Avoid Prison or Jail Time via Creative (Alternative) DUI Sentencing
DUI Sentencing can be brutal in California, especially for Felony DUI cases in Los Angeles with challenging facts. When DUI cases involve traffic accidents, personal injuries, eye witnesses, BAC test refusals, or prior DUI convictions, the prosecution will fight hard to put the DUI offender behind bars. Artz & Sturm Law Group is an acknowledged expert team of Los Angeles DUI lawyers, and they use Creative (Alternative) Sentencing to keep more than 99% of clients out of prison and jail.
Clients of Los Angeles DUI Attorneys Artz & Sturm often receive DUI Sentencing Alternatives such as:
- Live-in rehabilitation programs (“rehab”) as substitute for jail time
- 12 Step Recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
- Ankle (“SCRAM”) devices that detect the presence of alcohol
- Spend 8 hours a day in a local Los Angeles jail and return home at night
If you are looking for the best DUI lawyers in Los Angeles, make sure you pick a team with experience in creative sentencing. Alternative DUI Sentencing begins with recognizing the goals of the prosecution and Judge. Laws are designed to protect society. Drunk drivers present a serious hazard to the safety of others. Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), legislators, and law enforcement groups work hard to ensure that DUI cases are prosecuted to the full extent of the law. (California now has the toughest DUI laws in the nation.)
Recognizing that the judge wants to deter drunk driving in Los Angeles, Artz and Sturm create sentencing alternatives focused on recovery programs that avoid incarceration but still protect society. Alternative DUI sentencing enables clients to maintain their employment, and, when appropriate, begin a program of recovery.
True Client Story
Recently, Los Angeles DUI attorneys Artz and Sturm took on a case involving a hard-working man in his 40s, who has a wife and two young kids, and was facing a felony DUI with serious injuries. The client drove onto the wrong side of the road, struck a pedestrian on the sidewalk, and then drove away. The pedestrian was hospitalized for 30 days. The client had a prior conviction for DUI in Los Angeles and a prior conviction for driving with a suspended license.
The Prosecution demanded a felony conviction and a state prison sentence. As top Los Angeles DUI defense attorneys, Artz and Sturm successfully kept this man out of jail by expertly using the Penal Code and case law to apply “custody credits” to a 30-day live-in rehabilitation program (in which the client was able to go to work during the day), and utilized a SCRAM device, daily A.A. meetings, and proof that he had obtained a sponsor. Such creative sentencing enabled Artz and Sturm to convince the Prosecution and the Judge to agree on alternatives to incarceration which better served the defendant and society. This is just one example of how Artz and Sturm use their vast experience as skilled DUI lawyers in Los Angeles to keep clients out of jail.
In a recent Orange County case, a young woman had a blood alcohol level of .20%/.19% and a prior conviction for DUI. The Prosecution offered 60 days of jail time at the arraignment. Artz & Sturm Law Group utilized creative sentencing — including Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and a detection device for alcohol — and successfully avoided any jail time for this client. Since this young lady had a serious fear of jail, and there was a possibility of tremendous adverse psychological repercussions if incarcerated, the client and her father (a well-known attorney) were extremely grateful to Artz and Sturm for resolving the matter without any jail time. (The D.A. was not so pleased).
Avoid prison or jail. Call DUI Lawyers Artz & Sturm today at (310) 820-1315. Craig Sturm is a skilled criminal defense attorney for all types of felony cases. So if you’re facing felony charges beyond DUI, like weapons charges, drug charges, or anything else, give us a call today to discuss your case.