Alameda County DUI Lawyer

Alameda County DUI arrests are extremely serious and will usually trigger two separate cases. The first DUI case is the driving under the influence criminal prosecution which will be initiated by the Alameda County District Attorney's office. The District Attorney will most often charge a person arrested for driving under the influence with at least two separate criminal violations.

The first criminal charge is for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs in violation of California Vehicle Code section 23152, subdivision (a). The second criminal charge is for driving with a blood alcohol level (BAC) of .08 percent or greater in violation of Vehicle Code Section 23152, subdivision (b). If the drunk driving arrest involved an accident resulting in an injury to a person other than the driver arrested for DUI, a more serious felony DUI will be charged alleging a violation of California Vehicle Code section 23153, subdivisions (a) and (b). All people arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs in Alameda County must appear at one of the four Alameda County Superior Courts located in Oakland, Fremont, Hayward, or Pleasanton.

The second driving under the influence case is a Department of Motor Vehicles Administrative Per Se (APS) license suspension action, in which the arrested person's privilege to drive is at risk of being suspended for driving with a blood alcohol level at or above the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Drivers arrested for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or greater in Alameda County have only 10 days from the date of arrest to request a DMV hearing at the Department of Motor Vehicles' Driver Safety Office in Oakland or a designated DMV satellite office to challenge the California DMV license suspension action.

If the DMV Hearing is not requested within ten (10) days of the DUI arrest, any California driver's license will automatically be suspended thirty (30) days from the date of the arrest for a minimum of four (4) months. If the person arrested has a driver's license issued from a state other than California, the privilege of that person to drive within the State of California will be suspended indefinitely thirty (30) days from the date of the arrest and may not be restored until a California DUI school is completed. Additionally, a driving privilege suspension imposed by the California Department of Motor Vehicles may affect a person's out of state driver's license. As well, it is important to understand that the DUI criminal case and the Department of Motor Vehicles license suspension case are independent of each other.

Alameda County Superior Court Judges and California Department of Motor Vehicles Hearing Officers impose very harsh consequences on people who have been arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) or for driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08% or greater. In fact, Alameda County is one of four counties in California which requires installation of ignition interlock devices (IID) on a driver convicted of a first offense DUI in addition to all of the other DUI penalties.

Mr. Tayac and each lawyer working with his office is a present or former member of professional organizations whose focus is related to drunk driving and DMV defense, including the National College for DUI Defense (NCDD), California DUI Lawyers Association (CDLA), National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), California Attorneys for Criminal Justice (CACJ), and California Public Defenders Association (CPDA). Also, each of the firm's attorneys is familiar with the specific local rules and procedures of the Alameda County Superior Court. This law office specializes in California Driving Under the Influence and Department of Motor Vehicle's cases. The firm's lawyers do not represent clients in any court or tribunal outside of the State of California.

California DMV hearings stemming from drunk driving arrests are technically complex, and should only be handled by a lawyer with extensive experience handling DUI and DMV cases. To suspend a driver's license, the California Department of Motor Vehicles need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence that the police officer had reasonable cause to believe a violation of California Vehicle Code Section 23152 or Section 23153 was committed, that the arrest was lawful, and that the driver had a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of .08 percent or greater. DMV hearings can be won or the impact of a license suspension minimized, but usually only by attorneys with specialized knowledge of the hearing process, the type of evidence presented and familiarity with the possible defenses.

The stakes are high in an Alameda County DUI case. A person accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs faces the possibility of jail, large fines, driver's license suspensions, mandatory alcohol education classes, ignition interlock device installation, and other punishment.

If you or someone you know has been or may be accused of drunk driving, or driving with a blood alcohol level at or above the legal limit in Alameda County, please read the information contained in this website and call the Law Office of Robert Tayac to discuss your case. After speaking with Mr. Tayac by telephone, you are welcome to schedule an appointment to come in and discuss your DUI case further in complete confidence. In some instances, it may be possible for Mr. Tayac to meet with you near your home or office. If you prefer, you may submit an online contact form, which will be reviewed and receive a prompt response.

Phone: 510-352-9500
Fax: 415-552-6099
Toll Free: 800-901-1888

Alameda County General Information

Alameda County is one of 58 counties in the State of California. It occupies most of the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. As of the 2000 census, Alameda County had a population of 1,443,741, making it the 7th largest county in the State of California.

The county was formed on March 25, 1853 from a large portion of Contra Costa County and a smaller portion of Santa Clara County.

The County of Alameda includes the cities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Dublin, Emeryville, Fremont, Hayward, Livermore, Newark, Oakland, Piedmont, Pleasanton, San Leandro, and Union City. The county seat is the City of Oakland. Additionally, Alameda County includes the unincorporated communities of Ashland, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Fairview, Sunol, and San Lorenzo.