Defending a DUI in Los Angeles: section 23152 (a) and/or 23152 (b)
A driver arrested for a DUI in Los Angeles can be charged with a violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152 (a) and/or section 23152 (b).
A violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152 (b) occurs when a driver is over the legal limit. The legal limit is defined as .08% alcohol in blood. In proving that the driver is over the legal limit, the governm
ent will attempt to measure your blood alcohol level within 3 hours of driving. To make the prosecutor’s job easier, the driver who is arrested for a DUI is required by law to submit to a chemical test of his blood or breath. In this situation, defending a DUI in Los Angeles must be based on showing that at the time of driving the blood alcohol level was below .08%.
In contrast, a violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152 (a) occurs when the driver is impaired. Impaired driver is the driver who can not operate a vehicle with a “caution of a sober person”. In proving that, the government will rely on the field sobriety tests, driving, and any “objective signs of intoxications” observed by the officer. It benefits you to have the officer observe as little as possible of you. Simply, if the government has little evidence of driving, little of the “objective signs of intoxication”, and little evidence from the “field sobriety test” – the prosecution of CVC 23152 (a) would be difficult. Comparing a driver who arrives at a checkpoint (not displaying any bad driving), and declines to submit to field sobriety tests, with a driver who is observed committing a traffic violation and submits to a chemical tests, shows that first driver would have a better chance defending a DUI then the second driver. In this type of prosecution, defending a DUI in Los Angels must be based on showing that the evidence of impairment is not sufficient for a conviction.
Defending a DUI in Los Angeles will often depend on how much evidence the prosecutor has against a DUI driver. The less evidence they have, the better your case will be. The government often files two separate charges against a driver suspected of a DUI to increase the chances of conviction so that conviction for either CVC 23152 (a) or CVC 23152 (b) will be a win for the government. While you are required to submit to a chemical test (breath or blood test), and provide the government with evidence that will be used to prosecute you for CVC 23152(b), there is no such requirement to submit to field sobriety test or to a preliminary alcohol screening test (PAS) to provide the government with evidence that can be used to prosecute CVC 23152 (a) violation. Consequently, a prosecution for a California Vehicle Code section 23152 (a) can be harder because you have better control of what evidence government has against you. Clearly, the less evidence police will have of your impairment, the easier it will be to defend a DUI in court and at the DMV. You can help defending against a DUI by letting police observe you as little as possible.
For best DUI defense call our office any time to get a free consultation. We are well known in the legal community and among the judges and prosecutors of Los Angeles county DUI courts. Our Los Angeles DUI Attorney available to answer all your questions and specialize in defending all Los Angeles drunk-driving related charges.
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