Have you been busted driving under the influence somewhere in Los Ageles? Happens to the best of us. And it’s not the end of the world, but you’ve got to act fast if you want to minimize or even completely negate the damage you’ve done to yourself. You might immediate want to hire a DUI Lawyer Los Angeles or read below.

What you’re looking at is the DUI Lawyers Los Angeles directory, where I’ve reviewed several good lawyers you could go to for help. All the DUI Lawyer Los Angeles reviews come from either personal experience (yes, I am not the most law abiding citizen) or experiences of the people I can trust.

Be warned though, DUI cases aren’t cheap, but hopefully you didn’t expect them to be, otherwise your license and, possibly, money and freedom are doomed. DUI is a serious offence and state of CA doesn’t treat it kindly.

List of the best DUI Lawyers Los Angeles area:

KEEP IN MIND that all of the lawyers represented in this directory are PROVEN and RELIABLE. There are no negative reviews here or lawyers that take your money and give back no results. Basically, you can choose any one of the offices below blindfolded and you won’t miss. Be sure to call several of them to match on your budget though.

You MUST take a DUI charge EXTREMELY seriously. Generally, if you’re convicted – your life is screwed for a long lasting while. There may be complications with your employment and personal freedoms.

There are many variables to consider in DUI charges in California as a whole and Los Angeles in particular. Court appearances are many, and none of them will be nice, but missing any of them without a proven reason won’t play in your favor at all. Hiring a professional DUI lawyer to handle your case is CRUCIAL.

Is this your first DUI offence in LA?

What you may be looking at varies. That is:

• $1,300 fine. Hiring a lawyer will, in most cases, cost less than that
• 3 years probation period, although it’s informal and there is no probation officer
• 3 to 5 days alternative servitude. You will be picking up trash, cleaning buses and things like that.
• First Offender School which length may vary depending on your blood alcohol levels.

AND a 6 months license suspension once the DMV receives notice of conviction.

If you’re lucky enough to get DUI charge demoted to a ‘wet reckless’ status your fine would be lower and a First Offender course would only last 12 hours, only there is a big BUT if you want to get a restricted license. In this case DMV requires a completion certificate for the aforementioned course, which is usually extended over a 3 months period (sometimes the county extends it over 4 months) and that’s where a big catch pops up. The court orders you to complete a 12 hour course, but the DMV _ONLY_ accepts forms for the 32 hours program. Meaning if you get a ‘wet reckless’ status you’d have to complete a 3 months long program to get a restricted license from the DMV in California in general and Los Angeles in particular.

This is in addition to the four months of suspension which starts a month (30 days) after you’re stopped for DUI.

It gets even more complicated with DUI in California

You see, the court and DMV aren’t connected to each other at all. In many situations you’d get your license back after going to the DMV hearing only to get convicted in the court later on. What’s kind of funny is that the opposite can happen as well: you get you license “back” in the court only to be suspended by the DMV.

If you’re convicted by the court you have the right to get a restricted license 30 days after you’ve actually been suspended (i.e. two months later after a DUI stop, as actual suspension starts 30 days after). This license would allow you to drive to your workplace and back, in the course of your employment and to and from the DUI class. Restricted license is limited to 5 months (which is actually 6, but the DMV counts first month of suspension towards the restricted license which is nonsense in my opinion) and you can ride out the 4 months suspension period and get your license back. The problem is once a court notifies DMV about your conviction of a DUI or a ‘wet reckless’ and the fact that you have been sent to the First Offender Program/course the following will be added to the list of items required to get your license returned: Proof of Insurance SR-22, proof of First Offender course completion and you will have to pay $100.

California DMV Hearings:

If the driver is to lose a hearing (which most people do, unless they get a really good DUI Lawyer) 4 months suspension will take effect. After the first 30 days of suspension a 5 months limited restricted license could be issued.