DUI DEFENSE

Oakland DUI Attorney-Michael Rehm (510) 418-0820

Available for free, confidential consultations 24/7 at (510) 418-0820

If you have been arrested for a DUI in Alameda County, the first thing that needs to be done is a hearing needs to be set with the DMV within 10 days of your arrest. In order to set the hearing, all you have to do is call (510) 563-8900 and request a hearing for your DUI arrest. You can also request that the DMV mail you a copy of your police report as soon as the DMV obtains it from law enforcement. The Law Office of Michael Rehm provides this service for all clients.

If there is a questionable reason for why you were pulled over or issues with the arrest, an examination of the “crime” scene should take place as well. In society today, there are surveillance cameras everywhere. This can be the best evidence you have to challenge why you were pulled over or whether there was any questionable police behavior.

All evidence needs to be studied to determine:

• The justification for the stop of your vehicle- law enforcement must have “reasonable suspicion of criminal activity,” in order to detain a person, or a vehicle. The famous United States Supreme Court case of Terry v. Ohio enunciated this standard in 1968 and the law remains valid.

• The probable cause for the arrest – this is a standard the courts have struggled to define for centuries. The 1949 United States Supreme Court case of Brinegar v. Untied States is still relied on to define probable cause for an arrest.

• The breathalyzer- there are multiple issues with the breathalyzer machine.  Aside from the fact that science is starting to shed light on the fact that it is not a machine that accurately determines blood alcohol concentration, there are other issues that surround the breathalyzer.

— The breathalyzer used initially, the Preliminary Alcohol Screening Device, referred to as the PAS, has specific admonitions that must be read before the citizen proceeds with the test in order for the district attorney to be able to use the test in evidence. Specifically, Vehicle Code 23612(i) states that the individual must be informed they have the right to refuse the test. Failure to inform of the right to refuse should stop the prosecutor from admitting the PAS results into evidence.

• If a blood test was conducted, when was it done, where and by whom. — Update April 2013– The United States Supreme Court decided the case of Missouri v. McNeely, which ruled that a nonconsensual blood draw is no longer valid without the issuance of a warrant or at a minimum a sufficient reason why a warrant was not obtained. The Court specifically noted how in today’s society, with the availability of telephonic warrants, it would be tough to justify not obtainment a warrant.

• What pattern of drinking was documented in the police report- this comes into play when rising blood alcohol is used a s a defense. The governments expert will testify that alcohol continues to rise for 45 minutes after an individuals last drink. If you were stopped for driving during that 45 minutes, it is extremely difficult to determine what you blood alcohol level actually was. Since law enforcement is required to wait a minimum of 15 minutes before administering the breathalyzer, it is very likely that the breathalyzer result will be higher than what it would have been at the actual time of driving.  The district attorney is required to show by proof beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was either under the influence of alcohol or had a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or more at the time of driving.

• What Field Sobriety tests were conducted and how you performed — although these tests are entirely subjective, and failure to perform in an “acceptable” manner is usually explained by the bias of the officer or the understandable difficulty of performing any type of test when under the duress of a police encounter with the threat of arrest hinging on your performance.

The Law Office of Michael Rehm

333 University Avenue

Suite 200

Sacramento, CA 95825