Fullerton DUI, Army Vet, 0.17% BAC, Military Diversion

Our client, age 26, was arrested for DUI in Fullerton in late 2022. A Fullerton Police officer had seen our client travelling at 45 miles per hour in a 35 mile per hour zone and watched him run a stop sign. He was then pulled over along Commonwealth Avenue near the corner of Commonwealth and Pomona Avenue.

It was about 2:20 a.m. and our client was returning home from a bar in downtown Fullerton. Our client had no passengers and was extremely respectful to the police.Our client then was asked to submit to a breath or blood test and he chose a blood test. He thereafter had a blood sample taken from him that measured 0.17% BAC.

When the client was released from the police station about noon after signing a promise to appear in the Fullerton Courthouse in about two months, he scoured the Internet, trying to understand what punishment he might face. He called Greg Hill & Associates because Greg is a Marine veteran and the client was an Army veteran.

The client told Greg that he called Greg Hill & Associates because he wanted to talk to a former service member. He explained the facts of the case and Greg asked him about his miliary service.

The client had served our country as an enlisted man, as a cook, from 2016 to 2020, before leaving the Army with an Honorable Discharge, as well as a service-related generalized anxiety disorder and major depression. While in the Army, he deployed to Ukraine and was awarded two Army Achievement Medals, a Good Conduct Medal, and the Global War on Terrorism Medal. He was otherwise stationed at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

Unfortunately, after leaving the service, his service-related generalized anxiety disorder and major depression continued and he has been treated for this through the Long Beach branch of the Veteran’s Administration, including before his DUI arrest.

Greg then explained that under California Penal Code § 1001.80, there was a program called Military Diversion, or also called Veteran’s Diversion, that included diversion for DUI cases.

Greg explained how diversion worked and how military diversion was a very fortunate thing for our client because he would avoid a conviction for DUI and that he would not have to pay about $2,000 in court fees related to a conviction. Greg then explained what the terms of diversion would customarily be for someone like him, given the facts of the case.

Greg recommended that the client enroll now in a three-month alcohol awareness program called the AB 541 program. The program is 39 hours of various classes and meetings.

Greg further explained how such cases were handled in Orange County, which was different than how they were handled in Los Angeles County.

Greg Hill & Associates then filed the Motion for Imposition of Military Diversion in the Fullerton Courthouse. The motion included a declaration from our client concerning his military service and photocopies of the certificates that accompanied his medals mentioned above. The client h ad also enrolled in the AB 541 program, so the motion included a photocopy of the client’s proof of enrollment in the program.

The Fullerton City Attorney did not oppose the motion and the judge assigned to the case in Fullerton granted the motion.

For the terms of diversion, the case was reassigned to a judge in the Santa Ana Courthouse. The judge would also then monitor our client’s progress in DUI classes and further treatment at the VA in Long Beach.

The Santa Ana judge set the term of diversion as one year, with an obligation for our client to continue treating with the Long Beach VA for his depression, which was certainly a cause of his alcohol abuse. There were no other terms except to obey all laws during the term of diversion.

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