Warning: You only have 10 DAYS to request a DMV hearing to protect your driver’s license! (Submit an online request now but screenshot your form before and after submitting)
Drunk driving charges in Oregon are quite serious. The consequences of these charges are equally serious: if you are caught for the first time or you have been arrested several times. Though no attorney can take your name off the records completely (DMV records typically last forever), we can help to minimize these consequences.
Text or call Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.
2 Suspensions
You should know that Oregon DMV can suspend your license if you fail or refuse the intoxilyzer (or UA) after a DUII stop. If you are later convicted of DUII, there is another separate suspension (which would overlap the DMV suspension).
Diversion
Some things disqualify you from diversion. Other factors make your case triable to a jury or subject to various motions. Confer with counsel for more information.
Trial vs. Plea
A knowledgeable Oregon DUII lawyer can attempt to negotiate you the most favorable resolution to your case. First time convictions often get the mandatory minimum in Oregon with a plea. Many factors go into evaluating any such offer.
Two Suspensions: DMV vs. Conviction
You should know that Oregon DMV can suspend your license if you fail or refuse the intoxilyzer after a DUII stop. If you are later convicted of DUII, there is another separate suspension (which would overlap the DMV suspension).
Since there are very short time deadlines like that of 10 days involving appealing your DMV suspension, you should immediately hire a Eugene dui attorney following your Driving Under the Influence citation. The DMV hearing is critical in defending these cases, because it pins down the arresting officer’s testimony on the record before the prosecutor prepares him for trial.
Text or call Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.
Oregon’s Diversion Program
If you qualify for diversion under Oregon’s DUII law (no prior diversions or DUIIs within the last 15 years [the old law was 10 years if your arrest was prior to 1/1/2010], no injuries were caused by your driving in this case, you didn’t have a commercial driver’s license, etc.), you may want to have an experienced Eugene dui attorney review your case prior to your entering into the diversion program.
By doing this you get yourself several advantages. First, you will still be suspended by the DMV if you fail or refuse the intoxilyzer and an attorney can defend you at the DMV hearing. Second, if you are not guilty/innocent but are charged anyway, the diversion process could prove an unnecessary and expensive inconvenience. Third, an attorney can review the case for possible suppression issues that could result in a dismissal or a triable DUII case. Oregon attorney Mike Arnold has won diversion-eligible jury trials and has had many diversion-eligible cases dismissed for proof and legal problems.
Text or call Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.
Mike Arnold was voted Eugene’s best DUII lawyer the first and only year the weekly publisher featured this category.
Mike’s courtroom abilities have been featured in two nationally-televised episodes of CBS 48 Hours.
CDLs and Diversion Eligibility
Warning: Surrender your Commercial Driver’s License if you Don’t Drive Commercially.
If you are arrested for DUII and you have a CDL, even if you haven’t been driving commercial for years, you are not eligible for diversion. We repeat: Even if you are cited for DUII while not driving commercially, you cannot enter diversion.
This law was passed in Oregon several years ago when the federal government put a gun to the legislature’s head. This unreasonable law had to be passed otherwise Oregon could have lost its highway funding.
This causes folks who would ordinarily be eligible for diversion to have to try the case or plead guilty to DUII and have an automatic one-year license suspension.The state now treats a first-time DUII offender who has an old, stale CDL as a second-time offender.
To surrender your CDL and convert back to a Class C license, visit the DMV (the form is available online).
If you fill out this form and submit it to the DMV, you reduce the risk that you get stopped for DUII without the same rights as every other first-time DUII driver.
Of course, if you have a DUI pending this does not help you and you should contact an attorney immediately.
Text or call Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.
Trial vs. Plea Agreements
A knowledgeable Oregon DUII lawyer can attempt to negotiate you the most favorable resolution to your case. The punishment for such cases in Oregon is usually a minimum sanction of 80 hours of community service or two days of jail. There is also a mandatory fine of $1,000 for a first offense, $1,500 for a second, $2,000 for the third. Beginning January 1, 2010, there was a mandatory minimum of $2,000 for anyone who blows 0.15% BAC or higher. Finally, there is a driver’s license suspension ranging from one year to life, depending on the number of prior convictions.
If you choose to take your case to trial, the officer and prosecutor will bring to the notice of the jury all of the purported signs of impairment. These include the normal signs that we all associate with intoxication (bloodshot eyes, slurred speech, sway, etc.) as well as field sobriety tests.
Driving issues are other things emphasized at the trial. Mostly you hear about “sway within the lane” as an indicator (although not a violation of the motor vehicle code) or failure to maintain a lane (crossing over the line). Of course, there could be allegations of more dangerous driving that may or may not have explanations other than alcohol. Often we see Reckless Driving charges accompanying these sorts of factual allegations. Finally, an Oregon officer gives his own opinion of you being under the influence of alcohol.
Oregon DUIIs are highly technical cases to try for the prosecution. These cases require an experienced Eugene DUII attorney. Attorney Mike Arnold is a former Eugene city prosecutor and has experience both prosecuting and defending DUII jury trials.
Text or call Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.
Representative DUII Cases
DUII – Eugene Railroad Tracks
Male client accused of driving on to railroad tracks when officer finds client exiting from the driver’s side of a vehicle stuck on tracks 1/4 mile from the nearest road. Case dismissed after jury trial after discovery that law enforcement failed to investigate homeless witnesses who remember a woman driving a car through their “bedroom” at 3 a.m.
DUII – Cottage Grove Railroad Tracks
Client accused of turning down railroad tracks by mistake. Client claimed that the actual driver ran away from scene after getting stuck. Mistrial granted by judge; then case dismissed after negotiations due to prosecutor failing to disclose a material exculpatory witness who saw someone running from the direction of client’s car a few blocks away from tracks.
DUII – Refusal Due to Fear of Law Enforcement
African-American client refused to blow after having one of friend’s homebrew beers after work. Client’s refusal of FSTs and intoxilyzer was due to lack of trust of law enforcement due to prior childhood police contact in the suburbs of Chicogo after growing up in the southside. Jury acquitted (found not guilty) after three hours of deliberations.
DUII – Springfield Tavern Collision
Client accused of driving his truck into the side of the bar a 6×6 post and causing awning to collapse and then fleeing scene. Law enforcement arrested him later at his home after he had some drinks at home. After a two-day Springfield Municipal Court jury trial, where cross-examination focused on the police officers’ flawed investigation (by failing to investigate client’s claims of drinking at home AFTER driving), and after less than thirty minutes of deliberation, the jury found him not guilty of DUII. Client did not testify.
DUII – Car accident after Ducks game ends with dismissal
Client was seriously injured and required a hip replacement after a driver ran a stop sign and collided with his car. Despite client not being at fault in the accident, a blood draw at the hospital purportedly showed that client had a greater-than .08% BAC and he was cited for DUII. Attorney Mike Arnold conducted an investigation of the hospital blood draw procedures and obtained the user guide for the hospital’s Beckman Coulter Chemistry Analyzer that was used for the blood test. We were prepared at trial to prove that Client’s BAC was on its way up, that there was a delay in blood vial being tested that likely resulted in fermentation of the sample, and that the hospital blood test was not as accurate as a crime lab blood test which was not performed in this case. The case was dismissed two days before the jury trial.
Diversion-eligible DUI dismissed
Client accused of DUI after being stopped for entering a crosswalk while stopping at a red light. Client’s breathalyzer result was .05%, and he was still accused of DUII. Case dismissed after client rejected diversion and decided to proceed to trial with aggressive defense strategy and several witnesses willing to testify to his lack of intoxication on the night in question. Case resolved with a plea to a traffic violation and a fine. (Learn more about trial objections here).
DUII/Hit and Run – Diversion on both counts
Client accused of Driving while Intoxicated, crashing, and fleeing the scene. Case ended with a diversion on both counts, saving client’s employment and allowing client to have clean criminal record.
DUII – Protecting professional licensing from state licensing board
Professional client was accused of driving while intoxicated and crashing into a utility pole with 0.15% blood alcohol content. Client had prior DUII diversion. Case ended with client being able to keep professional license, dismissal of all citations, and minimum sanctions allowed by law.
Text or call Mike Arnold today at 541-797-0110.