Local tow companies offer safe rides home for those who have been drinking

This holiday season several local tow companies have a special offer.  They will drive those who have had too much to drink home.  Watch the clip here

Remember extra Washington DUI emphasis patrols started over the Thanksgiving weekend.  Be safe.

Leyba Defense | Seattle DUI Attorney
www.leyba-defense.com

Thanksgiving day weekend DUI patrols

The annual DUI campaign kicks of Thanksgiving weekend for the Holiday season. Patrols will be extra heavy around downtown Seattle, and Bellevue, and on I-5, 520, and I-90 in those areas as well. Remember should you be stopped and if you have been drinking. Ask the officer to speak with a Seattle DUI Lawyer immediately so they can explain your rights. My office is available 24/7 to answer any and all questions you may have regarding a DUI arrest in the Seattle area.

Attached is the link to the article regarding the DUI emphasis patrols in King County. Read the article here.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Attorney
www.beatyourseattledui.com

"Surround the Sound" DUI Patrols this Halloween Weekend

Extra Washington DUI patrols will be around this Halloween weekend. Be safe and see the article here

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Attorney

Seattle DUI Attorneys spending $74K to oust local Seattle Municipal Court Judge

Read the article here

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Defense

DUI emphasis patrols planned 10/28 in Bellevue, WA.

The Bellevue Police Department and officers from the King County Target Zero Task Force will conduct DUI emphasis patrols in Bellevue from 5 pm to 9 pm Thursday.

The patrols will focus on DUI, seatbelt, speeding, and cell phone/texting violations.

Remember if you are contacted by law enforcement and you have been drinking. Politely decline to answer all questions, decline to perform any field sobriety tests, and ask to speak with a Seattle DUI Attorney immediately. Read the article here

If you should have additional questions or would like a free DUI consultation with an experience DUI attorney please contact my office.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Attorney

Washington State is getting a new breath test machine

It appears the time has finally come. After years and years of using inferior, outdated breath testing equipment Washington State appears to be moving forward with plans to use newer and more advanced breath testing machines regarding Washington DUI and other alcohol related offenses. The state has already purchased a number of machines, the Draeger 9510, and is in the process of testing them before deploying them to be used in actual Washington State DUI arrests. From what I hear the laws are currently being changed to allow these new machines to be used in the field beginning 2011. RCW 46.61.506 was recently amended to permit the use of “dry gas” in the administration of a breath test to Washington State DUI suspects. The term “dry gas” refers to a vapor which will be introduced into the breath testing machine pursuant to testing protocol and the purpose is to determine whether the machine is properly calibrated. Prior law had only authorized the use of a liquid simulator solution in connection with the testing of Washington State DUI suspects.

Remember a Seattle DUI arrest is a serious matter. Its always important to use a designated driver, or use a cab service if you plan on having a few drinks especially with the number of Seattle DUI emphasis patrols out there. However if you find yourself in the position where you are being questioned by a Seattle DUI police officer, request to speak with my office immediately or ask for a Seattle DUI attorney.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Attorney

Presiding judge of Seattle Municipal Court targeted for defeat

Here is an article today from the Seattle Times discussing Seattle Municipal Court Presiding Judge Charles and the campaign against her. Read it here

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Attorney

DUI Attorneys accused of breaking rules in judicial campaign

Another article having to do with this years race for Seattle Municipal Court Judge and Seattle DUI Attorneys.

Read the article here

Leyba Defense | Seattle DUI Defense

DUI attorneys and Seattle Municipal Court Judges

Attached is a link from this weeks Stranger Magazine. It discusses an interesting topic that affects all those accused of misdemeanor DUI offenses in Seattle Municipal Court and the DUI Attorneys that practice there.

Essentially the article discusses how a group of DUI Attorneys in Western Washington have created a political action committee called Citizens for Judicial Excellence and how that have raised over $200K from contributors to use in this next judicial election. The article suggests this political group is targeting Municipal and District Court Judges that are more harsh on DUI defendants.

As a Seattle DUI Attorney I can understand this group is just trying to protect their clients. Normally I dont get involved in politics, but this is an area that affects my livelihood. Its been my experience over the years that there are some Judges, not just in King County but all over that seem to be more harsh than other Judges when it comes down to DUIs. Now the problem I have is not that these particular Judges are known to be strict, but its that some of these Judges do not seem to be impartial. I personally believe it is a great honor to be a Judge in the country. And as a Judge its an obligation to follow the law impartially and act free from bias. This is what our country was founded on, and this is what makes our judicial system work. So if a group of individuals would like to see changes in our judicial system, then I say go for it, and good luck. The beauty of democracy is ultimately the people of the City of Seattle, and King County will determine who sits on the bench next year.

Click here to see a copy of this article.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Defense

DUI breath tests are now admissible in King County

Breath test results are now admissible in DUI cases in King County. They have been previously inadmissible for the past 2 years, so if you have been charged during that time you breath test results should still be inadmissible. However if you have recently been charged with a DUI it now looks like the Prosecutor will be able to use the breath test results against you in a criminal trial. Click here to read the article from the Seattle Times.

Contact my office if you have further questions or would like to speak with a Seattle DUI Attorney about the facts of your case.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Defense

Extra DUI patrols for Huskies and Seahawks home openers

The Washington State Patrol and Seattle Police Department will be having extra DUI patrols this weekend. See the Seattle Times article here

Remember if you get stopped and you have been drinking. Politely decline to answer all questions, and politely decline the field sobriety tests. If you get placed under arrest ask to speak with a Seattle DUI Attorney immediately.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Defense

Should a person represent themselves in a DUI case?

Lately, I have had several people ask me if they could just represent themselves in a DUI case. Each time I tell them the same thing. You have a legal right to do so, but it is not recommended.

I have been a Seattle DUI Attorney for 5 years. During 4 of those years I worked as a public defender, which means I was in court every single day, dealing with hundreds of clients a month. On occasion I had the opportunity to view people who elected to represent themselves on a DUI charge. Not once did this work to the advantage of the accused. I saw some interesting theories on why they were arrested, but I never saw anyone who actually did this get found not guilty.

There are many reasons why representing yourself on a DUI charge is not a good idea.

First there are numerous rules that you need to be familiar with. Both rules of evidence, and local court rules. A good DUI defense attorney has spent a significant amount of time familiarizing themselves with these rules, procedures, and court decisions.

Secondly a DUI attorney is going to have the experience that you dont. Whether it involves knowing the prosecutor, judges, and police officers. Or having the necessary experience in trial. Experience goes a long way in this field.

Lastly there is a science to defending a DUI. An accomplished DUI attorney will understand this science and be able to mount arguments against it. Defending a DUI is not as simple as saying the accused's ability to drive was not impaired by alcohol. There is a lot more to it than that.

If a person does choose to proceed "pro se" then a Judge will determine whether the defendant is fully aware of their rights, understands that going at this alone will not be a basis for appeal, and they will be held to the same standards as a practicing attorney.

If you are contemplating representing yourself on a Seattle DUI or a Washington State DUI charge, please contact my office immediately. I can certainly help with any questions you may have, and give you my thoughts on how you should proceed. I offer a free 60 minute consultation.

Seattle DUI Defense

King County Judge suspended for rudeness

King County Judge suspended by Washington Supreme Court. Read the article here

Seattle PI

DUI Blood Alcohol Chart

Blood Alcohol Concentration Chart for Males

(Alcohol % in bloodstream for weight (lbs) and number of drinks)

	Number of drinks consumed per hour
Weight	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
100	.04	.08	.11	.15	.19	.23	.26	.30	.34
120	.03	.06	.09	.12	.16	.19	.22	.25	.28
140	.03	.05	.08	.11	.13	.16	.19	.21	.24
160	.02	.05	.07	.09	.12	.14	.16	.19	.21
180	.02	.04	.06	.08	.11	.13	.15	.17	.19
200	.02	.04	.06	.08	.09	.11	.13	.15	.17
220	.02	.03	.05	.07	.09	.10	.12	.14	.15
240	.02	.03	.05	.06	.08	.09	.11	.13	.14

Blood Alcohol Concentration Chart for Females

(Alcohol % in bloodstream for weight (lbs) and number of drinks)

	Number of drinks consumed per hour
Weight	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
100	.05	.09	.14	.18	.23	.27	.32	.36	.41
120	.03	.08	.11	.15	.19	.23	.27	.30	.34
140	.03	.07	.10	.13	.16	.19	.23	.26	.29
160	.03	.06	.09	.11	.14	.17	.20	.23	.26
180	.03	.05	.08	.10	.13	.15	.18	.20	.23
200	.02	.05	.07	.09	.11	.14	.16	.18	.20
220	.02	.04	.06	.08	.10	.12	.14	.17	.19
240	.02	.04	.06	.08	.09	.11	.13	.15	.17

* One drink=1 ounce of 80 proof spirits; 3 ounce glass of wine; or 8 ounce glass of 5% beer.

This chart was created by the Washington State Liquor Control Board, and it is just an estimate. If you were arrested for a DUI and you believe you were not impaired due to the amount of alcohol you consumed please call my office immediately to discuss your defense.

Leyba Defense PLLC | Seattle DUI Attorney

700 citations have issued by police for using cell, texting while drving

Seattle PI article

With the new cell phone and texting law in place it is very important that everyone attempt to follow it. Especially if you have had something to drink and you to chose to drive. If you are unsure what constitutes an infraction contact my office and we will explain it to you.

Matt

What to say if you are contacted by Law Enforcement

So I met a fellow Seattle DUI Defense attorney who is also a graduate of the University of Utah the other day in court. He gave me his business card, and on the back it had this. Since friends always ask what to do if they get stopped by a police officer. Here you go.

What to say if you are contacted by law enforcement:

I refuse to consent to any search of my premises, the location of my arrest, my automobile, or personal affects. I wish to exercise my rights under the 5th and 6th Amendments to remain silent and to have my lawyer present during any questioning.

I do not want to answer any questions nor make a written or taped statement without first having the advise of counsel.

I refuse to do all field sobriety tests, including the portable breath test. I wish to talk with my attorney prior to consenting to take a breath test or blood test at the police station or hospital.

What does this mean in English?

So if you get stopped by a police officer after you have been drinking. First relax. If the officer had a reason to pull you over and smells the odor of alcohol, you most likely are going to get arrested. Whether the officer has sufficient evidence to arrest for a Seattle DUI is another story.

So please do yourself and your DUI attorney a favor. Decline to answer all questions. Decline to do any field sobriety tests including the portable breath test at the scene. Ask to speak with an attorney immediately and keep quiet.

If you follow this simple advice you will make it much easier on not only yourself but you Seattle DUI Lawyer as well.

How to choose a Seattle DUI Attorney......

If you have been arrested for a Seattle DUI then you probably have many questions. One of those questions may be how do I choose a DUI Attorney. Well here are my thoughts on how to find and choose the best DUI Attorney for you.

Step 1: Where to start
There are many places to look for a DUI Attorney. The Internet, yellow pages, friends and family. Regardless of where you start you will find there are literally hundreds and hundreds of attorneys out there that say they provide Seattle DUI Defense. Lets say you get on the internet and google "Seattle DUI Attorney" well there are hundreds of websites listed. So how do you choose?

Step 2: How to choose
I would suggest you check out as many websites as possible and narrow your choices from there. Some things you want to look at is whether the attorney practices in DUI Defense, what their experience is, do they offer a free consultation, and whether they look like someone you would want to work with. So once you have viewed as many websites as you can, write down the contact info of every Seattle DUI Attorney you like and start calling.

Step 3: Questions to ask
As I stated before there are literally hundreds and hundreds of Attorneys out their advertising themselves as a DUI Attorney. So once you have settled on maybe a dozen or so start calling. You need to weed out the good ones from the bad ones. The first thing I would do I ask them the following:

1. Do you practice exclusively in DUI Defense? This is important because there are a lot of attorneys that do advertise as Seattle DUI Attorneys. However there are very few that exclusive practice DUI Defense. DUI practice is very specialized and in order for you to have the best chance of beating this type of charge, you need someone who understands the specifics and science of it.

2. How much experience do you have? This question is pretty similar to the one above. When I mean experience I dont mean how many years have you been practicing law (although that is important). I mean how many DUI cases have you defended. This is important because you need a Seattle DUI Attorney that knows what it takes to defend a case and has the experience to rely on. In a DUI cases there are many different types of situations that can unexpectedly arise. Having a DUI Attorney that has been there and done that, will greatly enhance your chances of beating it.

3. How many cases have you taken to trial recently, what were the results? As I stated before there are literally hundreds of attorneys advertising themselves as a DUI Attorney. However very few actually go to trial and fight for their clients. There are several reasons they dont. First they dont have the experience. Secondly they dont want to work hard. Lastly they dont care about you. Going to trial is hard work. Its really hard. Ask any trial attorney. And when a person is facing jail if you lose, there is a lot of pressure knowing that. The reason I think its important to find a DUI Attorney that shows they go to trial is very simple. In Washington State any time a person is charged they face a mandatory jail sentence and fine. And lots of times the Prosecutor is not willing to negotiate and wants the mandatory jail and fine. Well if a person doesnt have any criminal history, why would they plead guilty knowing if they lose at trial they will get the exact sentence as if they pled guilty. I think a lot of times its because the DUI Attorney doesnt want to work hard, and will tell the client they may get more jail. In all honesty this is rarely the case, and it disgusts me when I hear attorney's tell their clients such information.

4. What are your fee's? As you know by now there are hundreds and hundreds of Seattle DUI Attorneys. And they all have different fees, and retainers. Ask what they are. Here are a few of the different types of fees that I have seen.

• Per hearing: This attorney charges you per hearing, meaning everytime you go to court and the longer you case goes on the more money they make off of you. These attorneys will typically have a small retainer, maybe $1000, but they will continue to charge you a $1000 every court hearing. As you can imagine this can get pretty expensive. In addition a DUI case can typically take 6 months to a year to resolve. You do the math.
  
• Flat fee until trial: This Attorney charges you a flat fee. That is until your case goes to trial. Then they will up it drastically if a case gets set for trial. This is known as a trial fee. This is probably a better option than "Per hearing," because at least you know how much everything is going to be. However I dont agree with it because basically the DUI Attorney is charging you for exercising your constitutional rights. I dont think a person should have to choose between guilty or having their attorney withdraw from their case. Because that is what this attorney will do if you are unwilling to pay the trial fee and you dont want to plead guilty.
• Complete flat fee: This attorney charges you one flat fee for everything. To me this is the best and most fair. Because you know what the costs are upfront, and this attorney will not nickel and dime you. They will not force you to pay more to exercise your constitutional rights.
  

5. How many DUI cases do you have right now? In this business there are attorney's known as "turn em and burn em" type of attorneys. These are the DUI Attorneys that have lots and lots of clients. And they only have one goal to get you to plead guilty as soon as possible so they can move on to the next person. Typically this is the attorney that charges "per hearing." Or the DUI Attorney that will say "even though you dont have any criminal history, and this DUI case does not have egregious facts, you could get a substantial amount of jail if you lose at trial you should just plead guilty." I have no respect for these types of attorneys, and in my experience I would say about 75% of Seattle DUI Attorneys I see do this.


Why Leyba Defense?
1. My firm practices exclusively in DUI Defense. I would say about 95% of my cases are DUIs.
2. Most of the cases I have defended as an Attorney have been DUI's. I first began work at the Spokane County Public Defenders Office. There I worked for two years in their DUI court. Meaning all of the cases I had where DUI's. The next four years I worked at one of the largest criminal defense firms in the State. There probably 75% of my cases were DUI's. In 2010 I opened Leyba Defense PLLC which focuses exclusively on DUI Defense
3. Of the last 100 DUI's I have defended probably 50 have been set for trial. I have started trial on 21. Two were dismissed prior to trial, and 19 were actually taken to verdict.
4. I charge a complete flat fee
5. Part of the reason I left my last job was because of the high case load I had. It was very difficult for me to give everything I had for every client. At Leyba Defense PLLC I keep my case load small. By limiting the number of clients I take, I can devote more time to each case and each client.


If you want to read more about me or my firm. Click here

Seattle DUI Arrest.....Now what?

If you have been arrested for a Seattle DUI then there are likely two legal actions against you:

1. The Washington Department of Licensing may seek to revoke or suspend your drivers license.
2. You may have to appear in court where you will face criminal charge.

1. Department of Licensing Action

What are my immediate concerns with the Department of Licensing?

• If a hole was punched in your driver's license, it means the Washington Department of Licensing intends to suspend or revoke your driver's license effective 60 days from your Seattle DUI Arrest.
• You may request a hearing to contest this suspension but it must be post marked within 20 days of the Seattle DUI Arrest. A nonrefundable $200 fee must be submitted.
• Your license may be suspended from 90 days up to 4 years depending if you have prior DUI offenses or what your blood alcohol level was. In addition you may be required to have SR-22 insurance once you are eligible to get it reinstated.

What happens if I contest my license suspension?

• A hearing will be held within 60 days of the date of the Seattle DUI arrest by phone or in person.
• You will be assigned a hearing officer who will determine the following: whether the officer had reasonable grounds to arrest you; whether you were under lawful arrest; whether you were read your rights; whether your alcohol level was over the legal limit or whether you refused the breath test.
• If your license gets suspended by the Washington Department of Licensing you may be eligible to apply for an ignition interlock license or an occupational restrictive license.

2. Criminal case action

If you are formally charged, your first court date will either appear via summons through the mail or on a ticket issued to you at the time of your Seattle DUI Arrest.

What happens at my Seattle DUI arraignment?

• Your first court appearance is your arraignment.
• This is where the Prosecutor will read the charges against you, and you will formally enter into a plea.
• The Judge may set bail, and/or impose conditions on your release.

What happens at my next hearing?

• If you didnt speak to a Seattle DUI Attorney before your arraignment, you need to contact one immediately.
• The next hearing after your arraignment is a pre trial hearing.
• Typically one of three things can happen at a pre trial hearing: your case can be continued to another pre trial hearing; you can pled guilty as charged or accept any plea deal to lesser charges; or you can maintain your innocence and set your case for trial.

What happens if I set my Seattle DUI case to trial?

• You may request either a bench trial heard by a Judge, or a jury trial heard by a group of your peers.
• Typically you will have several court dates in between your pre trial and jury trial that you may or may not be required to attend.
• A jury trial on a Seattle DUI case may last 1 day or 1 week depending on the number of witnesses, and evidence that will be presented. You will be required to attend every day of the trial.
• If you are found not guilty the Seattle DUI charge will be dismissed. However if you are found guilty then the Judge will determine your minimum sentence.
  

You dont have to deal with this by yourself. Let my law firm Leyba Defense PLLC worry about this. Let us stay up at night thinking about your case. Let us go to bat for you. Let us do everything we can to get this dismissed. A Seattle DUI Arrest is not the end of the world. Let us take care of this for you.