Alcohol Education Programs in Butte County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in Butte County, California:

Prevention Education Program, Inc.
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
1215 Mangrove Avenue,
Suite B,
Chico, California 95926
Phone: 530-891-6148; Fax: 530-345-5514

DUI – Solutions
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
645 Normal Avenue,
Chico, California 95928
Phone: 530-898-8333; Fax: 530-898-8060

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Alcohol Education Programs in Marin County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in Marin County, California:

Bay Area Community Resources
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
118 Alto Street,
San Rafael, California 94901
Phone: 415-453-9980

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Alcohol Education Programs in San Francisco County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a San Francisco DUI attorney.

Driving Under the Influence programs in San Francisco County, California:

Counseling Services for Drinking Drivers
(Service Provided: Service Provided: 18 Month, 30 Month)
43 Fell Street,
San Francisco, California 94102
Phone: 415-241-1187; Fax: 415-553-3939

Driver Performance Institutes, Inc.
(Service Provided: First Offender)
330 Townsend Street,
Suite 230,
San Francisco, California 94107
Phone: 415-905-5555; Fax: 415-905-5565

Dry Zone M.O. DUI Program
(Service Provided: 18 Month)
820 Valencia Street,
San Francisco, California 94110
Phone: 415-826-6767; Fax: 415-826-6774

Institute Of Advanced Driver Education
(Service Provided: First Offender)
2111 Mission Street,
San Francisco, California 94110
Phone: 415-255-0371; Fax: 415-864-3091

NCA And Other Drug Addictions Bay Area
(Service Provided: First Offender)
944 Market Street,
3rd Floor,
San Francisco, California 94102
Phone: 415-255-0371; Fax: 415-864-3091

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Alcohol Education Programs in Tulare County, California

In California, there are several levels of Alcohol Education Programs that are offered. In order to enroll in one of the programs, one must be referred, either by the court or the California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).

BEWARE: Completing an alcohol program may not satisfy the DMV. That is just one reason why it is critical that you consult with a California criminal defense lawyer that concentrates on DUI defense.

Driving Under the Influence programs in Tulare County, California:

Alternative Services, Inc.
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
2223 North Shirk Road,
Visalia, California 93291
Phone: 559-651-8090; Fax: 559-651-8099

Alternative Services, Inc.
(Service Provided: First Offender, 18 Month)
215 North D Street,
Porterville, California 93257
Phone: 559-783-2402; Fax: 559-782-4681

» Return to Driving Under the Influence program in California, directory of service providers

Note: This list is provided for convenience and informational purposes only. We do not recommend or endorse any specific Alcohol or Drug Risk Reduction Program.

Superior Court Of California, County of Colusa

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to know the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

Colusa County Superior Court
547 Market Street, Colusa, CA 95932

» Colusa County Superior Court of California website.

Getting arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI can be a frightening experience. Suspected drunk drivers face a legal labyrinth that can seem daunting. A drunk driving case generates two separate cases – in criminal court, and at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). A California attorney with experience defending drinking and driving cases can help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

» Return to California Superior Courts, general information

Superior Court Of California, County of Merced

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to know the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

Merced County Superior Court
627 W. 21st Street, Merced, CA 95340

» Merced County Superior Court of California website.

Getting arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI can be a frightening experience. Suspected drunk drivers face a legal labyrinth that can seem daunting. A drunk driving case generates two separate cases – in criminal court, and at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). A California attorney with experience defending drinking and driving cases can help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

» Return to California Superior Courts, general information

Superior Court Of California, County of Stanislaus

If you have been arrested for Driving Under the Influence of alcohol or drugs in the state of California, it is important to know the location of the courthouse where your arraignment will be held. If there are multiple courthouses in the county, please contact a skilled California DUI / DWI defense attorney for more information.

Stanislaus County Superior Court
800 11th Street, Modesto, CA 95354

Turlock Courthouse
300 Starr Avenue, Turlock, CA 95380

Traffic & Small Claims
2260 Floyd Avenue, Modesto, CA 95355

Juvenile Court
2215 Blue Gum Avenue, Modesto, CA 95356

» Stanislaus County Superior Court of California website.

Getting arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI can be a frightening experience. Suspected drunk drivers face a legal labyrinth that can seem daunting. A drunk driving case generates two separate cases – in criminal court, and at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). A California attorney with experience defending drinking and driving cases can help drivers navigate through both the DMV hearing and the court case.

» Return to California Superior Courts, general information

California Criminal Defense Attorney – Examination of a Prosecution Expert

After a prosecutor calls the arresting officer to testify in a California DUI / DWI trial, the second witness is usually an analyst from the crime lab – their “expert.” The prosecution expert’s testimony always supports the theory that the defendant is guilty, but an experienced drunk driving criminal defense lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm will aggressively cross-examine the expert and call defense experts who will contradict the prosecution witness’s testimony.

The prosecution will typically begin by having the analyst describe his or her education and training in an effort to build credibility. The expert may then discuss how field sobriety tests help an officer to determine whether a driver was under the influence. The expert may then offer an opinion as to how well the defendant performed on the tests and what this says about the driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC).

Prosecution experts typically make presumptions about the defendant’s level of intoxication that are based on general scientific principles and assumptions. However, these assumptions don’t consider a defendant’s tolerance level, size, absorption rate, or meals eaten prior to drinking. The expert will describe any chemical tests the driver took, including how they were performed, the accuracy of the tests, and what this says about the level of alcohol in the defendant’s system.

The prosecutor might ask the expert to describe how alcohol affects an individual mentally and physically, and to cite specific examples of behavior that show that an individual was under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Finally, the prosecution’s expert may make statements about hypothetical situations or drivers, and use these situations and conclusions to support the charge that the defendant in this specific drunk driving trial was also under the influence. Experts in driving under the influence cases can rely on hearsay evidence (out of court statements offered to prove the truth) in forming their opinions and conclusions.

Because a prosecution expert can make hypothetical assumptions about the based on hearsay, it’s essential to the defense of a driving under the influence charge that the person accused retain a qualified and experienced DUI criminal defense attorney.

After the prosecutor directly examines his or her expert, the defense attorney has a chance to cross-examine the witness. A skilled DUI / DWI lawyer will use this opportunity to discredit the expert and punch holes in the prosecutor’s case. Like a defense lawyer’s cross-examination of the arresting officer, grilling the prosecution’s expert in a driving while intoxicated trial is less of an examination than a chance for the defense attorney to testify.

An experienced defense lawyer will ask leading questions designed to elicit only a yes or no answer. This technique allows the defense attorney to testify to what he or she wants the jury to hear, and then forcing the prosecution’s witness to agree with that testimony.

An effective DUI / DWI defense attorney knows that scoring points with the prosecution’s expert is even better than scoring points with the defense expert. Jurors know that the defense expert has been hired by the defense to help the defense. But the prosecution’s expert is there to help convict the accused drunk driver, so persuading that witness to agree with the defense, or support something that helps the defendant’s case, is much more valuable than anything the defense expert could say.

A savvy DUI / DWI criminal defense lawyer will use cross-examination to get the expert to admit that he or she doesn’t know anything about the accused driver’s drinking patterns, level of tolerance, or how his or her body absorbs alcohol. The expert has no information about how the defendant drank the night he or she was arrested, or how much. The expert has no way of knowing whether the driver has any injuries or illnesses that would impact the performance of field sobriety tests, or could affect the sample provided during the chemical tests.

Without aggressive cross-examination by a California defense lawyer experienced in drunk driving cases, the prosecution’s expert will only offer testimony that will help convict the driver. During a skilled cross-examination, the impact of a prosecution expert’s testimony can be diminished or completely eliminated.

Drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI in California must take a breath or blood test to determine the motorist’s blood alcohol content (BAC). Although police and prosecutors consider blood tests to be definitive evidence in drunk driving cases, these tests are open to interpretation. A skilled attorney from The Kavinoky Law Firm who focuses on driving under the influence cases has the experience needed to effectively challenge blood test results.

California’s Implied Consent Law dictates that anyone who drives in the state agrees to take a chemical test if arrested on suspicion of drinking and driving. If a driver is suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID), a blood or urine test may be required.

If the driver refuses to submit to a chemical test, a number of serious repercussions follow, including fines, mandatory imprisonment if the person is convicted of DUI, and DMV suspension of the person’s driver’s license. And if the driver refuses a chemical test, the courts have ruled that police have the right to take the defendant’s blood by force. Therefore, submitting to the chemical test is in the best interests of someone arrested for DUI.

When a driver opts to take a breath test, the officer must advise the person of the right to take a blood test in order to retain a sample of blood for later testing by an independent forensic toxicologist. Tests are fallible, and human error is not uncommon.

Improper blood-drawing procedures are a common error in blood-testing. When drawing a blood sample for a drunk driving case, the blood should be drawn into a glass tube that contains a white powder in the bottom; the white powder is a mixture of preservative and anticoagulant. If the level of preservative is incorrect, the blood sample can actually ferment and create additional alcohol. If the sample does not contain enough anticoagulant, the blood will clot, reflecting an artificially high blood alcohol level. Independent testing can reveal such instances. Thus, it is to the DUI defendant’s best advantage to have his or her blood sample independently tested.

The blood must also be drawn by a person certified to perform the draw. The driver’s arm should be cleaned with an alcohol-free wipe. Once drawn, the blood sample must be shaken in order to thoroughly distribute the anti coagulant and preservative. The sample should be stored in a controlled environment in order to preserve the quality of the sample. Therefore, when defending a drunk driving case it’s important to identify the “chain of custody” in order to fully understand who had access to the sample, when and how it was stored.

Even when the blood sample is properly collected and stored, the result doesn’t necessarily mean the driver is guilty of DUI / DWI. While chemical testing may be accurate to determine blood or breath alcohol content at the time of testing, it is not conclusive evidence of BAC at the time of driving. It is not illegal to be above the legal limit while in a police station. The offense is driving under the influence, not having a BAC above the legal limit at a later time. Because alcohol levels change over time, this is a critical point to understand.

Ultimately, blood tests and other chemical test results can be successfully challenged in drunk driving cases. When it comes to issues of blood-testing in a drinking and driving case, it’s important to have a California lawyer who specializes in DUI / DWI defense on your side.

Drivers arrested on suspicion of DUI / DWI in California are required by law to provide a sample of their blood or breath for chemical testing for alcohol content, or a sample of blood or urine if they are suspected of driving under the influence of drugs (DUID). This is known as California’s Implied Consent Law. Any driver who refuses a chemical test after a lawful driving under the influence arrest faces stiff consequences from the Department of Motor Vehicles and during a court trial.

But what constitutes refusal? Police and prosecutors consider a refusal to be anything other than absolute assent to the test. However, there are actually two types of refusals: Express, where the driver says no, and Implied, where the police say a refusal occurred but the person did not expressly refuse. An experienced California DUI / DWI lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm will evaluate each case individually to determine whether an implied refusal might be excused.

In some cases, an implied refusal may be excused. For example, if the driver chose to take a breath test, but was unable to provide a sufficient sample of breath to allow for a reading, police often record this as a refusal, assuming the person is deliberately blocking the mouthpiece or not blowing hard enough. However, the driver may have been ill or injured and was unable to provide a sufficient sample, or the breath machine may be faulty. In this situation, if a police officer does not allow a person who chose a breath test to take a blood test instead, and records it as a refusal, this refusal may be excused.

Another implied refusal that may be excused occurs when a driver refuses to take a breath test but police then draw the driver’s blood. If the individual doesn’t object to the draw – even though technically there is no permission granted either – police shouldn’t record it as a refusal. If the police officer had honored the initial refusal and not done the forced blood draw, a refusal would have existed. However, when the officer chose not to honor the refusal and took blood anyway, the refusal is lost.

Another type of implied refusal exists when a driver arrested for DUI / DWI was physically unable to either refuse or consent, or was in and out of consciousness. California courts have ruled that a driver who is semiconscious cannot be punished for a refusal that stems from a medical condition that is unrelated to alcohol use.

If an individual charged with drunk driving isn’t advised of the consequences of refusal, namely that their driver’s license will be suspended or revoked, or if the officer fails to advise the person of the Implied Consent Law, the refusal may be excused.

A police officer’s failure to advise the driver of the consequences of refusal may also serve as a valid defense at the DMV hearing to determine whether the driver’s license should be suspended.

Refusing a chemical test carries serious consequences with both the Department of Motor Vehicles and in criminal court. However, an implied refusal, where police merely assume that the driver refused a chemical test, can often be successfully challenged by a California defense attorney experienced in handling DUI / DWI cases.