William C. Makler

The best (young adult) kid can make a bad decision at any time - that's life. Once they're 18 or older, the potential life-altering effects of a single bad choice will make your head spin. Finding my son and myself in those circumstances, I needed to call an attorney. Geographically distant from t...he situation and having worked extensively with attorneys professionally, I placed many calls for advice on choosing a defense attorney in Santa Barbara. Internet research, along with recommendations ranging from Alaska to D.C., pointed me to Bill Makler. After calling his office, I received a call back from him directly before I even had time to finish an e-contact through his website. Un-rushed and thorough, he clearly had a grasp on the trauma I experienced as a parent as well as an assured knowledge of steps that needed to be taken in defense of my son. Quickly taking charge, within days Bill was successful in having the charge filed as a misdemeanor rather than a felony. Sensing our huge relief, he nonetheless advised us to continue the legal process for a potential optimum outcome of civil compromise. This was at no added benefit to him as we had negotiated a flat rate. Throughout the process, we could count on timely contacts and updates. All choices were explained and questions answered thoroughly. Bill was straight forward and realistic about whether and when I might need to spend additional funds to travel there. Due to his management, it was not necessary. Mr. Makler was successful in achieving for us the best possible result in terms of both immediate and long-term affects on my son's adult life. While grateful and relieved, I also appreciated his dedication of additional time to be certain that my son understood the severity of his situation and the necessity to proceed with his life in a thoughtful manner. Mr. Makler's skill combined with his extensive experience in Santa Barbara/Isla Vista is enough to make him the go-to defense attorney for the area. His experience with defending collegiate young-adults with their families at a distance is invaluable should you find yourself getting a dreaded early-morning call from the Santa Barbara County Jail. If it happens, do yourself and your child the best service possible by calling Bill Makler immediately.

Bill Makler finished up my DUI case over the past month or so. I had been out shooting pool, and I only had 2 beers, but I had the misfortune to get caught up in a DUI checkpoint, and long story short, was arrested for DUI. I had registered a 0.088 on the field breath, had done fairly well on the f...ield sobriety tests, and had a blood AC of 0.10. First let me say I very much appreciate all Bill's done for me, and I truly believe I was lucky to have him as an attorney. Most people don’t put much stock in anonymous postings and reviews, but please don’t interpret my wish to remain anonymous in this case as any reflection on credibility of my review of Bill’s service. It’s just that part of the reason I hired Bill in the first place was to first salvage as much of my career and reputation as possible by mitigating the consequences, and then to rehabilitate my official records through whatever means Bill could bring to bear or advise me to bring. Being charged with DUI in the military is a huge deal and pretty much a career ender for officers. As I said above, I did fairly well on the field sobriety tests (though the officer’s report, as you might imagine, had all the “right” blocks checked and said all the right things to support probable cause for an eventual arrest). When it came to the field breathylizer, I registered a 0.088—just above the legal limit to be arrested. I then chose a blood test for the actual legal test that counts in court hoping the breath was off as I didn’t feel the slightest bit intoxicated. As a side note, I hadn’t known at the time that refusing to participate in field sobriety tests and field breathylizer is not legally the same thing as “refusing to submit to a chemical test” as the authorities would have you believe, but that’s water under the bridge now. My blood test came back at 0.10 and Bill recommended getting our own independent blood test which came back at 0.09. First, Bill defended me at my DMV hearing taking the opportunity to get the arresting officer’s testimony on record in an environment where he might likely not be as prepared or practiced as he might become for the actual court. As expected, Bill was able to demonstrate the officer’s poor memory and his poor adherence to established standard procedures in conducting all the tests and filling out the appropriate reports properly. Additionally, Bill seized on the opportunity to have the DMV case thrown out when the other side had their evidence marked but failed to actually enter it into evidence. Bill’s objections were noted but overruled (as the hearing officer has a lot of leeway to do things however he wants), but Bill’s objections did provide a case for appeal down the road. With Bill’s strategy in court, though, it wouldn’t matter in the end because with the court result he got for me, it completely nullified the DMV’s decision. At our first hearing in court, Bill negotiated with the Deputy DA and came away with their first offer—basically plead guilty to what I was charged with. If I were willing to do that, what would have been the point of hiring Bill? So we politely declined citing the need to conduct more discovery (in order to buy some more time), and Bill got to work preparing for the case requesting discovery, ordering our independent blood test, and letting the facts of my case begin to sink in for the Deputy DA who should have been beginning to realize this case was not a slam dunk or even a sure win for him. At our second hearing, Bill negotiated again with the DA informing him of my stellar record of performance and conduct in the military. After hearing what Bill had to say, the DA then offered a “wet reckless-lite” which in the grand scheme of things was certainly not as bad as a full DUI, and it would not require DUI classes, would come with a reasonable fine and 2 years probation, and possibly insurance premium consequences. But Bill was also able to secure the DA’s agreement to accept a “Helmandollar” plea which has the legal effect of finding one not guilty of DUI with

Mr. Makler was great. He was very knowledgeable and handled my situation with care. I was wrongfully arrested for sexual assault/battery. I was released on bail after one night in jail. That is when I contacted Mr. Makler. He wrote an outstanding letter to the DA, which convinced him/her to drop th...e charges against me. I then thought that I was in the clear, but Mr. Makler let me know that there was still a booking order in my name and could be seen by prospective employers and others, so then he went about filing a petition to seal and destroy the arrest record for me. This petition was granted and now I feel great knowing that this situation is over and done with. I do not believe that the situation would have turned out the way it did without the help of Mr. Makler.

From the beginning of the case, Mr. Makler was on top of everything. He updated me at every corner of the case and made sure I knew what was going on through out the month I worked with him. He was very straight-forward and I definitely felt I was in good hands. I wont go too much into my personal... DUI case, but Mr. Makler found there was a certain legal procedure that the officer who gave me the DUI avoided . When it was first presented in the DMV hearing, however, the hearing officer decided to ignore his point and make up her own law justifying the suspension of my license. In the next court date, Mr. Makler managed to win the case, even with the DMV hearing having been decided, and the original DMV decision was overruled thanks to him. The DUI was eliminated and he even wrote a letter later on to the DMV about the hearing officer who avoided his evidence. I hope to never be in this situation again, but for anyone who is, I would most definitely recommend his services!