TORRANCE CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY AND DUI LAWYER
Torrance, CA is a city in Los Angeles' South Bay region.  With a very tiny stretch of beach in between Palos Verdes and Redondo Beach, Torrance is mostly a little inland, compared with some of its neighbors in the South Bay.  Torrance has nearly 150,000 residents, making it the eighth largest city in Los Angeles County.  Other nearby towns include Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, Hawthorne, Gardena, Carson and Harbor City.

Torrance is a safe community with very low crime rates compared with other parts of LA County.  Torrance Police Department provides law enforcement services for Torrance.  Criminal and traffic court cases go to the LA Superior Court's Torrance Courthouse.

Still, crimes do occur.  Most common, due to strong enforcement efforts are DUI arrests.  Torrance PD as well as California Highway Patrol, have made DUI enforcement a high priority, setting up DUI checkpoints and saturation points in places and times when DUI is most likely (Friday and Saturday nights, holidays, major sporting events, etc.).  Luckily, there are many defenses available that your Los Angeles DUI Lawyer can assert on your behalf.  These defenses include:  Mouth Alcohol,  Rising BAC,  How Accurate are Breathalyzers?,  Did Police Follow Proper Testing Procedure,  Do Field Sobriety Tests Prove Anything?,  Alcohol and Drugs are NOT the Only Causes of Bad Driving

Domestic Violence is aggressively prosecuted area of law.  The police receive special DV training and the DA's office has a special unit assigned to domestic violence cases.  Other arrests can be drug crimes, marijuana and theft offenses.  Violent crimes are not as common.  

If you have been arrested or charged with a crime in Torrance, Gardena, Hawthorne, Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, Hermosa Beach, PV or anywhere else in Los Angeles, a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney can help you.  Contact the Law Offices of Nicholas Loncar for a free consultation with an LA Criminal Defense Lawyer.  We can discuss the court process, help you understand the possible outcomes, and evaluate the defenses and motions that can help you fight the charges against you.

EXAMPLE OF A TORRANCE CRIMINAL CASE:
Kate lives in Palos Verdes Estates, a few miles south of Torrance.  One night, she was in Hermosa Beach for a Saturday night out with her friends.  Kate and her friends went to several bars around the Hermosa Beach Pier.  Kate had three alcoholic beverages from 11 PM to 1 AM, when she left the bar.  Paired with Kate's slight size, the amount of alcohol was significant, but she did not feel too drunk to safely drive herself home.

Kate leaves Hermosa Beach and heads towards PV.  In Torrance, Kate encounters a DUI checkpoint.  The Torrance Police Officer who comes up to Kate's window begins to ask Kate some questions about where she is coming from and where she is going.  While Kate has every right to decline to answer any questions for the police officer (tip: a good way is to say that you do not feel like engaging in conversation with anyone, and decline to answer any questions you are not required to answer).  Kate admits to being at a bar in Hermosa, and admits to having been drinking alcohol.

Next, the officer asks Kate to step out of the car and perform a series of field sobriety tests.  Again, Kate has every right to refuse to comply with the request, but does volunteer to perform the tests.  Kate's balance and timing do not seem off and she is doing fairly well with the tests.  The officer is not done with his investigation yet, however.  He asks Kate to blow into a Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) device, a handheld breathalyzer, used by police as a sobriety test for alcohol out in the field.  Kate has a right to refuse this test, as well.  She does not.  She blows a .081 and a .083.  The officer places Kate under arrest for driving under the influence.  Once Kate has been arrested, she must submit to either a breath or blood test.  Kate is advised that a blood test is preserved, and can be tested again at a later date, but that a breath test does not preserve a sample.  Kate does not wish to have her blood drawn and agrees to give a breath sample.  The breath results are .092 and .094.

Kate is released, but ordered to appear at Torrance Courthouse, charged with DUI (VC 23152(a) and VC 23152(b)).  Kate hires a Los Angeles DUI lawyer to help with her case.  The lawyer asks Kate about her drinking pattern, the field sobriety tests and the chemical test results.  It is immediately clear to the attorney that Kate has a strong "Rising BAC" defense.  The government must prove that a driver's BAC was above .08 at the time of driving.  A test performed within three hours is presumed to be accurate, but a defense expert can help to show that test results actually indicate.

Kate is offered a "wet reckless" (a charge reduction, whereby a person charged with DUI is not convicted of DUI, but rather reckless driving that can be used as a DUI prior if the driver gets another DUI arrest within 10 years) in court, but does not wish to have even that conviction on her record.  Kate takes her case to trial, where the government puts forward evidence of her BAC being above .08, and the prosecution's expert witness testifies that everyone would be impaired at .08.  Through effective argument, good expert testimony and aggressive cross-examination, Kate's lawyer is able to convince the jury that Kate's BAC could very well have been below .08 at the time of driving, even though she later tested above the legal limit.  Kate is acquitted of both counts at trial.

If you have been arrested in Torrance or elsewhere in the South Bay or LA, we can help.  Call or E-Mail the Law Offices of Nicholas Loncar now for a free consultation.

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