Orange County DUI Attorney
Arrested for a DUI in Orange County? You need to act fast. Talk to our Orange County DUI Attorney, Robert Miller today to learn strategies and how to best protect your rights.
Orange County is committed to being tough on drunk driving cases at all levels. The police, judges, prosecutors, and MADD are unsympathetic to you and your situation. Their only interest is in showing how aggressively they can punish those accused of DUI.
What should you do now? We recommend the following:
- Contact us first. We will go over the facts of your case, and immediately schedule a driver’s license at the DMV hearing office in Orange for you. You must schedule a hearing within ten days of whenever your arrest was, and we can and will handle this for you, with no obligation to you for us to do the hearing. You can always cancel this hearing later, but it gets you the reports as soon as possible, and keeps you driving beyond the 30 day pink temporary license you have.
- Write down everything that happened, including what you had to eat, drink, why you were stopped, any medications you were on, what conversations you had with the officer, why you were pulled over, what tests you were given, and how you did, and any witnesses to drinking or to the accident, or traffic stop, while it is still fresh in your mind.
- Make note of your court date. You or our firm have to appear on that date, and if you don’t, an arrest warrant is immediately issued, so make sure you keep track of all dates in your case.
- Start to gather character reference letters or recommendation letters from three people that know you well, along with any volunteer work, charity work, and/or copies of any special certifications or degrees you may hold.
◊ DUI Experience You Can Trust ◊
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◊ Successful DUI Defense Strategies ◊
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I Was Arrested For DUI. What Am I Looking At?
When you are charged with a DUI in California, you actually have two cases pending against you. One case is criminal, and the other is civil (administrative). Your criminal case is prosecuted by the Prosecutor’s Office. The civil case is a DMV Administrative Per Se License Hearing (or APS hearing). This hearing pertains to your driver’s license and is handled by the California Department of Motor Vehicles Office of Driver Safety, in the City of Orange.
You only have 10 days after your arrest to request an APS Hearing or it is waived. Be sure to request this hearing or retain a DUI lawyer in Orange County to do it for you within the 10 day time period or you automatically forfeit your right to contest your pending driver’s license suspension.
As you know, prosecutors, the courts, and even the law, all want to show how tough they are against people with a DUI case. The punishment includes potential jail time, loss of your license, loss of a job, and thousands of dollars in fines if not handled correctly. Don’t let the system excessively punish you without looking at all sides. Although you probably are still dealing with the impact from your arrest, this may be more serious than you realize.
Potential DUI Punishment for Orange County DUI cases:
The law has a maximum (six months in jail, and a fine and fees that total $5000) and a minimum (three years probation, an alcohol school, and base fines of $390). DUI cases are sometimes reduced to another charge, which would reduce the sentencing range below the minimum. The prosecutor can, and will, add punishment if there were any of the following:
- a blood alcohol level of at or above a .16%;
- children in the car;
- an accident (with or without injury);
- an allegation that you were speeding while DUI;
- or any priors.
We can help avoid the more severe punishment for any of the above. The good news is that there is a way to avoid losing your driving privileges, and you probably will not face any jail time for a first time DUI. But that takes action on your part, and we can help. Professionally handling DUI cases in Orange County, using our expertise, knowledge, and experience in this field, is all we do.
Why choose your law firm? What can you do for my DUI case?
Our approach to DUI defense is to carefully review all the evidence in the case, to look closely at all facts and all legal defenses that help our clients. We look closely at the reason you were pulled over for DUI, to see if a probable cause issue might lead to a motion to suppress evidence, and thus dismiss the DUI, and look carefully at all aspects of the field sobriety testing and scrutinize the breath test or blood testing to hold the testing machine, or agencies, up to the strict requirements of the law. For example, machines can malfunction or not be properly calibrated, blood levels can fail to take into consideration the rising blood alcohol pattern, and the blood sample can ferment and produce alcohol, causing an increase in the blood alcohol level.
What our past DUI clients have stated about us
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“Robert is the true definition of an expert and professional. I came into this situation knowing that I needed the best and I was recommended to Robert Miller & Associates. I can GLADLY say not only would I HIGHLY recommend him, he is the ONLY attorney I would ever think about hiring. My entire case was dismissed.” – from a client’s Avvo review
As one client stated about their experience:
“During two meetings with Robert and several telephone conversations we were able to craft a defense strategy. In several court appearances Robert was able to convince the district attorney of our defense. Ultimately the case was dismissed. Robert gets a five star rating from me. He is professional and easy to reach either by phone or email or even text message. His fees are fair and very competitive.” (Maurice N., from a Yelp review).
What other attorneys say about our expertise
“I highly endorse Mr. Miller. Very experienced and caring attorney who produces great results in representing clients! I want all people with legal problems to contact him first.” (Mark Clay, Esq., from one of over 60 attorney endorsements through Avvo.)
Our results in DUI cases
Meet Our Skilled Orange County DUI Attorney
- Author of three books on DUI, including two for other DUI attorneys in the profession, both published by Aspatore Press.
- Two time graduate of the DUI Trial Skills College at Harvard Law School, in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
- Rated a 10.0 and ranked in the “Superb DUI Attorney” category on Avvo
- Awarded the Orange County top DUI lawyer “Clients Love Us” award on Yelp;
- Certified in Field Sobriety Testing;
- Graduate of additional scientific coursework on scientific testing on breath testing, and blood testing;
- Member of the National College of DUI Defense;
- Member, DUI Defense Lawyers Association;
- Member of the California DUI Lawyers Association, among many other certifications and professional organizations.
Legal Expert Press Appearances
Attorney Fees and Pricing for Orange County DUI Attorneys
You will find that the price of hiring a professional DUI defense attorney to help you fight your case in court and/or at the DMV’s Administrative Per Se hearing, varies greatly between DUI lawyers in the area. Some lawyers will charge as little as $500.00 to represent defendants one time, to plead them guilty in one court date. On the other hand, it is also possible to hire an attorney who values their professional services extremely highly, and you can pay $10,000.00 or more for representation as a flat fee, the flat fee being the normal fee structure in this area of law.
It is not advisable to hire attorneys on the low end of the price range. If you’re interested in pleading guilty at the first court date, you don’t need a lawyer to help with that. Most low fee lawyers are either very inexperienced, or have a high volume law practice, and are not motivated to work hard to get the best possible result for his or her clients. On the other hand, at the high end of the price range, an expensive attorney might be including costs, such as trial, or experts, that are not needed in your particular case.
Because of our ability to use technology to keep overhead costs low, our Orange County DUI lawyers are able to pass the savings to our clients and to offer quality representation at an affordable price. Our pricing is below the average price of other law firms in this field of law, considering our years of experience and track record. We pride ourselves on doing the very best we can to help our clients minimize, or avoid the punishment for a conviction for DUI in every way possible. Not only do we spend substantial time in education and special training to become true experts in Orange County DUI defense, but we also do our best to have competitive pricing.
We have discounts for students, for the present and past military service, and we accept all forms of payment and offer affordable payment plans with nominal down payments.
Why Hire Us for Your DUI Case?
Contact Us Now – Let’s Get Started.
