Attorney Nors Elwood Davidson's Legal Cases

DUI and DWI

Alameda County (Oakland) .17% BAC 1st Offense DUI w/ Enhancement

Oct 17, 2013

OUTCOME: ENHANCEMENT DISMISSED. Probation Granted, 3 years, 3 month DUI school & 1 day SWAP

Client was another recent college graduate who learned the hard way not to drive after drinking. Client stopped by the CHP on Interstate 80 for "weaving" after four in the morning and submitted to bre ... ath test which yielded a .17% BAC, more than twice the legal limit. Client subsequently charged with DUI and excessive BAC enhancement (greater than .15%). Not a lot to do here, but today we successfully mitigated the punishment by getting the enhancement dismissed and receiving the following minimal sentence of three years informal court probation, fine of $1,964, three month DUI school, and one day of SWAP in lieu of actual jail. Client's license suspended per conviction for thirty days and restricted for five months with filing of SR22 and installation of IID.

DUI and DWI

Alameda County (Oakland) .12% 1st Offense DUI

Oct 17, 2013

OUTCOME: DUI CHARGES DISMISSED. Case Reduced to Reckless Driving

Client was a recent college graduate who was working two jobs and trying to figure out what to do now that her education was over. She had no criminal history, but on this occasion, went out in the Ci ... ty and had a few drinks before deciding that she was ok to drive back to the East Bay. On the way home, though, the CHP pulled her over for making "numerous lane changes" and speeding. After their investigation, a breath test revealed a .12% BAC and she was arrested and charged with DUI. Alameda County is part of the "pilot program" for the ignition interlock device ("IID") in California so anyone who is convicted of DUI in that county must have that device installed in their vehicle to reinstate their license. Besides the inconvenience, the IID is also costly. Thankfully, I was able to settle this case today for a good young person who made a mistake. In the end, the DUI charges were dismissed and we resolved the case for a conviction for reckless driving. Client received reduced sentence of two years informal court probation, fine of $1,023 and a three month DUI school. Client will likely lose her license for thirty days followed by a restricted license for five months. The Mandatory IID requirement is in my opinion, an example of taking a sledgehammer to thumbtack and I'm glad to have circumvented such a narrow minded piece of legislative overreach.

DUI and DWI

Contra Costa County (Martinez) .14% BAC 1st Offense DUI

Oct 16, 2013

OUTCOME: Probation Granted: FINE REDUCED BY 50%, 3 Month DUI School and 2 SWAP

Client was arrested by the CHP in Concord for failure to maintain his lane way back in December of 2012. Contra Costa County is by far the number one county in the Bay Area in terms of unreasonable pr ... osecutorial delay. This case was no different as client had already suffered and served his entire DUI suspension from the DMV and even completed the three month DUI school ALL BEFORE we ever went to court. I pushed the district attorney to resolve this case for a reduction since client had really been prejudiced by their unreasonable delay. Of course, this argument fell upon deaf ears. Nevertheless, you don't get anything if you don't ask, SO...I made my grievance known to the judge who I've appeared before many times and know to be eminently fair and although he could not reduce the charges, he did reduce the fine from $1,900 to $1,000. I think I was the only lawyer in the busy courtroom to even request something like this and hopefully it won't become a trend! Today in Martinez we settled the case thus closing the book for my client who really wanted resolution but was denied that by a district attorney's office that is notorious for not getting their job done in a timely manner. Client received minimum three year probation, the aforementioned fine reduction, three month DUI school and two days of SWAP in lieu of actual jail. License was suspended for 30 days and restricted for 5 months.

DUI and DWI

San Francisco County 34% BAC 1st Offense DUI w/ Enhancements

Oct 16, 2013

OUTCOME: ENHANCEMENT DISMISSED: Probation, Fine, 9 Month School & 6 SWAP

Client was found asleep behind the wheel of her vehicle in Golden Gate Park by the San Francisco Park Police with a bottle of wine and vodka in her car. Although she actually parked her car to sleep b ... ecause she knew she could not drive safely, the officers wrote up the police report as if she "crashed" her car into the side of the road, though there was no property damage to anything. In either event, a subsequent breath test returned an incredible .34% BAC, which is MORE THAN DOUBLE the amount of the current high BAC enhancement in California for DUI (.15%). I immediately recognized that while we may have a good DUI defense in the case, i.e. no driving & after driving drinking, the most important objective in this case was going to be treatment for this 20 something graduate student before it was too late. Due to her schedule, she could only check in to an outpatient rehab program but she did attend nearly 20 AA meetings as well. Today, we settled the case thus allowing the dark cloud above her to pass so she could continue with her rehabilitation. The high BAC enhancement was dismissed and client received manageable sentence of minimum three years informal court probation, fine of $1,850, 9 month DUI school and which will end up being 6 days of SWAP in lieu of actual jail. Client's license to be suspended for 30 days followed by ten months of restricted driving.

DUI and DWI

San Francisco County .09% BAC 1st Offense DUI

Oct 16, 2013

OUTCOME: DUI CHARGES DISMISSED. Case Reduced to Reckless Driving

Client was in his 40's with no criminal record and had the unfortunate experience of being stopped by the CHP while driving in San Francisco. Usually, clients get DUI's from the CHP, but it happens on ... the freeways. Every now and then, people are stopped while driving in the City proper but near the freeway entry. So it was for this client was arrested for DUI after being stopped for a non-functioning license plate light. Although his breath tests were low, i.e. .08% to .09% BAC, client did not want to fight his case and instructed me to negotiate the best possible outcome. Today in Department 17 we settled his case for a dismissal of all DUI charges in exchange for a plea to reckless driving. Client received highly reduced sentence of 18 months informal court probation, a fine of $833 and a 12 hour DUI school. Had he been convicted of DUI his fine and DUI school would have doubled and he likely would be required to serve some jail time on the SWAP program. Client's license will likely be suspended for four months, but with DMV hearing pending, I'm hopeful we can save his license and avoid the additional cost of an SR22.

DUI and DWI

Alameda County (Fremont) .13% BAC 1st Offense DUI

Oct 10, 2013

OUTCOME: DUI CHARGES DISMISSED. CASE REDUCED TO RECKLESS DRIVING

Again, client was a forty something professional who attended a rock concert at Shoreline and drove home. Although he didn't drink much at the show, he did make the bad decision to take "one for the r ... oad" and was stopped by the California Highway Patrol for speeding 84 mph in a 65 mph zone. Preliminary breath tests revealed a .09% BAC, but a subsequent blood test came back a whopping .13% BAC, which was problematic considering that all individuals convicted of DUI in Alameda County are required to install an ignition interlock device "IID" in order to reinstate their license. The district attorney and court were surprisingly understanding, however, and by working within the system, I was able to negotiate a favorable result for the client. The district attorney agreed to dismiss the DUI charges and client accepted a plea to reckless driving for a greatly reduced sentence of three years informal court probation, fine of $970 and a three month DUI school. Client was happy not to get any community service, jail or SWAP, but even more grateful that an IID will not be required. This conviction did not suspend client's license, but he'll likely suffer a thirty day administrative suspension with five months of restriction with filing of SR22.

Criminal defense

San Francisco County Traffic Bench Trial

Oct 09, 2013

OUTCOME: ALL CHARGES DISMISSED

I don't normally handle basic traffic matters, but when I do, I like to win. This case was for a former client who was stopped by the San Francisco Police Department for an illegal left turn while rid ... ing his motorcycle. Client was cited for driving without a motorcycle license, no registration and the traffic violation. From the outset, I encouraged client to obtain his motorcycle license to be in compliance with the law and in hopes of getting the case dismissed. Doing the right thing should count for something, and in this case I appeared in Courtroom A today and gratefully accepted a dismissal of all charges saving the client over $1,000 not including the potentially negative DMV consequences.

DUI and DWI

San Mateo County (Redwood City) .11% BAC 1st Offense DUI

Oct 09, 2013

OUTCOME: DUI CHARGES DISMISSED. CASE REDUCED TO RECKLESS DRIVING

Client encountered the CHP after his vehicle became disabled along the side of Southbound 101. A preliminary breath test revealed a .11% BAC and he was subsequently arrested for DUI. A breath test at ... the station came in at .09% BAC, which gave us an opportunity to settle the case for a reduced charge. Today, a Pre-Trial Conference lasted nearly five hours in the "consolidated" San Mateo County Court, but the result was worth the wait. The District Attorney reduced the offense to reckless driving and client received a reduced sentence of two years informal court probation, fine of about $1,500 and a 12 hour DUI school. Client's DMV hearing remains pending since this reduction did not result in a mandatory suspension of his license. As the officer did not establish time of driving, he has been subpoenaed for this administrative hearing and I'm hopeful that we can be successful and avoid a license suspension, three month DUI school and the SR22 filing requirement.

DUI and DWI

San Francisco County DUI Expungement Petition

Oct 09, 2013

OUTCOME: PETITION GRANTED: DUI CONVICTION DISMISSED

There's really no greater compliment or review a client can provide than trusting the same lawyer to handle his or her expungement petition after a DUI conviction. Case in point: I represented this cl ... ient in 2010 for a high BAC DUI and he was ultimately convicted. Client was sentenced to three years of probation which he completed successfully. After months of waiting for our hearing (which is typical in San Francisco) we finally appeared today in Department 18 and with some cajoling, convinced the District Attorney not to oppose our petition. As a result, the petition was granted and client's DUI conviction was DISMISSED. I truly appreciate these petition cases because they demonstrate a fact that I fundamentally believe that the first DUI is a MISTAKE more than it is a crime and MOST of these individuals never drink and drive again and should not be treated differently than everyone else.

DUI and DWI

San Francisco County .09% BAC 1st Offense DUI

Oct 09, 2013

OUTCOME: DUI CHARGES DISMISSED. CASE REDUCED TO RECKLESS DRIVING

In Chinese culture the number nine is considered lucky. Not so in DUI defense. Client was a forty something professional, married with a young child when he was stopped by the California Highway Patr ... ol for speeding. Preliminary and evidential breath tests all came back a .09% BAC and he was arrested and charged with a DUI. Although there were some issues that could have been raised at trial, client was content to resolve his case for minimal punishment. Thankfully, I was able to help make this happen today at the Hall of Justice. All DUI charges and the separate speeding infraction were dismissed and client accepted plea deal for reckless driving. Client received greatly reduced sentence of 18 months of informal court probation, three month DUI school and fine of $833. Client was sentenced to NO JAIL OR COMMUNITY SERVICE and this deal saved him $1,000's. Client's license likely to be suspended by the DMV for thirty days with ability to obtain a restricted license for work purposes with the filing of an SR22. While the sentence may seem light, anyone who's spent an evening at 850 Bryant Street knows that one night in jail can be punishment enough, especially if the person never offends again as this client is likely to do.

Nors Elwood Davidson's Legal Cases (1087)

Alameda County (Oakland) .17% BAC 1st Offense DUI w/ Enhancement

Alameda County (Oakland) .12% 1st Offense DUI

Contra Costa County (Martinez) .14% BAC 1st Offense DUI

San Francisco County 34% BAC 1st Offense DUI w/ Enhancements

San Francisco County .09% BAC 1st Offense DUI

Alameda County (Fremont) .13% BAC 1st Offense DUI

San Francisco County Traffic Bench Trial

San Mateo County (Redwood City) .11% BAC 1st Offense DUI

San Francisco County DUI Expungement Petition

San Francisco County .09% BAC 1st Offense DUI