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I wanted to know if I need a lawyer for an alleged Marijuana DUI arraignment
Anonymous2 views3 answers
Was pulled over July 4 for a traffic violationthatt involved discovery pf marijuana (less than an ounce, I have medical liscense) DMV set aside and returned my liscense since then, passed the BAC test). . Arraignment is in Riverside County california 9/27, case is "still under investagation last time i checked with DA office. My finances are somewhat limited, do i need an lawyer for the araignment and , if the DA decides not to proceed is it possible the Judge could dismiss charges ?
First thing you should know, is that having a 23152(a) charge is not a good thing to have on your record. If the DA decides not to move forward with your case then you SHOULD be ok. But, none the less, you should hire counsel to avoid having a 23152(a) charge.
The reason being, if an employer runs your background subsection (a) means you were under the influence of drugs or alcohol, and the employer MAY see that as you being a drug user. Therefore, I highly recomend hiring an attorney.
Feel free to contact my office with any questions you may have.
Elliot Zarabi
213-612-7720
www.zarabilaw.com
You do not need to hire an attorney for the arraingment. The Riverside County DA's office is backlogged like many others and sometimes is takes longer to file a case. Either way, when you appear in Dept 21 or 22, both Judges will give you an indicated sentence or they will allow you time to hire counsel. If you think it may not be filed, then wait it out and if they do, you can get an indicated sentence from the Judge and continue the matter to hire counsel. The key issue is if you did use marijuana, was it that day or beforehand. Marijuana stays in your system from some time and if a test was run to detect it, it does not mean you are under the influence at that moment. The DA may have to run a quanitative test to determine if your levels were high enough to meet the threshold for what their experts believe you need to be ie. under the influence. Play it one step at a time if money is tough.
Often charges are not filed until the day before the arraignment, or sometimes not filed in time for the arraignment so a new arraignment date is issued. I would at least contact some attorneys to discuss the case in more detail if I were you. It may be possible for an attorney to contact the D.A.'s office to try to persuade them not to file charges at all. If charges are never filed, then there is nothing for the Judge to dismiss.
