Our West Covina DUI lawyers have years of experience fighting to reduce or dismiss drunk driving charges, keeping our clients out of jail, and saving their driver’s licenses. We handle DUI cases throughout the area, including Baldwin Park, La Puente, Rowland Heights, Irwindale, Azusa and Diamond Bar.
On this page, our California DUI defense attorneys provide the following information about West Covina drunk driving laws and how we can help:
- 1. Will I have to give up my license?
- 2. Will I go to jail?
- 3. What is West Covina DUI School?
- 4. Who makes DUI arrests in West Covina?
- 5. Where is the jail?
- 6. Where is the West Covina court?
- 7. Who is attorney John Murray?
Operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content (BAC) of under .08% is still a crime if the driver is impaired by drugs or alcohol.
1. Will I have to give up my license?
Getting arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol creates two separate cases in West Covina: One in the criminal court, and one in the Department of Motor Vehicles. When a person is booked for a DUI, the police confiscate his/her California driver’s license and give him/her a temporary one that is good for just a month.
The defendant then has only ten days from the time of the arrest to request a DMV hearing to contest the suspension. Defendants are advised to hire defense counsel right away to request and handle the DMV hearing so that they may appear on the defendants’ behalf, present evidence and cross-examine witnesses.
For a first DUI, all the DMV can do is suspend the defendant’s driver’s license for a few months. And usually first-time offenders can continue driving with no interruption as long as they install an ignition interlock device (IID) breathalyzer.
2. Will I go to jail?
Jail may be avoidable for a first-time offense. People arrested for a West Covina misdemeanor DUI will usually be charged with two California crimes: DUI under Vehicle Code 23152(a), and Driving with Excessive Blood Alcohol Content under Vehicle Code 23152(b). Typical first-offense penalties include:
- fines ($390 to over $1,000, but community service may cover some of it)
- three years of probation
- six-month driver’s license suspension (though defendants may be able to continue driving anywhere as long as they get an ignition interlock device installed)
- California DUI School
- two days to six months of jail time (which we can usually eliminate or convert to community service)
Penalties for subsequent DUIs are harsher. And DUIs that cause injury may be chargeable as a felony.
DUI criminal cases often last several months, during which time we collect evidence, file motions, and negotiate with prosecutors in an effort to get both DUI charges dismissed or reduced. And for misdemeanor DUI cases, we can usually appear in court for you throughout the entire case (unless we take the case to trial and you testify).
3. What is West Covina DUI school?
DUI School is a standard penalty for all West Covina DUI convictions. Judges will order longer programs for defendants with previous DUI convictions and a significantly high BAC. But a good criminal defense lawyer may be able to negotiate this down. Two of the local DUI Schools are:
Safety Education Center, Inc.
Programs: First offender; Eighteen Month; and Thirty Month
1515 West Cameron Ave., Ste. 300
West Covina, CA 91790.
(626) 960-3977
San Gabriel Valley Driver Improvement
Programs: First offender
1700 W. Cameron Ave., Ste. 108
West Covina, 91790
(626) 960-0644
4. Who makes DUI arrests in West Covina?
Drunk driving suspects in West Covina can expect to be arrested by the West Covina Police Department. The station is located at 1444 W Garvey Ave S, West Covina, CA 91790, and reachable at (626) 939-8500.
If the DUI allegedly occurs on a highway such as the SR-39, the arrest could be done by a California Highway Patrol officer.
5. Where is the jail?
DUI arrestees in West Covina will probably be booked at the West Covina Jail, located at 1444 West Garvey Avenue South, West Covina, CA 91790. The phone number is (626) 939-8550.
Search online for inmates here.
6. Where is the West Covina court?
DUI cases will likely be heard in the local, eleven-courtroom West Covina Courthouse, located at 1427 West Covina Pkwy. Their number is (626) 813-3239.
Unlike other courthouses – where different judges may hear different stages of the same case – West Covina judges preside over the entire duration of their DUI cases. Only the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office (not the city attorney’s office) prosecutes DUIs. And which courtroom a defendant is assigned to is determined by where his/her last name falls on the alphabet.
When people are sentenced for a misdemeanor DUI in the West Covina Courthouse, they will be instructed to go to the “Health Department” – located inside the courthouse – for further instructions and guidance about how to enroll in DUI School and carry out other terms of the sentence. The Health Department can be reached at (626) 813-3335.
7. Who is attorney John Murray?
From defending more than one thousand DUI cases in California over the years, West Covina criminal defense lawyer John Murray knows that the best defense is a good offense. First, he meticulously researches the evidence in your case in search of weaknesses in the state’s arguments, which he then uses to try to persuade the prosecutor to dismiss or reduce your criminal charges.
Do not be surprised if LA County DUI lawyer John Murray looks familiar — you have probably already seen him on FOX News as an expert legal commentator.
Los Angeles County DUI lawyer John Murray is an alumnus of Ventura College of Law and California State University, Northridge. He practices law in West Covina and throughout LA County and the OC.
Call our criminal defense law firm for legal advice on your criminal charges.
If you get arrested for driving drunk, our West Covina DUI attorneys are here to fight for the best possible outcome in your case. And if necessary, we are also prepared to take your case to trial. Phone our West Covina DUI defense attorneys at (626) 665-4184 to schedule a free consultation. The law office of Shouse Law Group is located at:
100 N. Barranca Ave.
Suite 738
West Covina, CA 91791
Our experienced West Covina criminal defense attorneys also provide legal representation to DUI / DWI clients in the San Francisco Bay Area, Berkeley, Contra Costa, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Riverside, Orange County, Long Beach, Claremont, Pomona, Pasadena, Glendora, Beverly Hills, Whittier, San Bernardino County, West Covina, Inland Empire, Ontario, Pleasanton, Hayward, and elsewhere in north, central, and southern California state.
We defend against all types of charges, from traffic tickets and drug crimes to sex crimes and white collar crimes and domestic violence. Our legal team practices personal injury and family law as well as criminal defense and DUI law.
Go back to our West Covina Criminal Defense Lawyers main page.