DUI Gardena, Client a Class B Commercial License Holder
Our client, age 47, had just begun a career as a big-rig driver with a Class B license. He had been driving for about one year and was happy with the higher income and enjoyed being on his own, out on the road.
He had an extensive criminal history that had seemed to relegate him to menial jobs in warehouses and temporary jobs, punctuated by being unemployed.
One night in 2021, however, as the COVID-19 pandemic seemed to being waning, he went out for a few drinks at a local bar that he had not been to since before the pandemic. He enjoyed himself and as he drove home, he felt himself becoming sleepy. It was about 4:30 a.m.
He pulled into a strip mall on Artesia Boulevard and found a Carl’s Jr., parking lot to park. He decided he would just sleep for a few hours instead of driving and possibly being arrested for DUI, as he knew such a conviction would have severe consequences for his commercial driver’s license.
Our client pulled into an area that he believed was a parking spot and put the car in park. He turned off the lights and decided to sleep. He kept the ignition on for the heater to keep running to keep himself warm.
Our client was observed by several workers of the Carl’s Jr., who were in the restaurant getting ready to open for the day. The workers watched our client with some interest because he had parked in the drive-thru lane and would be blocking customers seeking to use the drive-thru.
The workers therefore called the Gardena Police Department to report that a person had parked their car in the drive through lane and fallen asleep.
Police tapped on our client’s car window and could not wake him up. They were about to break the glass on his car window when he suddenly awoke and rolled down the window to speak with the police officers.
The police report of the initial contact stated that when the client rolled down his car window, officers immediately detected the strong odor of alcohol and asked the client, after he moved his car from the drive-thru lane, if he had consumed any alcohol that evening or early morning.
Our client explained that he had and this was why he decided not to drive, but to sleep it off.
The officers did not seem to appreciate his attempt to avoid a DUI and arrested him for DUI. Our client later submitted to a blood alcohol test that revealed his BAC at 0.11% and 0.12%. He was held by the Gardena Police Department a few hours before being released after signing a promise to appear in the Torrance Courthouse in a few months.
The client called Greg Hill and explained what had happened. He did not know what his blood alcohol content (BAC) was yet, as the blood analysis usually takes a few weeks, but he expected that his BAC would be above 0.08%. He told Greg about his prior wet reckless conviction he had eleven years earlier, also in the Torrance Courthouse and wanted to know what would happen to his commercial driver’s license (Class B) if he was convicted of DUI while driving his personal vehicle (not his commercial vehicle).
Greg explained that he would not lose his Class B license with one DUI, but he would lose it for life with a second DUI. Greg further explained that his prior wet reckless would not be counted as a first DUI for purposes of keeping or losing his Class B license. Moreover, since he was driving his personal vehicle (not in a commercial transportation capacity), the 0.08% BAC limit would apply, not the 0.05% that would apply if he were driving a commercial vehicle.
However, in terms of how the DMV would punish him as a Class B licensee, he would face a one-year suspension (not a 120 day suspension) if he “lost” at the DMV hearing.
Greg then appeared in the Torrance Superior Court on the client’s behalf for his arraignment and received the police report and the BAC measurement of 0.11% and 0.12%, which was too high for the Torrance District Attorney to resolve the case as a wet reckless. Moreover, since our client had previously resolved his earlier DUI (11 years earlier) as a wet reckless, the DA was unwilling to extend such a “good deal” yet again.
Greg challenged this tough approach to the DA’s supervisor, explaining that our client was a Class B licensee and had already suffered a suspension from driving at work and that the prosecution should never punish someone who pulls over, off the road to avoid endangering others (and himself or herself) when he senses he may be DUI. Rather, that type of awareness should be rewarded and encouraged.
The head DA at the Torrance District Attorney’s Office did not agree with giving our client a break a second time and noted our client’s numerous convictions for a multitude of other crimes, including for marijuana sales, commercial burglary, robbery and public intoxication.
Our client understood the DA’s position and accepted the DUI, but he appreciated Greg’s fight for him, although unsuccessful.
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