Metro Court, DUI, 0.18% BAC, Early Termination of Probation

The judge assigned to hear the matter had been an attorney for about ten years and a judge for just two years. It appeared that he did not have any experience in practice as a prosecutor or criminal defense attorney. This can be good and sometimes bad.

The hearing itself took almost two hours, which was quite unusual. The Los Angeles City Attorney, an experienced attorney, took the ridiculous position that our client should serve at least 2.5 years of the 3 years of probation because this case was really like a second DUI for our client because in 2012, he had been arrested for DUI (that ended up not being prosecuted).

Such a ludicrous argument was perhaps good for our client because Greg was able to respond that no one knew the specific facts of the case, so it would be improper to guess what they were or assume that our client got some gift or windfall, or lucky break by not being prosecuted (although the DMV suspended our client’s license in that case, which the prosecutor did not realize).

The judge focused quite a bit on our client’s employment situation and Greg argued that in education, it is somewhat rare, but less so nowadays, for one to work in an education capacity in private industry. Mostly, employment is for a governmental agency and one cannot transition from private industry to a governmental job while on probation or having this conviction on one’s record. The judge seemed to like that point.

Greg also argued that our client was now 34 years old, not 22, so this DUI is more of an aberration in his otherwise law-abiding ways and that he diligently met all obligations within the deadlines despite being in Maryland, including getting a 1650 waiver so he could get his driver's license out there.

Greg also explained that you had 25 months of separation from the arrest, although just 21 months on probation.

The judge also seemed to like the argument that he did not have to require any period of probation really, which Greg argued under People v. Reyna Killion, a Fourth Appellate District domestic violence case, that said even in a felony domestic violence case, the judge has discretion to end probation even after one year, so his acting on our client’s case after almost two years in a misdemeanor, first-time DUI would not be outrageous at all.

Lastly, Greg argued that without an end to probation, our client may lose his job, making it tough during these pandemic times, to find a new job while still on probation. The judge seemed to like that argument.

It was a long, tough hearing. Greg did not know how the judge was going to rule until the very end.

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