CULVER CITY CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND DUI LAWYER
Culver City, CA is a town in Los Angeles County's Westside.  Historically known for its entertainment industry studios, Culver City has recently experienced a renaissance of sorts.  Once home to several major motion pictures studios, Culver City is now once again the location for Sony Pictures.  Culver City's downtown features a variety of dining, entertainment and night life options.  Located near Venice Beach, Santa Monica, West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, Culver City is centrally located

A safe, quiet community, Culver City is not well known for its crime.  Still, the nightlife and young crowd do lead to occasional arrests and criminal charges.  Most common is DUI, followed by drug crimes.  Culver City's Criminal cases are heard at the Airport Courthouse, by LAX and El Segundo.  Traffic matters are heard at the Santa Monica Courthouse.

The Culver City Police Department patrols Culver City, with the LAPD, LA County Sheriff and California Highway Patrol having jurisdiction of the surrounding areas.  If you have been arrested or charged with a crime in Culver City, speak to a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney now to discuss your case, your defenses and answer any questions you have about the court process.  We offer free consultations and fair, reasonable legal fees.  Here is a partial list of some of the kinds of criminal cases we handle in Beverly Hills and throughout Los Angeles:DRUG CRIMES | DUI | DUI CAUSING INJURY | DUI W/ PRIOR | FELONY DUI | VIOLENT CRIMES | THEFT CRIMES | PROSTITUTION/SOLICITATION | WEAPONS OFFENSES | SEX CRIMES | HOMICIDE | DOMESTIC VIOLENCE  
JUVENILE OFFENSES | PROBATION VIOLATIONS | FELONY |MISDEMEANOR | INFRACTION (TRAFFIC)
GANG CASES | VANDALISM | EXPUNGEMENT | APPEALS | CIVIL RIGHTS | THREE STRIKES

In Culver City and Los Angeles DUI cases, we can help you to assert some applicable defenses on your behalf and fight for and negotiate for the best possible outcome in your case.  Find out how the following defenses might keep you from getting a criminal conviction, keep you out of jail and/or save your driver's license:  Mouth Alcohol, Rising BAC,How Accurate are Breathalyzers?, Did Police Follow Proper Testing Procedure,Do Field Sobriety Tests Prove Anything?, Other Causes of Bad Driving Pattern.

Having your lawyer write and argue a motion to suppress might be your best defense in drug cases, weapon offenses, possession of stolen property cases.  If the police obtained the evidence against you in violation of your constitutional rights, your attorney can have that evidence thrown out and your case dismissed.  For more information on your Fourth Amendment rights against unlawful search and seizure, take a look at the following articles on search and seizure law: Stop and Frisk and Search of Persons, What constitutes a search?, Consent Searches, Search of Vehicles and Effects, How to Suppress Evidence.

EXAMPLE:
Steve is driving from a night out in Venice, driving through Culver City, when he encounters a DUI checkpoint, conducted by the Culver City Police Department.  Two years earlier, Steve had been arrested for DUI, after driving home from a Fourth of July party, where he had been drinking.  In that case, his attorney was able to negotiate a reduction from DUI to a "wet reckless" helping Steve avoid a suspension of his driver's license and Los Angeles' Ignition Interlock Device (IID) requirement for first time DUI offenders.  Steve has taken the case seriously and does not drink and drive anymore.

Steve is also prescribed Xanax for anxiety.  Upon contact, the officer does not smell alcohol, but suspects that Steve is under the influence of alcohol.  The officer asks Steve to step out of the car and to perform a series of field sobriety tests, and those test show Steve has poor balance.  Next, he is asked to provide a breath sample into a handheld breathalyzer known as a "PAS" or "Preliminary Alcohol Screening" device.  The PAS yields a reading of 0.00, because he had not been drinking.  The officer asks Steve whether he'd taken any drugs or medications.  Steve stated to the officer that he had taken Xanax, as prescribed by his doctor.  Steve is arrested for DUI and asked to give a blood sample.  While Steve would have had every right to refuse the field sobriety tests and the PAS device, he had to submit to the blood test to avoid a 1 year driver's license suspension s charged with a second DUI in Los Angeles Superior Court (Airport Courthouse).  The prior wet reckless is alleged as a prior DUI. 

This is a common scenario.  While a prescription for drugs like Xanax will protect a patient from criminal drug charges, a prescription does not provide immunity from prosecution for DUI.  At some levels, Xanax, Valium, Percocet and other drugs can impair a person's ability to drive.  Even if not warned, driving while impaired by prescription drugs is just as much of a crime as driving after drinking too much alcohol.

Steve's Culver City Criminal Defense Attorney can raise some important defenses on his behalf.  First, there is no set, legal limit with drugs other than alcohol.  This means that the prosecutor must prove more than the presence of some level of the drug, but must actually prove that the level impaired Sam's ability to safely operate a motor vehicle.  Xanax is a difficult drug to detect the effects of (only certified Drug Recognition Experts may say that they observed symptoms of drug impairment) and also is a fast tolerance building drug.  The defense can consult with and call as witnesses, toxicology and pharmacology experts who can help explain these facts.  Steve's primary care physician can help to explain any conditions Sam has that have the potential to disrupt his balance and explain Steve's pattern of Xanax use over the years to help establish a tolerance defense.  After Steve's lawyer brings the weaknesses in their case to the DA's attention, the DA agrees to once again give Steve a "wet reckless" reduced charge.  Steve now has two priorable offenses, but no DUI conviction.  Not only is Steve not going to be punished as if his case were a second DUI, but he is also able to avoid the jail time, license suspension and ignition interlock device (IID) installation required after a DUI conviction.

Being arrested or charged with a crime is scary, stressful and embarrassing.  But you do not have to face this challenge on your own.  Contact the Law Offices of Nicholas Loncar now for a free consultation with a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney.  We can discuss the details of your criminal case, begin to evaluate your defenses and decide on the right course of action to get you the best outcome possible in your criminal case.  Whether you need to avoid jail, negative immigration consequences or are simply innocent of the charge(s) alleged, a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyer can help.

Nicholas M. Loncar, Esq. 
Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney
t: 213-375-3775 | f: 213-375-3099
Mobile: 323-803-4352 
NL@iDefendLosAngeles.com
1200 Wilshire Blvd | Suite 406
Los Angeles, CA | 90017
www.iDefendLosAngeles.com

Published By: Nicholas Loncar | Written by Nicholas Loncar