There are literally hundreds of California Vehicle code sections that you can violate every single time you get into your car. This includes some laws that don’t even require you to be driving. A non-DUI alcohol-related offense can increase your car insurance premiums, cost you hundreds of dollars in fines, and even result in suspension of your license. What can you do? A good place to start is to seek the help of an experienced California criminal defense attorney skilled in defending traffic tickets.
In addition to a few violations mentioned in “California Non-DUI Alcohol-Related Offenses Part I,” other alcohol-related traffic violations are:
Driver drinking in vehicle (VC 23220) – The elements to violate this section require a person driving a vehicle to be drinking an alcoholic beverage. However, to be found guilty on this defense, an officer must actually see you drinking from a can or bottle; an officer merely observing a driver with an alcoholic beverage and smelling alcohol on the driver’s breath is not sufficient to prove a violation of this section. It is common for a citing officer to make this improper conclusion, in which a skilled attorney can get inaccurate charges dismissed.
Alcohol violations involving a passenger (VC 23221(b), 23223(b), & 23226(b)) -Unlike the violations discussed above, these vehicle code infractions involve passengers. For these sorts of violations, it is not necessary to be the driver or owner of the vehicle, and in fact it is often not even necessary to be in a moving vehicle; a person can be cited while a vehicle is parked on a public street. However, these violations are open to the same sort of challenges as discussed above.
If you have been cited for any of these common alcohol-related traffic violations, it would be wise of you to contact a skilled Orange County criminal defense attorney from Wallin & Klarich today. With over 30 years of experience, Wallin & Klarich attorneys have dealt with all of these infractions before, and will be able to give you the best possible chance to win in court. Often, these sorts of tickets can be reduced to non-moving infractions, which do not result in a point on your record (or an increase in your car insurance), or even get your case completely dismissed. Our aggressive attorneys are available 24 hours a day 7 days a week to advise you on your case. Call us today at 1-888-280-6839. Also, visit us online at www.wklaw.com to learn more about your case and what can be done.
