On July 8, 2013, Commissioner Dennis W. Carroll of Department 8 of the Long Beach Superior Court sentenced a Filipino client, who pled “no-contest” to first driving-under-the-influence (DUI) offense, to: suspended sentence, 3-year summary probation, 3-month, 30-hour alcohol AB-541 program, 10 days of CalTrans community service, and total fine of $2,000 plus.
The Author represents the first offender defendant, whose name is withheld to protect his privacy. He has given consent to the publication of his DUI case, so that others may be informed, and thus refrain from its commission because of its dire consequences.
Driving under the influence of alcohol
Indeed, on June 24, 2013, in the City of Long Beach, County of Los Angeles, State of California, the Filipino defendant committed a misdemeanor by willfully and unlawfully driving a motor vehicle, in said City, while under the influence of alcohol, in violation of Section 23152(a) of the Vehicle Code of the State of California, and while having 0.08 percent or more, by weight of alcohol in his blood, in violation of Section 23152(b) of the same Vehicle Code.
He submitted to a breath test via the Intoxilyzer 5000EN (Instrument #68-012323), done during booking by the Long Beach Police Department in the early morning of June 24, 2013.
The breath test results revealed a BAC of 0.142 percent at 0041 hours and 0.139 percent at 0042 hours. He was then advised of the Trombetta Advisement, per Section 23614 of the Vehicle Code, but did not desire an additional test, blood or urine, the sample of which is required to be collected and retained.
He was escorted to the Men’s Jail at the sixth floor of the Long Beach Police Department at 400 West Broadway, Long Beach, and released to the custody of the jailer. He posted $15,000.00 bail bond to obtain his release from Men’s Jail. He caused property damages to three parked cars.
Temporary and restricted driver license In California
The arresting Long Beach Police Officer issued the Filipino offender a temporary driver license good for thirty (30) days from the issue date of June 24, 2013, pursuant to the Administrative Per Se Suspension Order by DMV as an immediate administrative action.
A copy of that Order incorporates the temporary driver license and the hearing information that the offending driver has ten (10) days to request DMV for a hearing to show that the suspension is not justified.
The Filipino offender requested for a DMV hearing; and a hearing was scheduled for August 12, 2013 at 10:15am at the El Segundo DMV, to contest the suspension as not justified.
If the suspension is justified as a result of an automatic administrative review, or after a hearing, and the offending driver took the chemical test (whether breath, blood, or urine), a first offense will result in a 4-month suspension; a second or subsequent offense within ten (10) year will result in a 1-year suspension.
Restricted driving privilege
Under Section 13353.7 of the Vehicle Code, first DUI offenders with 0.08 percent or more BAC may apply for a restricted non-commercial license to drive to and from work and alcohol program after 30 days of suspension by:
(a) providing proof of enrollment in a first DUI offender program as described in Section 23538(b) of the Vehicle Code;
(b) filing proof of financial responsibility by a California Insurance Proof Certificate (SR22); and
(c) paying $125 reissue fee.
The request for a restricted license cannot be considered at the DMV hearing, but can be applied for at any DMV field office.
Conviction of DUI by the criminal court results in suspension of driving privilege immediately. The convicted first DUI offender is well-advised to request restricted driving privilege during the 4-month suspension.
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Roman P. Mosqueda has practiced criminal defense and Immigration law for over 20 years. He is a long-time member of the California Public Defenders Association. , and trained as a prosecutor with the Los Angeles City Attorney under the Trial Advocacy Program of the Los Angeles County Bar Association. He is also a volunteer, State-Bar trained arbitrator on attorney’s fees dispute resolution. Send comments or inquiries to [email protected] , or call (213) 252-9481 for free consultation appointment, or visit his website at www.mosquedalaw.com
