CDLA v. DMV

• In California DUI Lawyers Association v. DMV, the California Court of Appeals ruled that “the DMV is permanently enjoined and restrained from having its APS hearing officers function as advocates for the position of the DMV in addition to being finders of fact in the same adversarial proceeding.”
  
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• In other words, unless and until this case is overruled, the DMV can no longer serve the dual role of arguing on its own behalf and then issuing its own decision. Instead, the DMV must bring in an outside/neutral arbiter to perform the latter function. This is good news to anyone who is arrested for Alcohol DUI and must appear before the DMV in an Administrative Hearing.

AB-3234

• AB-3234 (codified in Penal Code Section 1001.95) gives trial court Judges the discretion, over the Prosecutor’s objection, to grant Pre-trial diversion for any misdemeanor offense that isn’t specifically excluded, for a period not to exceed 24 months and under terms and conditions that the Judge deems appropriate. If the defendant complies with the imposed terms and conditions, at the end of the period of diversion, the Judge will dismiss the action against the defendant.
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  Since DUI isn’t one of the excluded offenses, defendants are generally eligible to petition the court for diversion. However, DUI cases will usually face an uphill battle, especially if the defendant has prior criminal history. Being represented by a competent DUI lawyer guarantees the highest probability that your diversion petition will be granted.

Missouri v. McNeely

• In Missouri v. McNeely, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that unless a warrant is obtained, suspicion of drunk driving is not grounds in and of itself to perform a forced blood-draw from a non-consenting arrestee. The high Court said that under the 4th Amendment, police can only perform warrantless forced blood draws in an emergency or under exigent circumstances. The Court specifically stated that a person’s BAC naturally dropping over time is not an exigent circumstance, which must be determined on a case-by-case basis and under the totality of the circumstances. In other words, if you refuse to submit to a blood test, under most circumstances police can no longer resort to a forced blood draw.

Vehicle Code §23154

• Vehicle Code §23154 creates a separate offense for driving with a 0.01% BAC when you are still on probation for a prior DUI. While the offense is only an infraction in court, the DMV consequences are severe if you lose or don’t request a §23154 DMV Hearing.
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• A first offense of driving with a 0.01% BAC or greater is a 1 year suspension (2 years of revocation if refusal is involved). A restricted license is not available.
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• A second offense of driving with a 0.01% BAC or greater is a 1 year suspension (3 years of revocation if refusal is involved). A restricted license is not available.