Holiday Weekend Car Accidents in California? It’s only Tuesday and I’ve already gotten a lot of calls about car accidents this weekend. If you were involved in a car accident over the long weekend, here is some basic advice: Contact your insurance company in a timely manner. Most insurance policies require that you report a claim within a reasonable amount of time. I would suggest that not more than ten days is a good rule of thumb. Don’t talk to anybody else about the accident, except your insurance company and your lawyer. Get any medical treatment you need in a …

Holiday Weekends Mean Increased Police Patrols and DUI Arrests It is going to be a beautiful weekend in Southern California. Police patrols, especially by the California Highway Patrol are going to be increased. Police will be on the beach, on bicycles, on motorcycles with radar guns hiding behind cars, trees, brick walls and anything else that will conceal them from view. DUI arrests will skyrocket this weekend. I’ve written a couple blogs like this one before, but only because it is so important. Don’t give the pricks the satisfaction of taking you to jail. Here are ten ways to help …

How to Avoid and Deal with a Traffic Stop. Perspectives from a California DUI and Criminal Defense Attorney I just read an article on msn.com about 15 things the police can take from you without a warrant. I thought it was a very good article, as it should be from Microsoft. I would like to expand upon this in several ways. First, most penal laws are enforced on a state-by-state basis. This means that the laws can change from one state to the next. For example, marijuana may be legal for recreational use here in California, but it’s still very …

Mediation and Alternate Dispute Resolution is Often Better than Trial The average jury trial in California is three to seven days long. The average lawyer in California bills $586 per hour. That means, if you are paying your lawyer hourly and your trial only goes three days, that would cost you over $17,000 for your trial, win lose or draw. And that does not include any trial preparation, the final status conference, the mandatory settlement conference and anything that could (and does) happen after the verdict. If you are not paying your lawyer hourly and they take a percentage of …

Time to Think About it? Plea Bargains and Responses in California Criminal Cases My clients often come into the office anxious to resolve their cases. They want to be done as quickly as possible with as few court hearings as possible. However, when a settlement offer comes, clients often want to think about it. I recently had a client come into the office and told me she felt pressured to take a deal by her public defender. She showed up for her arraignment on a multiple count, misdemeanor case and asked for the services of the public defender. The PD …

Why are Criminal and DUI Cases Very Different in Ventura and Los Angeles Counties? I have long joked that Ventura and LA are right next door to each other yet worlds apart. What does this really mean and how does it affect your criminal or DUI case? The answer is complex so I thought I might write an article (or two) about it. First, Ventura is a very small county although there are still multiple law enforcement agencies in the county. On the West side of the County there are the Ventura Police Department and the Oxnard Police Department. On …

What does it Really take to get you DUI Reduced or Dismissed in California? If you have been arrested for DUI then I am quite certain your head is already spinning. You can search Google until your eyes bleed. You can talk to 18 different lawyers until you are ready to throw up. But at the end of the day, you still want to know two things: What’s the best way out of this thing? and, Can I keep my license? And maybe a third thing too, Will I have to blow into one of those things in order to …

Are Remote Mediations as Effective as In-Person Sessions? I fought technology for a long time. For years I encouraged clients to come into the office to meet with me before they decided to hire me. I feel like a bit of used car salesman when people who I have only spoken with on the telephone give me credit card to hire me without meeting me in person. Times have changed and we need to change with them. I have been practicing law for almost three decades and I am quite good at what I do. I am good at assessing …

A Veteran Defense Lawyer’s Perspective on Prostitution Diversion and Other Diversion Programs in California A reporter called me yesterday to ask me about prostitution diversion programs. I guess I should be happy that someone found me online. Normally my clients are all referred, but this wasn’t a client, just someone searching Google for information. In any event, she didn’t seem to understand some of the differences between the types of diversion programs that currently exist in California. This person was a graduate student at UC Berkley, so I will go out on a limb and say that she is quite …

Why are there Two Driver’s License Suspensions After a DUI? DUI is the most commonly prosecuted crime in California. The punishment for a DUI conviction is not getting any lighter any time soon. The process is confusing, and arguably ridiculous. I get more questions about DUI’s then I do about any other cases. How do I get my license back. Why is my license being suspended again? Do I need to put that thing (Ignition interlock) in my car? What’s an SR-22? And then there is all the standard stuff: Will I have to go to jail? How much is …