A DUI arrest in San Bernardino County sets off two separate legal proceedings at the same time: a criminal case in San Bernardino County Superior Court and a DMV administrative process that will determine what happens to your driver's license. Both need to be handled, and both have deadlines that begin running the moment you are arrested.
A DUI defense attorney who understands how these two tracks interact and moves on both from day one protects options that are gone permanently if the deadlines pass. Here is what that work looks like from the first day forward.
The 10-Day DMV Deadline: The Most Time-Sensitive Fact in Any DUI Case
If you were arrested for DUI in California, you have 10 days from the date of arrest to request a DMV Administrative Per Se hearing. This is a separate proceeding from the criminal case, conducted by the DMV to determine whether your driving privilege should be suspended. If you do not request this hearing within the 10-day window, your license is automatically suspended 30 days after the arrest, and you lose the right to contest it.
The DMV hearing is requested immediately upon being retained in any DUI case. Legal advocacy is provided in both the DMV proceeding and the criminal case simultaneously, so neither track goes unattended.
Reviewing the Basis for the Traffic Stop
DUI defense frequently begins well before any test results are analyzed. The traffic stop itself must have been legally justified since police must have reasonable suspicion, meaning a specific and articulable basis for believing a traffic law was being violated, or a crime was occurring, before pulling a driver over.
A stop based on vague grounds, an anonymous tip without adequate corroboration, or observations that do not constitute a traffic violation may be challengeable under the Fourth Amendment. If the stop was unlawful, everything that followed, including field sobriety tests, breathalyzer results, and blood draws, may be excludable under a motion to suppress. A successful suppression motion in a DUI case can eliminate the prosecution's entire evidentiary foundation.
Challenging the Chemical Test Evidence
DUI prosecutions in California rest heavily on chemical test results, typically a breathalyzer reading or a blood alcohol content measurement from a blood draw. Under California Vehicle Code 23152(b), driving with a BAC of 0.08% or higher is a per se DUI violation, and both breathalyzer and blood test results are subject to scrutiny in every case.
Breathalyzers require regular calibration and maintenance, and California's Title 17 regulations establish specific procedures for conducting breath and blood alcohol testing. If those procedures were not followed, including improper calibration intervals or inadequate observation periods before the test, the results can be challenged on reliability grounds.
Blood tests involve issues of chain of custody. From the moment blood is drawn through analysis and storage, specific protocols govern how the sample must be handled. Breaks in that chain, including mislabeled samples, improper storage, or failures to document sample transfers, can undermine the reliability of the result.
Certain medical conditions can also produce elevated readings that do not reflect actual impairment. Gastroesophageal reflux disease can cause mouth alcohol to be measured instead of deep lung air, inflating breathalyzer results. Diabetes and certain dietary states can produce compounds that some breathalyzers interpret as alcohol.
Field Sobriety Test Reliability
Field sobriety tests, including the walk-and-turn, the one-leg stand, and the horizontal gaze nystagmus test, are not infallible measures of alcohol impairment. They are standardized tests that assume a baseline physical ability the defendant may not possess for reasons entirely unrelated to alcohol. Fatigue, anxiety, physical injury, medical conditions, and road surface conditions all affect performance.
The administration of field sobriety tests is reviewed in every DUI case. Instructions that deviate from the standardized protocol, environmental conditions that render performance unreliable, or a documented physical condition that affects the reliability of the tests can all provide grounds to challenge the weight the prosecution can place on these results.
Negotiating DUI Outcomes in San Bernardino County
Many DUI cases in San Bernardino County resolve through negotiation rather than trial. An attorney who has investigated the specific evidence problems in a case, identified motion opportunities, and is prepared to go to trial negotiates from a position that an unprepared attorney cannot replicate.
Common negotiated outcomes include a charge reduction to a wet reckless, a conviction for reckless driving involving alcohol under Vehicle Code 23103.5 that carries lower penalties than a DUI conviction, favorable probation terms, or reduced DUI school requirements. Tammy Higgins spent 17 years as a California Public Defender and knows how DUI prosecutors in San Bernardino County approach these cases and where the negotiating room sits on specific fact patterns.
What Happens When a DUI Case Goes to Trial
When the evidence supports a fight, and the prosecution is not offering a reasonable resolution, DUI cases go to trial. The prosecution must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was driving under the influence, and that standard can be contested on multiple fronts using the evidence challenges described above.
Over 100 criminal jury trials have been tried to verdict. Trial readiness is not separate from negotiation strategy since it is what makes negotiation meaningful in the first place. Tammy is death penalty-qualified in California, has been licensed with the State Bar since 2006 with no disciplinary actions, and the firm holds a 4.9-star rating across 77 Google reviews. Contact us for a free confidential consultation available 24/7 at (949) 226-7602.
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