Legal Question in DUI Law in California

Re: dui

If anyone were hurt (and these bodily injuries sometimes show up a few days later), then you'll be charged with felony DUI. If, however, you caused only property damage, you'll be charged with two counts of misdemeanor DUI.

Once you are charged, you or your lawyer can call the criminal clerk of the court and ask what the charges are.

If you told the police about your marijuana hit, then they would likely have tested for it and it would be a part of the charge.

Should you represent yourself? Probably not. There are mandatory jail times for these offenses, but there is some room to negotiate with the prosecutor. A lawyer can obtain the evidence against you and look for holes. Alternatively, the lawyer can give the prosecutor the impression that the case will be faught and obtain a better plea bargain thereby. Finally, if there are holes in the evidence, then the lawyer can challenge those holes at trial.

Finally, if you wish to request a hearing with the DMV to challenge the suspension of your license, you need to do this within 10 days of your arrest. This can be valuable even if your license is suspended anyway, as your lawyer can back the police officer into a particular set of facts that the officer might forget by the time of trial.

Good luck!