, prior record, and administrative license rules intersect.

When a California DUI May Be Charged as a Felony

A DUI may create felony exposure based on repeat-offense allegations, bodily injury, death, or a prior felony DUI conviction. A fourth qualifying offense isn’t automatically treated the same in every case, and injury allegations may be charged as either a misdemeanor or felony depending on the statute and facts.

Felony-related allegations may include:

Repeat DUI allegations: Multiple qualifying prior convictions or a prior felony DUI conviction can affect how a new charge is filed.
DUI causing injury: An allegation that impaired driving caused bodily injury may expose a defendant to incarceration, restitution, fines, probation, and license consequences.
DUI involving death: A fatal collision may lead to vehicular manslaughter or other homicide allegations, depending on the evidence and the defendant’s history.
Child endangerment: Driving under the influence with a child passenger may support an enhancement or a separate child-endangerment charge. It doesn’t make every DUI an automatic felony.

Felony DUI consequences can include state prison, substantial fines and assessments, restitution, probation, alcohol education, and suspension or revocation of the driver’s license. The potential sentence depends on the precise charge, proven prior convictions, injury evidence, and other legally relevant circumstances.

The 10-Day California DMV Hearing Deadline

The California DMV Administrative Per Se hearing is an administrative proceeding about driving privileges, not a criminal trial that determines guilt. A person generally has 10 days from receipt of the suspension or revocation order to request a hearing, subject to the notice received and the circumstances of service. Missing that deadline can limit the opportunity to contest the administrative action.

The DMV may consider whether the officer had reasonable cause, whether the detention or arrest was lawful, whether a qualifying alcohol concentration was established, and whether a required chemical test was refused or not completed. The hearing request, available stay, and license options depend on the arrest paperwork and DMV action involved.

The DMV matter and criminal prosecution proceed on separate tracks. A reduction or dismissal in court doesn’t automatically resolve every administrative license consequence, and a DMV result doesn’t determine criminal guilt. Our DUI defense attorney can evaluate both proceedings without treating one as a substitute for the other.

Los Angeles DUI Court Proceedings

DUI charges are criminal matters handled through the Criminal Division of the Los Angeles County Superior Court. Because the court operates multiple criminal courthouses, the assigned courthouse and courtroom depend on jurisdiction and the case assignment shown in the court records.

A case may involve arraignment, pretrial conferences, evidence requests, motions, negotiations, and trial preparation. That sequence isn’t identical in every prosecution. Court dates, release conditions, contested motions, and the need for testimony depend on the charge and procedural history.

DUI Defense Focused on the Prosecution’s Evidence

We were established in 1992 and provide criminal defense representation in Los Angeles and across California. Our founder, Eric D. Shevin, examines whether law enforcement respected the defendant’s constitutional rights and whether the prosecution can satisfy each element of the charged offense.

Our review can connect the roadside investigation to the chemical evidence, DMV notice, prior-offense allegations, and court filings. We work to identify factual and legal issues that may support suppression of evidence, challenges to test reliability, negotiation, or trial preparation. The available approach depends on the evidence rather than a standard defense applied to every arrest.

Contact Shevin Law Group or call (818) 918-5838 to schedule an initial consultation with our Los Angeles DUI defense attorney.

Reasonable Suspicion & Probable Cause in a DUI Stop

Reasonable suspicion and probable cause are separate legal standards that apply at different stages of a DUI investigation. Reasonable suspicion is a particularized, objective basis for a traffic stop or detention. A traffic violation, observed driving behavior, or information available to the officer may provide that basis, but an unsupported hunch generally isn’t enough.

After a lawful stop, the review turns to whether the officer had grounds to extend the detention, request field sobriety tests, and make an arrest. Probable cause requires facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe an offense occurred. Officer observations, admissions, driving behavior, test performance, and chemical-test information may be relevant, but no single fact resolves every case.

If a stop, detention, search, or arrest violated constitutional requirements, our drunk driving lawyer may seek to suppress evidence. Suppression isn’t automatic. It depends on the facts, the legal basis for the police conduct, and the court’s ruling.

Field Sobriety Tests & Chemical Evidence

Field sobriety tests aren’t direct measurements of blood alcohol concentration. Their interpretation may be affected by test instructions, lighting, pavement, footwear, fatigue, nervousness, physical limitations, and whether the officer administered the exercises consistently. Video from a body-worn camera or patrol vehicle may allow the reported performance to be compared with what the recording shows.

Breath-Test Evidence

Breath-test analysis may involve device maintenance, calibration records, operator procedures, timing, residual mouth alcohol, and compliance with applicable testing requirements. Medical conditions such as acid reflux may also matter in a fact-specific review. A reading above 0.08 percent doesn’t prevent the defense from examining whether the device and procedure produced reliable, admissible evidence.

Blood-Test Evidence

Blood evidence can be reviewed from collection through laboratory analysis. Relevant records may address who collected the sample, the collection materials used, storage conditions, transfers, testing methodology, and chain of custody. Chain of custody is the documented history showing who possessed and handled the sample.

Contamination, fermentation, storage problems, or incomplete documentation may affect how the evidence is evaluated. Whether those issues justify exclusion or reduce the weight of a result depends on the supporting records, testimony, and court rulings.

Drug-Related DUI Evidence

A DUI allegation may involve cannabis, prescription medication, another drug, or a combination of alcohol and drugs. These cases require a different analysis from a prosecution based only on an alcohol concentration. The defense may examine driving evidence, officer observations, toxicology results, dosage information, timing, and whether the available evidence supports an impairment allegation.

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