Legal Question in DUI Law in California

CDL 1st DUI in non-commercial vehicle

Going to a mandatory work meeting 7am Sat, I glanced down to change the radio station. Looked up and was way over the white line and overcorrected, flipping my Vette and sliding along the opposite side of the road in a ditch. At the hospital I blew a .104 and the doc said the BAC was .16! Since I had not had anything to drink since 11pm Friday I was astonished at these results. My wife reminded me of a digestive condition found when I had an endoscopy 10/06 called gastroparesis. My attorney never heard of this condition so it seems unlikely that a dmv hearing officer or judge would either. He thinks I could be looking at a severe sentence because the truth of my case doesn't seem plausible. Even though I was driving my own vehicle I will be dealt with more harshly because of the CDL. Should I have further tests and hire an endocrinology specialist to testify at my trial? Would the DMV allow a doctor to give testimony at their hearing? I have no previous offenses and have been driving truck about 7 years. What else can I do to help my case? Thank you.


Asked on 5/03/07, 6:30 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Lyle Johnson Bedi and Johnson Attorneys at Law

Re: CDL 1st DUI in non-commercial vehicle

You should discuss this condition with a doctor that has experience in this area. Even if your attorney was aware of the condition he could not testify about it. Unless there is a physical reason for the alcohol to process through your system very differently that it does for other individuals your statement does not seem plausible. While the absorption of alcohol varies somewhat from individual to individual. the burn off of alcohol seems to be quite uniform. That is it is burned of at the rate of .02% per hour. Thus in 10 hours a person with a blood alcohol of .2% would be back to 0%. Since it was about 7 hours from your last drink and the blood alcohol test, you should have burned off .14%. That would have put you at about .30% when you went to bed. A blood alcohol level that high indicates that you consumed a large quantity of alcohol. It would seem that you may have a more serious problem that just dealing with the dmv and the court.

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Answered on 5/19/07, 8:36 pm


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