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DUI While Driving A Private Vehicle, Off-Work

If you have a commercial driver’s license (CDL) when you are arrested for drunk driving in your personal vehicle, your driver’s license and your CDL will most likely be immediately suspended regardless of whether it is your first offense or not.

You may be able to obtain a temporary permit for driving your personal vehicle, but not a temporary permit for a commercial vehicle license. Obviously, a DUI can have a big impact on your ability to work if your drive a vehicle for a living, and even more so if you have a CDL for driving a commercial vehicle. Truck DUI Lawyer In [categories]

If you refuse sobriety testing during a DUI investigation, you automatically forfeit your driver’s license and your CDL license for one year in most states. If you are convicted of a second DUI, you will no longer be able to obtain a CDL license.

In many cases you are able to get your CDL reinstated within a few months following a DUI conviction in your personal vehicle.

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There are a number of legal issues that should be reviewed immediately after a DUI arrest if you have a CDL — factors such as whether or not you refused a breath test, what tests were used, what the results were, etc. Regardless of where you are arrested, the DUI driving offense will be reported to the state that issued your CDL. You may be able to obtain a temporary permit to drive your personal vehicle, but not a “temporary” CDL. Seek legal advice to determine if there are options for protecting your CDL in your home state.

In most states, you are entitled to an Administrative License Revocation (ALR) hearing within 15 days of your arrest. The hearing will determine whether or not your driver’s license and CDL should continue to be suspended. This hearing process is separate from your Utah DUI criminal driving offense hearing. At the ALR, the arresting officer is questioned under oath and a defense attorney may raise legal questions and issues related to the procedures followed, and bring into question whether or not the DUI can be proven in the criminal court.

DUI While Driving A Commercial Vehicle

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If you are driving a commercial vehicle when arrested, your CDL license is immediately suspended and you may be able to quickly obtain a temporary driving permit only for use of a personal vehicle.

One important factor is that the legal blood-alcohol level for a CDL is usually lower than the level for private vehicles, 0.04% instead of 0.08%. In most states there is an automatic a one-year suspension of your CDL if you refuse a blood-alcohol test. The outcome of your criminal DUI case may also determine the future of your CDL.

DUI in General

There is a lot at stake in any DUI, whether driving a personal or commercial vehicle. If you are a repeat DUI offender, you could lose your CDL for life upon conviction. There may be factors that will allow your attorney to protect both your personal driving privileges and your CDL, and are dependent on whether or not you receive prompt legal assistance. Be prepared to pay for those services.

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The most common question I run into as a Washington State Criminal Defense Attorney is, "How can you defend criminals?" This question is generally based on two assumptions: 1. the Defendant is obviously guilty; and 2. by defending him or her, you are trying to let this obviously guilty person get away with their crime. As you will see, these assumptions turn out to be incorrect.Arrest Does Not Equal GuiltIt's tempting to think that a Defendant must be guilty because the police arrested him or her for something. However, the law has a much different standard for judging when an arrest is valid versus when a conviction is called for.A valid arrest requires Probable Cause. This term gets defined in different ways but generally exists when the facts and circumstances known to the arresting officer are sufficiently trustworthy to cause a reasonable person to believe that an offense has been committed. If you think about that definition for awhile, it becomes apparent that it's actually a very low standard; and it should be.The rule is designed to make sure that there is some evidence before an arrest is made but balance the requirements for how strong that evidence is with the speed of decision required to catch criminals.Here's an example: A woman tells the police that a man stole her purse. The police ask the man and he denies knowing anything about the purse. Finally, the purse cannot be located. Under Probable Cause, there would be enough to justify arresting the man since the woman said he stole her purse. Do we know whether or not he did it? No. Should we let the Court System determine whether or not the man is guilty? Of course!Knowing that an arrest simply starts the Court Process, Officers often err on the side of making an arrest in a close call; as they should. Even the instructions read to Jurors emphasize the point, stating that the fact the Defendant was arrested has no bearing on whether or not he or she is guilty of the crime charged.Beyond A Reasonable DoubtWe've all heard it on TV but the standard in a criminal case is "Beyond a Reasonable Doubt." But what does that mean? The term "reasonable doubt" can be defined differently but is generally:One for which a reason exists and may arise from the evidence or lack of evidence. It is such a doubt as would exist in the mind of a reasonable person after fully, fairly, and carefully considering all of the evidence or lack of evidence.If we required a police officer to be convinced Beyond a Reasonable Doubt before they could even arrest someone, all of the "bad guys" would get away before the officer even concluded his investigation.What do you do if someone is guilty?If someone is guilty then there is nothing an Attorney can do about it. Keep in mind thatA jury is made up of regular people. No matter how skilled the attorney is, if the defendant is obviously guilty the jury will convict. In this case, the attorney's job has two parts: discovering which charges the defendant is actually guilty of and making sure the sentence is rational.Over ChargedPeople are often over charged, i.e. accused of more than the State can prove. An example of this is where someone is accused of Driving Under the Influence (DUI) and Reckless Driving. Very few cases of DUI also meet the standards required for Reckless Driving. In this case, if the Defendant is guilty of DUI but not reckless, a good Criminal Defense Attorney should be able to get the Reckless Driving charge thrown out even though the Defendant is ultimately convicted of DUI.Rational SentencingOnce a Defendant is found guilty, the Court's next job is to impose sentence. The Attorney's job becomes making sure that the sentence is appropriate for the crime charged and the Defendant's criminal history. As a general rule, the more criminal convictions someone has, the more harshly they will be sentenced on any new charges. Sometimes, however, the prosecution will seek to punish someone with little or no history the same as they would a career felon. By sentencing first time offenders and career criminals the same, we do not reward those people who have lived basically good lives nor punish hard enough those who choose a life of crime.What do you do if the State cannot prove the charge?There are two major categories of cases where the Prosecution fails to prove their case, either at the outset or at trial.At the OutsetThere are often times when the Prosecution simply does not have any evidence that a Defendant is guilty of a crime. In this case, you can file a Motion to Dismiss and ask that a Judge review the evidence to see if a dismissal is required. This motion can require that witnesses appear and give testimony or it can be based on the police reports themselves.At TrialIf the Prosecution has evidence that someone is guilty, that is not the end of the matter. How strong is that evidence? Are the witnesses believable? Do they have a grudge against the Defendant? The heart of our judicial system is the Jury Trial. A trial is literally the first time when anyone hears ALL of the evidence. Trials can be stressful but in a close case they can be a life saver.Technicalities and The LawI often hear people say that a Defendant got off due to some technicality. There are no "technicalities" in Law, there is only The Law. Should it apply to everyone or should we allow the government to be immune from following the law? If the police violate the law, then the remedy can range from suppressing evidence to throwing out the case entirely.The Court System is our best attempt at creating a process that is fair. Like any system, however, it is only as good as the people who work within it. Defending people accused of crimes is not about "helping them get away with it," rather it is about ensuring that everyone is treated fairly. At The Cahoon Law Office, we still focus on one client at a time and ensure that all legal defenses and rights for our clients are used and protected.Copyright (c) 2007 - The Cahoon Law Office - All Rights Reserved.

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A criminal defense attorney is responsible for defending individuals who are charged with crimes and felonies. They represent their clients in the court of law and speak on their behalf. They can either be directly approached by a client or designated by the court of law to do so.Once the attorney has contacted the client, it is his responsibility to extract all the details of the charges filed against the client; collect the information related to the case and then prepare a strong defense that will help acquit the defendant in the court of law.This may sound simpler than it actually is as criminal law itself is quite intricate and difficult to grasp. To build a strong case for his client, a criminal defense attorney has to collect information from a number of sources such as the police, the investigators involved in the case as well as the witnesses.From interviewing the prosecutor's witnesses to extracting information from the federal authorities, the job of a defense attorney is certainly not a walk in the park.Once the information is obtained, legal analysis and complete study of the case follows. The attorneys also need to be involved jury selection, trials and sentencing as well as plea bargaining.Moreover the attorney has a responsibility towards his client as well. An attorney needs to ensure that all discussions with the clients are confidential. Moreover they need to help the client understand the reality of their case, which in certain cases may even lead to pleading guilty.Helping the defendant deal with the repercussions of facing the criminal charges and supporting him/her till the end of the trial is also part of the day-to-day job of a defense attorney.Criminal defense attorneys are either public defenders who are appointed by the state, local or federal government for defending the clients or they are employed by a private firm. Certain defense lawyers even set up their own private service. Based on where they are employed the salaries of the attorneys may vary.However the median salary for a reputed criminal defense attorney in a private law firm is somewhere around $79,000 while a public defender are paid around $70000 per year.

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