DUI with Injury

Lucy S. McAllister Criminal Law
San Jose, San Francisco and Bay Area Criminal Defense Attorney

The DMV and the Court work simultaneously to take away your driver's license when you are arrested for a DUI offense. Yes, simply arrested, not convicted. Long before you come to court without the right DUI attorney keeping track of your deadlines, your driver's license will be SUSPENDED. If you miss the deadline, not even the attorney can get it back. Contact us right away so we can prevent this from happening to you. If you drive on a suspended license from a DUI your car will be towed and impounded. The first offense DUI driving on a suspended license carries a MANDATORY 5 days in jail, the second 30 days!

Being arrested is overwhelming, do not wait until the Court date to deal with this, we can help you right away. Let your DUI be our problem, not yours. Contact us.

At the law offices of Lucy S. McAllister Criminal Law, located in San Jose and San Francisco California, our goal is vigorously to defend Californians who have been charged or accused of criminal offenses, including DUI charges. Contact us to schedule an initial consultation.

What is a felony DUI?
A felony DUI usually involves an accident in which the driver suspected of driving under the influence, injures another person in the accident. The person injured may be in the driver's own car, a pedestrian, or a passenger in another car. A felony DUI with injury is extremely serious. The penalty for DUI with one injury, ranges from 90 days to one year in the county jail or 16 months, 2 or 3 years in prison. For each additional injured party, one additional year in the state prison may be added. The District Attorney must prove, however, not only that the driver being charged was intoxicated, but must also prove that the driver was a cause of the injury. For instance, a driver who is intoxicated that is rear ended by another car may not be a cause of any injuries suffered in the accident.

The second type of felony DUI is a fourth DUI within a 10 years period. A DUI is even more serious when, it results in a death. It is even more serious still when the arrested party has prior DUIs. Often, our attorneys approach in these matters must be two pronged. First, we must seek to prove that our client was not intoxicated beyond the legal definition of intoxication, and also prove that he was not a legal cause of the injury. For safety in sentencing however, we often suggest to our clients that they seek in-patient alcohol treatment whenever a DUI with injury is charged. This sort of treatment can be absolutely critical in terms of avoiding high bail, and in getting all possible consideration from the court should the client actually be found to be intoxicated and the legal cause of the accident. Often, investigators are deployed to look for all possible evidence that the driver is not a legal cause of the accident.

Should you or someone you know be involved in an accident involving alcohol or drugs, you should call us immediately to set up a free consultation to discuss these cases.

Driving With Gross Negligence Involving a Death
Should the police and prosecutor conclude that a driver was grossly negligent, a felony manslaughter charge would, usually be made. This is true whether or not alcohol or drugs are involved. The sentencing for one death in this type of vehicular manslaughter can easily result in a serious state prison commitment. It is in these types of cases that the driver being charged needs the expertise of experienced felony vehicular manslaughter attorneys.

We have handled all types of manslaughter cases involving reckless driving, driving under the influence or even simple negligence. If this happens to you or someone you love, you will need an immediate consultation to discuss options to avoid jail or prison.

At the Law offices of Lucy S. McAllister Inc., our goal is vigorously to defend Californians who have been charged or accused of criminal offenses, including charges of DUI / DWI (drunk driving) and Traffic Violations.

For a free confidential consultation, and formore information please e-mail us or call us at 408-947-5946, 24 hours a day.

Criminal Defense Attorney Lucy S. McAllister defends clients throughout the San Francisco Bay Area who have been accused, charged, or arrested for criminal offenses in Santa Clara County, San Benito County, San Mateo County, Monterey County, Alameda County, and San Francisco County. Clients come to us from throughout the San Francisco Bay Area, including communities such as Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Santa Clara, Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Saratoga, Palo Alto, San Mateo, Salinas, Monterey, San Benito, Hollister, San Juan Bautista, Santa Cruz, Watsonville, Gilroy, San Martin, and Morgan Hill, Redwood City, San Francisco, Oakland, Fremont, Newark, and Hayward.