Post-Conviction

DUI Lawyers in Bakersfield

After you have been hit with a driving under the influence (DUI) charge in the state of California, there is no guarantee that everything will go according to plan or in your favor. Sometimes the evidence against you is just too strong to secure a case dismissal and you are convicted. What happens now? Is there more you can do post-conviction to keep defending yourself and your driving privileges?

When You are Found Guilty of a DUI

After you are convicted of a DUI, the first thing that should happen next is your sentencing. The judge will need to reevaluate the details of your case to determine what punishment is fitting for the crime, now that it has been labeled as such through either a hearing or a jury’s decision. Most courts will follow a fairly standardized method of sentencing that is adjusted based on the number of prior convictions on your record.

Jail time is also a possibility upon even your first DUI conviction. Unless your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level was significantly high or you caused damage due to your alleged intoxicated driving, some judges prefer to not use incarceration as a form of punishment. When you are behind bars, you cannot be a productive member of society, and this can be seen as detrimental to not only you but also your community.

Filing for a DUI Appeal

Being convicted and sentenced is not the end-all say-all in the legal world. With a DUI lawyer in your corner, you may be able to file for a DUI appeal. This is a process where you request that a higher court take a look at your trial, verdict, and sentencing to determine if some sort of legal error or mistake occurred. If an appellate court does accept your appeal and does find that an error did happen that could have affected the outcome of your case, it is possible that any portion of it could be thrown out or retried. In the best case scenario, an appeal will both remove your conviction and dismiss the charges against you entirely.

Compliance and Defiance

After you have been sentenced for your DUI, it is important that you comply with the law, no matter how inaccurate you believe the conviction might be. If you skip driver education classes or continue to drive despite a license suspension, you open the door for even more legal trouble. However, there is no harm in standing up for yourself and fully exploring every legal option available to you. Oftentimes, a solution is in the details normally left uninspected.