Alameda County DUI
Alameda County DUI cases are extremely serious and complex. Superior Court Judges and the California Department of Motor Vehicles impose harsh consequences on those who have been arrested for driving under the influence. Alameda County is one of four counties in California imposing a mandatory Ignition Interlock Device (IID) requirement on a first offense driver who has been convicted of driving under the influence or driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater.
A person arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs in Alameda County must appear at one of the Alameda County Superior Courts located in
Oakland, Fremont, Hayward, or Pleasanton. Additionally, a person arrested for DUI in Alameda County will have a separate
California DMV license suspension action initiated for
driving with a blood alcohol level at or above the legal limit. This second DUI case will be before the
Department of Motor Vehicles’ Driver Safety Office in Oakland or a designated DMV satellite office. The
DUI criminal case and the
Department of Motor Vehicles license suspension case are independent of each other.
Each criminal defense lawyer working with Robert Tayac specializes in driving under the influence defense. Additionally, each of lawyer is a member of professional organizations whose focus is related to drunk driving and DMV defense, including the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD),
California DUI Lawyers Association (CDLA),
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL),
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), and
California Public Defenders Association (CPDA). Also, each of the firm's lawyers is familiar with the specific procedures and local rules of the
Alameda County Superior Court. This law office accepts California Driving Under the Influence and Department of Motor Vehicle's cases. The firm's lawyers do not represent clients in any court or tribunal outside of the State of California.
An Alameda County DUI arrest will usually trigger two separate cases. The first case is the driving under the influence criminal prosecution which will be initiated by the
Alameda County District Attorney’s office. The District Attorney will most often charge a person arrested for driving under the influence with at least two separate criminal violations. The first criminal charge is for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs in violation of
California Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (a). The second criminal charge is for driving with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .08 percent or greater in violation of
Vehicle Code Section 23152, subdivision (b). If the drunk driving arrest involved an accident resulting in an injury to a person other than the driver arrested for DUI, a more serious
felony DUI will be charged alleging a violation of
California Vehicle Code section 23153, subdivisions (a) and (b).
The second driving under the influence case is a Department of Motor Vehicles Administrative Per Se (APS) license suspension action, in which the arrested person’s privilege to drive is at risk of being suspended. Drivers arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level of .08 percent or greater have
only 10 days from the date of arrest to request a
DMV hearing. If the hearing is not requested within
ten (10) days of the arrest, any California driver’s license will automatically be suspended thirty (30) days from the date of the arrest for a minimum of four (4) months. If the person arrested has a driver's license issued from a state other than California, the privilege of that person to drive within the State of California will be suspended indefinitely thirty (30) days from the date of the arrest and may not be restored until a California DUI school is completed. Additionally, a driving suspension imposed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles may affect a person’s
out of state driver’s license
California DMV hearings stemming from drunk driving arrests are technically complex, and should only be handled by a lawyer with extensive experience handling DUI and DMV cases. To suspend a driver’s license, the California Department of Motor Vehicles need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the police officer had reasonable cause to believe a violation of
California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or
Section 23153 was committed, that the arrest was lawful, and that the driver had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or greater.
DMV hearings can be won, but usually only by attorneys with specialized knowledge of the hearing process, the type of evidence presented and familiarity with the possible defenses.
The stakes are high in an Alameda County DUI case. A person accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs faces the possibility of jail, large
fines,
driver’s license suspensions, mandatory
alcohol education classes,
ignition interlock devices, and other punishment. For that reason, it is critical to have a
qualified California DUI defense lawyer handle your case as soon as you are released by the police or Alameda County Sheriff's Department. If you or someone you know has been or may be accused of drunk driving, or driving with a blood alcohol level at or above the legal limit in Alameda County, I invite you to read the information contained in this website and welcome you to call me to discuss your case. After speaking with me you are welcome to schedule an appointment to come in and discuss your DUI case further in complete confidence. In some instances, it may be possible for me to meet with you near your home or office. If you prefer, you may submit a
confidential case questionnaire which will be reviewed by me and receive a prompt response.
Phone: 510-352-9500
Fax: 415-552-6099
Toll Free: 800-901-1888
Email: Bay Area DUI Lawyer
Alameda County General Information
Alameda County is one of 58 counties in the State of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census, Alameda County had a population of 1,443,741, making it the 7th largest county in the State of California.
The county was formed on March 25, 1853 from a large portion of Contra Costa County and a smaller portion of
Santa Clara County.
The County of Alameda includes the cities of Alameda, Albany,
Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville,
Fremont,
Hayward, Livermore, Newark,
Oakland,
Piedmont,
Pleasanton, San Leandro, and Union City. The county seat is
the City of Oakland. Additionally, Alameda County includes the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Sunol, and San Lorenzo.
Adjacent counties:
DUI Resources for Alameda County, California: