QUESTION

If I am already sentenced for a DUI can I take it back to the court and fight?

Asked on Jan 22nd, 2013 on DUI/DWI - California
More details to this question:
It was my first ever offense. My car was parked in a parking lot and the car was shut off for 10 minutes by the time cops showed up. I'm on 24 months of probation $1450 and prime class with supervised probation. I blew .56. Can I fight this or go to jail for allotted time to get off probation?
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7 ANSWERS

Bankruptcy Law Attorney serving Whittier, CA at Goldbach Law Group
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You need to talk to your lawyer about your choices. First, you could be sentenced to jail time for refusing probation. Second, you still have to do the program to get your license back. You pled and judge imposed the time. That does not sound like he limited the amount of time that was being suspended. Third, you could face more than a year if there were other counts that you pled to, e.g., driving with a suspended license, child endangerment, etc. And there are other problems with this plan so you need your lawyer to go through all of this with you.. By the way, we have heard many people make this kind of bravado remark often in drug cases because they do not want to test. There are not many scenarios where it is a real bargain. But there are some where it makes sense, at least in the short term, to the client. Now, you should also discuss with your lawyer candidly why you do not want to be on probation. You have a first DUI with a high blood alcohol level (by your own assessment). this suggests that you have a problem that you need to deal with. I say this not as a social worker but as a cold hearted criminal defense lawyer. If you are not dealing with an underlying problem that puts you at risk for arrest, you are liable to be arrested again. Next time it could be a felony or, worse yet, a DUI with injury or vehicular manslaughter. If you want to be off probation so you can drink (or so you can drink and drive) you are not doing yourself a favor. You are just doing prison on the installment plan. Having said that, maybe you have a good reason to be off probation and you should discuss that with your lawyer. But a first deuce with such a high BA may also be a wake up call. Good luck with your choices in this.
Answered on Mar 19th, 2017 at 5:52 AM

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John J. Carney
If you were already sentenced and did not appeal within 30 days you can only file a 440.10 motion but that is very rare and I doubt you have the proper grounds. If you blew a .56 %that is the highest BAC I have ever seen or even heard of. That is 7 times the legal limit and you are lucky if you did not suffer brain damage or go into a coma.
Answered on Mar 04th, 2013 at 7:39 PM

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Personal Injury Attorney serving New York, NY at Rothstein Law PLLC
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.56. Are you sure? You are lucky you are not dead if that was your BAC. It is very hard to vacate a conviction.. You need a legal basis such as ineffective assistance of counsel. I guess if you stopped going to probation they would violate you and that could result in your being re-sentenced to jail.. You just have no control over how long.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2013 at 6:05 PM

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Bankruptcy Attorney serving Federal Way, WA at Freeborn Law Offices P.S.
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I hope you did not blow a .56. That is 7x the legal limit. You would probably be dead. As far as fighting it after being sentenced. Your only recourse is to appeal the case to a higher court. You cannot appeal because you don't like the result. An appeal is based solely upon a reversible error committed during the trial.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2013 at 6:04 PM

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Michael J. Breczinski
How long ago did you plead guilty? the judge would have to let you withdraw your plea in this matter.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2013 at 6:04 PM

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Appellate Attorney serving Grosse Pointe Farms, MI at Musilli Brennan Associates, PLLC
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See an attorney, the requested relief will be difficult post convict on and sentencing. Whether it is impossible will be found in the record and details.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2013 at 6:04 PM

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Too late, the ship has sealed. With such a low blow, you were such a fool to have plead guilty.
Answered on Jan 23rd, 2013 at 6:03 PM

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