First Time DUI, Metropolitan Courthouse, 0.17% BAC, AB441

The following case arose on the evening of May 29, 2022, when our client, age 28, was driving on Avenue 28 in Lincoln Heights.  It was about 8:00 p.m.  She was heading home in her Scion after a happy hour at a local bar. 

As she drove home, she suddenly collided with a parked car.  Our client did not leave the scene and in fact passed out over her steering wheel.  The parked car was empty and the client did not have any passengers.  No one was injured.

The Los Angeles Police Department arrived at the scene shortly thereafter and discovered our client still in the car, slumped over her steering wheel.  They opened the car door and our client awoke.  Officers wrote in their report that they detected the strong odor of alcohol immediately and then arrested our client. 

Officers also found an empty 23.5 ounce can of Smirnoff Ice Blue Raspberry + Blackberry in her cup holder, which our client stated she had consumed earlier, as well as several additional empty cans of alcohol in her car.  Officers wrote in the report that they recognized her because they had detained her for public intoxication a few days earlier.

She thereafter submitted to a breath test at the police station.  Her ethanol level was measured at 0.17%.

The client was released with a signed promise to appear for her arraignment at the Metropolitan Courthouse about a month later.

Once she returned home and discussed her experience with friends, she called Greg Hill & Associates a few days later.  She spoke with Greg and explained what had happened.  This was her first DUI and she had no prior criminal history. 

Our office reserved a DMV hearing for the client immediately so her driver’s license would not be suspended after ten days if such a hearing was not reserved.

She explained how she was concerned about spending time in jail and Greg explained how punishment for a first-time DUI rarely includes any punishment with jail time.  Greg further explained how the DMV Hearing worked.  Greg also described how DUI cases were handled at the Metropolitan Courthouse.  The client then retained Greg Hill & Associates.

Greg then appeared on the client’s behalf (the client stayed at work) in the Metropolitan Courthouse for the client’s arraignment.  Greg looked over the complaint, which alleged our client violated California Vehicle Code § 23152(a) (“Driving While Impaired by Alcohol or Drugs”) and Vehicle Code § 23152(b) (“Driving with a Blood Alcohol Content of 0.08% or Higher by Weight”).  The complaint also alleged a sentence enhancement under Vehicle Code § 23578 that our client was driving a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of 0.15% or higher.

Greg then looked through the police report and noticed that although our client was involved in a rather significant car accident, LAPD officers seems to ignore this and forced our client to perform field sobriety tests that demand balance and coordination, as well as multi-tasking, to evaluate if the driver is under the influence of alcohol.

This was totally unnecessary to arrest our client, as authority to arrest arises under Vehicle Code § 40300.5 when the officer suspects a driver of DUI who is involved in a car accident.  In other words, it appeared that police were either grossly incompetent or just had her do the field sobriety tests to hassle her.

Greg discussed this with the Los Angeles City Prosecutor, who appreciated this and offered to resolve the case with a plea by our client to either count one or two of the complaint, with the client being placed on informal or summary probation for three years, with an obligation to enroll in and complete the three-month alcohol awareness program (the AB – 541 program), pay a court fine of $390, plus penalties and assessments (with credit for two days of actual time in custody, or $250 of credit toward the $390, making the total owed about $800), and attendance at the Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) victim impact panel.  Our client would also be responsible for paying for any repair or replacement expenses to the parked car she hit that her insurance did not pay.

This was an unbelievable offer for a DUI with a car accident and someone with a 0.17% BAC.  Greg had told the client to expect a six-month DUI program and a court fine of $450 or $500, plus penalties and assessments, as well as the MADD victim impact panel.

The client accepted this offer, happy to receive the bare minimum punishment (except for the MADD victim impact panel) in a case that really was not a minimal DUI.

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