With the economic meltdown in full swing the number of “premier” DUI lawyers in San Diego has gone from about 4 or 5 to about 500 in the past year alone. Some of these lawyers aren’t even from the San Diego region and don’t appear in local courts on a regular basis. Before you hire anyone please consult your local Better Business Bureau.
With the depressed economy it appears that business is slow for general practice criminal defense lawyers. Although I can’t confirm this I have noticed in the last year dozens of Lawyers appearing from all over Southern California who are now all of a sudden “DUI Experts.”
My advice to anyone seeking the advice of counsel is to do your homework with regard to the experience of the lawyer and understand that having a website claiming to be one of the premier san diego dui attorneys doesn’t automatically make it so.
It is always good to check with the Better Busines Bureau before deciding on which san diego dui attorney you should hire as some have very bad ratings while others are not even accredited.
Additionally, I would be very cautious about hiring any lawyer who is not a member of the BBB because it is the only internet based service where the “rating” or “ranking” of the DUI lawyer can not be manipulated by either the DUI attorney, his friends or family.
Being a DUI Lawyer in San Diego I receive calls almost every day from people looking for advice as to what can possibly be done to help them. While most of these people have just been arrested for DUI some have already paid other lawyers but aren’t getting what they were promised – at least in their opinion.
One way to avoid this problem should you ever need to hire a DUI Attorney in San Diego is to do extensive research into the specific lawyer you are considering hiring.
Some of these lawyers will attempt to mislead you with things like “as seen on 48 hours” or “CNN.” Or “the only San Diego lawyer” to do this…….
I believe the better way is to filter out those lawyers who rely on a “Sales” pitch. The best way to do this is to do your research.
Here is what I suggest – “Google” the name of the DUI lawyer you may want to hire. Then browse each website.
Do they work for another attorney?
Do they have a pattern (every 4-6 months) of complaints?
Do they appear on more that 1 website about complaints?
On those websites that give rankings based on answering questions – do they spend all their time answering questions? If so this is an artificially inflated ranking.
Are the a member of the Better business Bureau? If not, why not?
I recently learned that a juror admitted to going to the law library in the courthouse during lunch break to look up words used in trial even though the Judge specifically directed the jurors not do do this.
This illustrates only one of the many risks associated with going to jury trial whether or not the case is a DUI.
Does this juror think that he or she is smarter than several lawyers and a judge? Maybe, maybe he or she is literally a rocket scientist but most likely not.
Be very cautious when considering going to trial on your San Diego DUI case.
beginning January 1, 2009 California imposed a zero tolerance policy on people on probation for DUI’s. In other words, if the cops stop you and you have any alcohol in your system, you’re going to get a 1 year suspension of your license.
Also, if you are still in your probation period and you are stopped by a police officer you cannot refuse to blow into the Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) device. If you do not blow into the PAS device your revocation of your license for a period of one to three years according to California Vehicle Code Section 23154(c)(3).
Here are the actual code sections we are advising you of.
VC 23154. (a) It is unlawful for a person who is on probation for a
violation of Section 23152 or 23153 to operate a motor vehicle at any
time with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater,
as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical
test.
(b) A person may be found to be in violation of subdivision (a) if
the person was, at the time of driving, on probation for a violation
of Section 23152 or 23153, and the trier of fact finds that the
person had consumed an alcoholic beverage and was driving a vehicle
with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as
measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical
test.
VC 23154(c) (1) A person who is on probation for a violation of Section
23152 or 23153 who drives a motor vehicle is deemed to have given his
or her consent to a preliminary alcohol screening test or other
chemical test for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol
in the person, if lawfully detained for an alleged violation of
subdivision (a).
After being arrested for DUI in San Diego you should begin looking for a DUI lawyer here in San Diego (not a law firm with offices all over the state).
One of the most common problems people have shopping for a DUI lawyer in San Diego is that you’re bombarded by a ton of letters to your home from San Diego DUI lawyers trying to ’sell’ you their services and their DUI law firm. Obviously these are the San Diego DUI attorneys that are looking for more business.
You might read some of the letters or fake magazines (yes they are fake) because you need help and don’t know exactly what to do. You might even schedule some appointments for a free consultation to discuss your DUI case.
Months later you realize that this lawyer “with the best professional reputation” or the one who claims to have “inside connections” has basically charged you $4500 for nothing.
What happened? You selected a lawyer that came after you. They needed your money to pay for all of their advertising.
Never hire a lawyer from Direct Mail, Yellow Pages, TV or Radio – look for a San Diego DUI attorney based on your research.
