Convicted of a DUI in Van Nuys

Question:  I was arrested for a DUI in Van Nuys and hired a DUI attorney.  You were not my attorney, but I was wondering if you could clarify something for me.  My friend had a DUI in Ventura and was convicted not too long before I was convicted.  Based on what he told me,  his DUI was worse than mine.  Yet I have to get an Interlock Device on my car for 5 months, and he does not have to.   Why couldn’t my attorney get me deal with no Interlock Device?  My case was actually very marginal with a .08 BAC level and I was pulled over for tinted windows, so it’s not even like I was driving poorly.  Did my Attorney drop the ball?  And if so, is there anything that can be done about it now?

Answer:  I don’t know anything about your case, but if you are convicted of a DUI in Van Nuys, CA (or any other court in Los Angeles County), an Interlock device is mandatory through the DMV. There is nothing your DUI Attorney (or the criminal Judge) could do about it if there is in fact a DUI conviction…even for a 1st offense DUI.  Now, it is possible that your DUI Attorney could have gotten your DUI charges dismissed and reduced to a lesser offense.  If that happened, then the IID (Interlock Device) would not be required.  Based on what your saying, it sounds like a case that I would have been able to get the DUI charges dismissed.

The only thing that could be done now to change anything would be to do a “withdrawal of the plea.”  There generally needs to be some reason other than “I am not happy with the deal that I agreed to” in order for a Judge to grant such a motion.   For example, not being told of potential immigration consequences.  There are other reasons as well.

To answer your question about your friend who had a DUI in Ventura, unlike Los Angeles County, a DUI conviction in Ventura does not automatically require an IID because Ventura is not a “Pilot County.”

Phil Hache,

Criminal Defense & DUI Attorney
www.philhachelaw.com
Handling DUI and Criminal matters throughout Courts in Southern California including Van Nuys, CA,  Los Angeles County, Ventura County and other Courts.