Arrested and Charged w/ DUI in my own home driveway in LA county.

From what you write, your friend will be charged with a DUI. The officer saw him driving before stopping him so the necessary fact of driving immediately prior to the stop can be established through testimony. As for the BAC test, the results will be available in court and can be double-checked. If the reading is a 0.08% BAC, that is right on the line of a presumptive DUI. You can actually still be charged with a DUI under 0.08% but additional evidence of impaired driving is required. At 0.08% BAC, the possibility of a reduction to a "wet reckless" is there. If your friend would like a free consultation, he can call me at 213-324-4206. If he then wishes to retain me, we can discuss fees at that time.

First make sure he contacts the DMV within 10 days of the arrest to schedule a DMV hearing or else he will lose his license. The may be some probable cause issues here but an attorney would need to review the police report. Also your friend did not pass the FST’s; almost no one ever does. The discovery will have the exact BAC and yes your attorney can challenge those results. Robert Driessen

Yes you may be charged with a DUI on your driveway. The officer saw him driving prior to him being on the driveway and believes that he took a corner too quick. An attorney will have access to the BAC results and the machine information that registered those results. Depending on a variety of factors it may be possible for an attorney to negotiate a wet reckless. With regards to your friend not having his CDL suspended that is dependent on the DMV. Your friend must set a DMV hearing within 10 days from the date of his arrest.

The officer saw your friend driving. However, simply seeing him take a turn "a little quick" probably isn't enough to warrant reasonable suspicion of DUI. It was, however, probably enough to pull him over. If the officer noticed other signs of intoxication, then he had reasonable suspicion of DUI. Depending on the specific facts, this is one point on which a criminal defense attorney could fight your friend's case. The "tests" the officer administered aren't really tests at all, but a series of exercises that may provide some indication that your friend's judgment was impaired. These exercises cannot be "passed" or "failed" because they were not designed to be pass/fail tests, despite what police and prosecutors always say. Depending on the facts, this is another point on which a criminal defense attorney could fight. To be valid, a breathalyzer test must be done according to proper procedures and the machine must be correctly calibrated. Even if both of these were true, breathalyzers can only approximate the blood concentration at the time of the test, not at the time of driving. Since blood alcohol content rises after consumption of alcohol, a .08% reading at the time of the test suggest that your friend's blood alcohol content at the time of driving may have been less than that. Depending on the facts, these are other issues on which a defense attorney could attack. Your friend should consult a criminal defense attorney as soon as possible to get the best advice and protect his rights.