From Everyone | From Minors/Parents | From Multiple Offenders | From Non-Residents

1. When can I get the police report?
2. Does it matter that I wasn't read my rights?
3. Will it help that I've never been arrested?
4. Should I get a lawyer?
5. What is a typical sentence for a Mendocino County DUI?
6. Will I go to jail?
7. Can I drive right now?
8. Will my license be suspended?
9. Can I get a restricted license?
10. What about my job?

Experienced Mendocino County DUI lawyers will explain to you that In most cases, police reports in Mendocino County are not released until the arraignment (the first court date) in Ukiah. In fact, this is actually the purpose of the first court date, to inform the defendant (or better yet his/her DUI attorney appearing on behalf of the defendant) of exactly what the charges will be, and to provide the documentation which the police and the district attorney intend to use to justify and support the arrest and the charges in a DUI case.

Typically the police report isn't even completed until at least a few weeks after the DUI arrest incident. First it is usually routed to the officer's supervisor, then to the Mendocino County District Attorney's office for evaluation by a deputy District Attorney, and sometimes returned to the police agency and the specific arresting officer for more information or investigation. If charges are never filed by the District Attorney then the officer's report might never be released! Click on Anatomy of a Mendocino County DUI on this site for a typical view of the entire Mendocino County DUI process.

Compassionate Mendocino DUI attorneys understand that most people are anxious to find out about their DUI field sobriety and alcohol test results. Make no mistake: Mendocino County police officers almost always score DUI arrestees very low on field sobriety tests regardless of how you were encouraged in the field (think about it, if the reports say you passed all your tests and blew below .08, then the officer's subsequent arrest of you would look pretty stupid and would likely be thrown out; this is not a scenario police want to allow).

Most people want to know their blood and/or breath results as soon as possible. Blood samples are routed to the Santa Rosa lab of the Department of Justice where test results can take several weeks or even longer to be produced and returned to the District Attorney. Sometimes blood results after a DUI arrest may remain unknown beyond the first court appearance (although often a resourceful Mendocino DUI attorney can obtain breath and/or blood results sooner, even before the prosecutor).

The best Ukiah DUI lawyers counsel recent arrestees to be patient. Normally, all "discovery" information and documentation (such as arrest reports, lab reports, dash cam and body-worn camera video, breath machine records, supplemental records and information, etc.) is supplied, considered and resolved in due course with ample time and opportunity to mount defenses and resolve a matter in your best interests. In the meantime, there is plenty of constructive work for you to do. Click on Ten Tips for the First 48 Hours After Arrest. Consult with a Mendocino County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

Usually not, the smart Mendocino DUI attorneys will explain, because Miranda rights typically apply only to "custodial interrogations" (picture an interrogation room with a lightbulb and a chair) and typically apply only to verbal utterances (statements you make) which may be kept out of a court trial when rights were not read to you before questioning. If you think about it, in most DUI encounters, long before arrest the Mendocino County police officers have already noted observations of your driving behavior, personal conduct, breath alcohol odor, performance on field sobriety tests, and breath machine results, all non-verbal utterances, all way before you are placed in custody, thus not typically subject to Miranda warnings.

In Berkemer v. McCarty (1984) 468 U.S. 420, the United States Supreme Court held that an officer's roadside questioning of a driver detained during a routine DUI traffic stop (officer observes weaving, stops driver, orders him out of vehicle) does not constitute this “custodial interrogation” for Miranda purposes. The court rejected the contention that the initial police stop of a vehicle, by itself, renders the driver "in custody," explaining that such circumstances are not “custody” because the questioning is brief and took place in public. The court contrasted a police station interrogation, "which frequently is prolonged, and in which the detainee often is aware that questioning will continue until he provides his interrogators the answers they seek."

However, Ukiah DUI attorneys know that are many ways to fight a DUI. Click on Ten Tips for Fighting a DUI on this site for a more detailed discussion. Consult with a Mendocino County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

Sort of. The best Ukiah DUI lawyers will explain to you that your lack of a prior Mendocino County criminal record is usually not a sole basis to dismiss a current DUI case in Mendocino County, or even to get a better plea deal.

But of course, it is far better to have an absolutely clean record, because those people with a prior criminal record, especially those with prior DUI convictions, are typically exposed to substantially or exponentially increased penalties with a new DUI arrest (like steep jail sentences often with no jail alternatives offered, much longer license suspensions, much longer DUI classes, and longer probation and breathalyzer periods), depending on the number, nature, and recency of their prior convictions, whereas someone with no prior arrests and no aggravating factors would be facing the very least possible consequences.

In rare cases, where the Ukiah District Attorney's office is wavering on a dismissal or an especially terrific plea deal, a defendant's clean prior criminal record, perhaps coupled with extraordinary hardship if convicted, and significant community or charitable history, etc, timely and properly presented by a defense attorney may encourage a more desirable result.

Mendocino DUI attorneys know that the most helpful non-legal factors in obtaining a better resolution of a Mendocino County DUI case in court tend to be good driving before you were stopped, very low alcohol test results, and cooperation with the police. But the best way to reduce or dismiss charges is for a good Ukiah DUI defense lawyer to argue legal weaknesses in the District Attorney's case against you. For examples of legitimate legal weaknesses which may be argued, click on our Mendocino County DUI Lawyer Ten Tips for Fighting a DUI Arrest. Consult with a Mendocino County DUI attorney about your specific case.

Yes, a Mendocino County DUI is serious and complicated. Don't act on casual advice to fight this by yourself (See, Ten Tips for the First 48 Hours: Don't Follow Bad Advice), or even worse, don't simply walk into court alone to "accept responsibility" and ask for leniency. Many people believe that a case may be dismissed or penalties avoided or reduced because they've never been in trouble before, or because they will face substantial hardship if convicted, but it just doesn't work that way. Understand that the court does not see alleged DUI offenders as victims regardless of the degree of hardship that would be suffered with a DUI conviction. Rather, it is legal issues which make the difference in most cases. Mendocino DUI lawyers are prepared for a variety of aggravating factors which can make a DUI case much worse, and lawyers seek out and utilize a variety of legal defenses which can make a DUI case much better. Only lawyers are specifically trained to identify and employ all of these factors and defenses on your behalf to effectively reduce or dismiss a DUI case, or soften the blow.

In addition, there are also piles of legal issues, bureaucratic tasks, and huge inconveniences in every DUI case which a local Mendocino County DUI lawyer can help you to navigate, or completely avoid. If you don't see how involved and complex even a first DUI can be in Mendocino County without a lawyer, then click on Anatomy of a Mendocino DUI on this site and see the many different directions a Ukiah DUI case can go, as well as the burdensome collection of obligations, timetables and tasks to perform. And don't drive to court with a suspended license. Click here to see the Santa Rosa Court Sting. These happen in Napa as well and would not be surprising in Ukiah. Have a Mendocino DUI lawyer go for you instead.

Will your absence be noticed by the court or required by your Mendocino DUI attorney? No, in most cases court appearances are strictly procedural. Unless special circumstances are present, judges do not wish to speak to a defendant at such proceedings and your absence or presence will go unnoticed. Clients who live in Ukiah, or Willits, or Mendocino County, rarely, if ever, come to court in typical DUI cases. This doesn't mean you'll be left in the dark about your case. A good Mendocino County DUI lawyer will explain the entire process. To start, click here to see Ryan's comprehensive Anatomy of a Mendocino County DUI flowchart. In addition, Ryan's tech know-how can be very helpful to avoid the need for client travel, meetings or appearances, especially at the procedural beginning of a case. Ryan routinely makes available to our clients the police reports and other DUI case documents after court appearances.

You can (and should) closely follow the progress of your case by communicating with your attorney before and after Ukiah court appearances, and following your case separately online by clicking on Resources on this site and then find your local court under "Courts" by clicking on the county where you were arrested (for example, Sonoma, Mendocino, or Napa), and search for your name. Sonoma Courts have a case history summary online, typically a few days before your first court date, listing case number, charges, and the first (or next) court date and time, as well as the assigned Judge in your Mendocino DUI case. Napa Courts and Mendocino Courts have daily online calendars. Marin Courts have San Rafael appearances online weeks in advance.

A good local Ukiah DUI lawyer will get you the best resolution, properly handled with the least stress and confusion, which is well worth a reasonable fee. If you already know you cannot afford to hire a private lawyer, then consider requesting a public defender. Click on Ten Tips for the First 48 Hours after Arrest on this site for a more detailed discussion about getting a DUI lawyer.

In Mendocino County, for a "standard" adult first offense DUI where the alcohol test results show under 0.15% blood alcohol, and where there are no other aggravating facts or charges alleged (e.g., no collision, refusals, child endangerment, evading, bad driving, old prior convictions), and where there are no viable legal defenses or other compelling facts in mitigation, a knowledgeable local Ukiah DUI attorney will tell you that most defendants in a Mendocino County DUI case can anticipate two days of jail, a six-month license suspension or restricted driving privileges, approximately $2600 in court fines (defendants may routinely obtain affordable monthly payments as little as $50 per month), five years informal probation, and three months of once-weekly DUI program classes in Ukiah. Starting January 1, 2019, California courts join at least 28 Other States in requiring installation of an ignition interlock breathalyzer device for up to six months for a first offense DUI conviction. CVC 23575.3.

Many people convicted of a first or second DUI offense in California feel that the penalties imposed by California courts are overly harsh, but a new study comparing DUI penalties in each of the 50 U.S. states, conducted by WalletHub.com, finds that California was more lenient than many other states, ranking as only the 21st strictest state nationwide for DUI penalties, just about average among West Coast states, and about average for the entire western region of the United States, although penalties have tightened from only a year ago when California ranked only 34th strictest in the nation.

As of 2017, seven western states ranked substantially higher (stricter) than California, including Arizona (ranked the #1 strictest state in the country), Alaska (3rd), Utah (8th), Colorado (11th), Washington (15th), Oregon (16th), and Nevada (18th). Only five western states were found to be more lenient than California, including Hawaii (26th), New Mexico (29th), Wyoming (37th), Montana (40th), and Idaho (47th).

The best Mendocino DUI lawyers will resolve many first offense cases with better results (for example, a dismissal, or a "Wet Reckless" with no jail or license suspension), but cases may resolve with higher penalties if there are no defenses but aggravating factors are present, such as higher alcohol levels, collision, hit & run, evading, resisting arrest, refusal to give a chemical sample, or old DUI cases outside ten years from a current DUI arrest.

By contrast, a typical "standard" second DUI conviction in Mendocino County (prior DUI arrest within ten years of current DUI arrest), usually increases a defendant's jail exposure from two days to 10-30 days, increases the ignition interlock breathalyzer device from six months to at least one to three years, increases the minimum three-month DUI program classes to the 18-month DUI program, increases the minimum 30 days no driving to 90 days to one-year license suspension, and may include added terms of informal probation, such as refrain from alcohol use or possession, waive police search rights to enforce no-alcohol orders, and stay away from places where alcohol is the primary item for sale.

Click on our Mendocino County DUI Lawyer's Ten Tips for Easing the Consequences of a DUI on this site for a detailed discussion about typical Mendocino County DUI resolutions. Consult with a Mendocino County DUI attorney about your specific case.