He's from Houston but got the DUI in Los Angeles, CA while on Vacation / Work a few days ago. 1st time offense, never been in trouble or anything before this. He got Arrested.Hit 2 parked cars, he was driving a girls car from the club. They were heading out together. Nobody got hurt. But obviously her insurance has to get involved now. He has court in LA at the end of the month. Question for Lawyers etc. How does this work for someone that gets it out of town? What is the process for him? Thanks. P.S -- I don't have anymore info right now on if he took a breathalyzer or anything like that. I'll find that out as well.
Yeah see if his lawyer can get him a good plea deal. I had a friend get a DUI in California a while back and I believe she only had to fly out for the sentencing and the lawyer handled the rest. Sounds like he was drunk anyway and pushing anything else other than a plea would be a waste of time.
It sounds like he's already posted bond. The next step is for him to hire a local DWI attorney. He should ask around the area (does he know people there?) to see if he can find a good DWI attorney. He should be ready to go back to CA if necessary, but hopefully his attorney is able to negotiate a good plea deal without his presence necessary. I'm not sure how CA works. As far as the terms of his plea, there's a ton of issues that will dictate it (e.g., the damages from the accident and if he can pay restitution, his BAC and/or blood test results, his prior criminal hx, and other facts about the case). That said, DWI cases with accidents are are always trickier (in Houston at least). Hope this helps. One step at a time. Right now, focus on hiring a good DWI attorney with whom he's comfortable, and see if that attorney is able to go to the first court appearance without the defendant's presence necessary.
He got bailed out 12 hours later. Already back in Houston. He said he took a breathlyzer. Does he hire a houston or la lawyer? Also will he have to have a blower in his car in Houston ? Just wondering what they do to him in Houston.
If I were him, I would hire an attorney in LA. It's just more practical. That said, he could hire someone here, but I think that's a recipe for a headache. He could certainly talk to DWI attorneys in Houston to get their opinion, if he is inclined to hire locally. Whether he needs an ignition interlock device will be determined later. I would guess that it would be a necessary part of the plea agreement (if they reach one), especially because the court will want to monitor his activity because he lives out of state.
Thanks ! Makes sense. Ridiculous situation. This honestly should slow him down and change his habits from here. I've always told him you're one mistake from ****ing up a lot for yourself. Uber is your friend!
Agree. Especially this day in age...where it's so easy to get a ride. I really don't understand anyone who does it. The aggregate cost of using Uber/Taxi in your lifetime is still far cheaper (and less painful) than hiring a DWI attorney and dealing with that fallout. Intoxicated manslaughter is a very real possibility every time you drink and get behind the wheel, too. An incredibly selfish act if you ask me.
She's pretty hot. Supposedly she use to date him back in Houston. I got that part of the story wrong.
Hire a local attorney. The attorney can make all the appearances. Arrangements can usually be made to do community service in lieu of jail time for an out of state defendant, so he would never need to show up, just provide proof of his hours to the attorney to pass along to the court. The court can legally require DUI defendants to appear at arraignment, time of plea, and sentencing, but this is not common practice (at least in the counties I frequent, LA county may be different). If the court required his presence at all, I would expect it would only be at the time of sentencing.
