Legal Question in Criminal Law in California

My son was arrested for DUI in San Bernardino, Ca., on 4-8-16. We received the full report today, 6-8-16.

In reviewing the information received, I noticed that the official report, dated 4-13-16, shows an incorrect social security number. Further review of the information received shows that when the CHP ran my son's CDL, the first hit is for a young man who has a different DOB, race, etc., from my son, but the same SSN as shown on the police report. (The second hit is my son, with no AKA's, or priors.)

Does this error on the police report help my son in any way? Btw, his father and I are taking this DUI very seriously, but we also want to avoid having our son's life affected for years to come.


Asked on 6/08/16, 11:04 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Edward Hoffman Law Offices of Edward A. Hoffman

Mistakes like these would only matter if they led to charges against the wrong defendant. That's not what happened here, since your son really is the person who was arrested. That there were minor errors along the way won't give him an escape hatch.

The only way I can think of that this might help is if it makes the arresting officers look so sloppy that the judge or jury has reasonable doubts about the rest of the report. That seems unlikely, unless the officers made other errors at about the same time.

Your son needs a lawyer asap. If you and he can't afford one, the court will appoint counsel for him at public expense. The lawyer may find flaws in the prosecution's case and/or valid defenses that your son can raise. First, though, she will need to learn more about what happened.

Good luck.

Read more
Answered on 6/09/16, 10:49 am


Related Questions & Answers

More Criminal Law questions and answers in California