If you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of a second DUI in California, hire an attorney immediately. Under California vehicle code section 23540, individuals with a second DUI will find themselves dealing with more jail time, expensive fines, and a DUI program including filing a SR-22.

Anyone with a previous DUI will now deal with stricter penalties including:

• Increased jail time, including at least 96 hours in county jail
• Larger fines of $390 or more in addition to court penalty assessments which can total upwards of $1950
• Longer jail time or community labor requirements 

License Revocation 

Following a second DUI within a 10-year timeframe, your license can be revoked for at least a year. You can get a restricted license following the installation of an ignition interlock device. SB 1046 will explain in detail how the ignition interlock device and legal requirements one must follow. 

Mandatory DUI Program

A mandatory DUI program is the next thing you will be ordered to do when convicted of a second DUI. The mandatory DUI program ranges from 18-30 months. When you complete the program, you can receive your license again. 

AA Programs

Some judges will require that you attend AA programs. The goal of the program is to help you understand the seriousness of the DUI, and to help you make better decisions in the future. 

Why You Need a DUI Attorney 

Many people are not sure of the seriousness of the offense. In many situations, a DUI attorney is the only voice of reason. A good attorney can assist you with several things including

• DUI Stop 
• Sobriety checkpoint misconduct
• Rising blood alcohol defense 

An attorney will investigate your case and determine if there are issues with the DUI. Certain elements of your behavior will impact the severity of your case as well. It is important to cooperate with officers when you are pulled over for a DUI. If you become combative with the officer, it will only cause additional charges and problems. Contact the Law Offices of David Knecht today to have your legal rights protected! 

Going through a divorce is an emotionally grueling process. If you do not have the right people on your side to help support you on your new path, it can be even harder to move into this new phase of your life. Here are some things you can do to start over after a divorce:

• Take time to grieve. You need to take some time to cry and grieve for the end of your marriage. If you do not grieve and you only hang onto anger and resentment, the internal turmoil you have will worsen. 
• Learn who you are. The other thing you need to do is start learning who you are. You need to start finding things that are important to you, and what you enjoy doing. Take some time to try new hobbies and find out what causes you to be happy. You need to re-establish your identity as a separate person and no longer as “we”. 
• Get a therapist. It is important to hire a therapist to speak with on a regular basis. Therapy will help you to process your feelings, and they can help you manage some of the harder days such as holidays, birthdays, and vacations. Therapists and coaches are trained and qualified to make your new life easier, and they want the best for you. 
• Trust yourself. You have talent. You have worth. Trust yourself to make the right decisions. As you start relying on yourself, you can start gaining confidence in new talents and skills. Try doing some projects around the home on your own or tackling new things that you used to hire people to do. As you continue to learn new things and trust yourself, you will start to feel accomplished in your life. 
• Become social. Even if you are an introvert, you will want to teach yourself to become social. Join a gym and start going to classes. Not only will it help to improve your health and manage stress, you might end up meeting some new friends. Other things you can try doing is to go out with friends or co-workers. Church and support groups are other great ways to start getting out of your house and experiencing life with others. 
• Change up your lifestyle. If you have been doing certain things the way your spouse liked it, and not necessarily the way you like it, change things up! You need to find yourself in everything like redecorating in a way you appreciate or changing in your car for something you enjoy driving or enjoying. Even small things like rearranging furniture can help you to establish a new identity. 

The divorce process is life-altering, and one of the hardest challenges you will ever face. Contact your divorce attorney in Vacaville to help you navigate the divorce process and ensure your legal rights are protected. 

Following the arrest for a DUI, many people tend to make mistakes that can cost them more money, or possibly end up serving jail time for their mistakes. If you have been arrested for a DUI, it is important to contact an experienced attorney right away to understand the legal process and the next steps to take. Here are three things stupid people do after they get a DUI.

 

Arguing Instead of Writing Down the Story

One critical error that occurs following a DUI is failing to write down your recount of the arrest. Here are some of the things you MUST note and have on record to help you through this process:

• When and where were you stopped for a DUI?
• What was the reason for the officer stopping you?
• Did you receive a breath test? What did the machine look like?
• Did you tell the officer about anything you had to drink?
• Did the officer perform additional tests such as eye tracking, one leg stand, and walk and turn?

Writing down your account of the event will help your attorney as they gather more information to focus on pleading your case. Far too often people spend their time yelling and screaming about their innocence that they fail to see what needs to be done to move forward from this point.

*Important Tip – Make your social media accounts private so the courts cannot use the information you have posted online. Let’s say you posted photos of you partying and drinking on the night in question, it’s not hard for the prosecution to slap you with a penalty and prison time when the evidence is there to support the officer. 

 

Failure to Hire Representation

DUI cases are extremely serious. Whether this is your first case or multiple offenses, you need to have an attorney on your side to help you navigate life post-DUI. Using a court appointed attorney can be tricky as they might not have the experience you need, and you may end up waiting around in prison for months to get a trial date.

DUIs are extremely complex and they do require a great deal of time, research, skill, and experience in a specific manner. A skilled DUI attorney will focus on using their abilities to provide you with a favorable outcome in the court system.

 

Failure to Request a Hearing

Another issue we have seen is people fail to request a DMV hearing. The DMV hearing is designed to help you keep your driver’s license. You typically only have 10 days after your arrest to request the DMV hearing and start the process of improving your driving record and hopefully preventing your license from being suspended.

A DUI case is one of the most stressful events you can encounter. It is natural to worry about what will happen, but it is important to have trust in the skilled attorney you have hired. If you need a Vacaville DUI attorney, contact our office. We have handled hundreds of DUI cases with successful outcomes for our clients.

With over 1.34 million attorneys practicing in the United States today, how can you be sure you have selected the best person for your case? Is it the intelligence of the attorney, their experience, or their personality? While there are core elements every attorney must have, there are some elements that people might overlook that could truly help them identify the good attorneys from the lackluster ones. Here are five traits that a good family attorney will possess.

 

Compassion and Understanding

Going into any family law case is going to be emotional, so you need a person that understands this mentality. The goal of a good family law attorney is to aid in resolving the problem effectively and in the best interest for their client and family. At David Knecht Law, we often deal with cases that are sensitive in nature, and we always approach each case with compassion for the situation and understanding the best way we can handle the case. We want to gain your perspective and help you to see the full picture of how the legal matters will play out.

 

Excellent Listening Skills

Another key element to being a good family attorney is to learn to listen. Effective communication is vital to a client/attorney relationship. We not only listen to our clients, we listen to everything pertaining to your case and strategizing how we can work in your best interest.

 

Integrity and Assertiveness

As an attorney, having integrity is vital. The legal world can become quite confusing and manipulative without the right person. Integrity is something we take seriously in our practice and are assertive in the courtroom to ensure the other party is approaching the case with integrity. Good attorneys are upfront with you about your case, and where your case may have some areas of weakness, and strength.

 

Patience and Perseverance

One of the most common questions people want to know is “How long will my divorce take?” Unfortunately determining how long a case will take is all up to the nature of the case. Does the other party want to move things along swiftly and amicably? If so, your ability for the divorce to be over quickly won’t take long. However, there are so many issues in family law cases that it can often end up being years before a case is completed. Going through a divorce is going to be emotional, you need an attorney that is patient and able to remain calm and professional throughout the case.

 

Experience and Skills

A good attorney is one that will be able to bring their skills into the courtroom. Review case results to find out what type of track record the attorney has, and if they have dealt with cases similar to yours in the past.

If you need a family law attorney in Vacaville, CA, contact the law offices of David Knecht today. Our experienced team is here to help you navigate your family law case with confidence and security.

 

Many divorce cases are settled at the mediation phase.  This article will provide suggested tips to help you prepare for a successful mediation.

1. Know the state of your finances.

Prior to attending the mediation you would be well advised to thoroughly review and understand the financial situation you had during the marriage and to predict your financial needs after the divorce if final.  This step is essential to help you achieve your financial goals for the mediation.

2. If you have children, think through the best parenting plan for them and you.

Attending the mediation with a bit of an open mind to different parenting plan possibilities is a good idea, but it is also important to know what you believe would be ideal for you and your children.  Give some thought to their schedules, their preferences, their after-school activities, their religious worship preferences (if any), the kids’ relationship with grandparents and other extended family, etc.

3. Let go of vengeance and think about what you want and need.

There is an old saying that you shouldn’t cut off your nose to spite your face. This applies in negotiations as well.  Some negotiators get caught up in wanting to appear firm, or say no, or generally shut down what the other party wants just for the sake of making that party dissatisfied.  This can be a self-defeating negotiating strategy.  One that is more commonly successful is to approach the problem by thinking of what you want and how to get it, rather than trying to punish the other party by depriving them of what they want.  Remember a win-win is better than a lose-lose.

4. Consider your chances at trial.

In order to evaluate whether a mediation solution is acceptable, you need to have an idea of what the consequences will be if you don’t agree in mediation.  Talk to your attorney and find out the range of results at trial.  No attorney has a crystal ball, so they can’t tell you what will happen, but they can give you an idea of what the results have been in similar cases.  Understanding the consequences of not settling will help you make a more informed decision about whether the settlement proposed is right for you.

5. Use your knowledge about your ex-spouse to your advantage.

Nobody knows your ex as well as you do.  If you can think about what will persuade him/her, then you can use that knowledge to your advantage.  Before you go into the mediation, think about the “cards” in your hand, and decide how to play those cards.  Help your attorney understand what your ex’s hot buttons will be. 

A mediation can be many things:  for some, it is a grueling experience, for others it is a short pain on the path to closure and healing.  Regardless of the type of mediation you can expect, preparation and mindfulness in preparing for the mediation will generally improve the outcome.