Can my boyfriend plead not guilty for DUI?

Daniel S

don't listen to these people telling you drinking and driving is wrong. you want to know how to get him off. well first of all of the police officer that arrested him wasn't very detailed in the post arrest section of his citation you may have a case. you need a good dui lawyer that has to prove that the police officer forgot some information about the arrest and any other shred of doubt they can get. i seen it work in court before, having the dui dismissed

Colonel Sturgeon

Yes, he can plead not guilty. That does not mean he'll be found not guilty though.

Wounded Duck

They are SO MEAN because your boyfriend is a criminal! I hope he gets the MAX! Why is it that people don't accept responsibility for their actions. Does it take the death of someone to convince idiots not to drink and drive?

jessica.lanelle

He can do whatever he wants to, but if he was drunk while driving it will most likely make his sentence more harsh. He just needs to man up and admit his mistake.

And the reason why they are "so strict and mean" is because he is being very foolish by driving drunk. He could have killed innocent children. What a douche.

Fred S - AM Cappo Di Tutti Capi

You can plead whatevr you want, but who was holding the bottle doen't matter much; it's the breathalyzer result that gets you.

Susie D

Why are they so strict and mean?

Grow up! Your boyfriend drove DRUNK! He put every single person traveling on the road in danger because HE COMMITTED A CRIME! Mean? MEAN? Ever come on to an accident scene where an entire family in a mini-van has been killed by a drunk driver.....now that is mean. Or how about stood next to a teenagers parents as they identify the body of their teenage son who schmucked a tree while driving drunk...that is mean.

The open container by the way was in HIS car - HIS responsibility.

Pray they lock him up and teach him a lesson, or buy a pretty black dress darlin' because you will be crying on his grave when he wraps his car around a tree while driving drunk. (Yeah - that's 'mean' too.)

FaZizzle

They are so strict and mean because this is a big deal. He's lucky that he didn't kill someone.

If he doesn't want to serve any jail time, he needs to plead guilty. He needs to take responsibility for his actions--most judges will look favorably upon this.

pinkreb004

i just don't get it, "they are being soooo mean" if he had killed someone that night would the system still be treating your boyfriend mean? look, he can plead not guilty. but the problem is that he is guilty and that is the problem with this country. we want to do the crime without doing the time. no one wants to be accountable for their actions and that is WRONG!!!! personally i really hope he is punished appropiately, he has it coming and if he has the book thrown at him maybe he won't do it again.

Bill

Even if he's innocent, he has an absolute right to plead not guilty.

While I am not an attorney (and this is not legal advice), there is a word for underage drinkers who are caught red-handed and plead not guilty. The word is "stupid." His counsel will advise him to look the judge in the eye and take responsibility. Anything else will just torque off the judge and result in a harsher sentence.

It doesn't matter if it's his bottle or not. He was driving. It's like being captain of a ship...everything going on in the car is your responsibility. Your passengers have no seatbelts -- BAM, driver is ticketed. Open container in the car -- BAM, driver gets busted. Period.

Jails are supposed to be strict, mean places, otherwise people would want to go there. That's why they're strict and mean.

~~Lisa~~

"Why are they so strict and mean" He got DUI and your worried about visiting him...
Drunk driving is the nation's most frequently committed violent crime. (MADD) more than half of the fatal car accidents in this country were related to alcohol, killing 22,083 people. This is the equivalent of a fully loaded 747 crashing. Three times a week.

caminolargo76

Yes he can that's his right...but odds are if all of his exploits were documented (which I am sure they were) it won't matter...he will have to face the full force of his actions...

Tammi D

why don't you look up the statistics on motor vehicle deaths for which alcohol was involved (i.e. one of the drivers was DUI). there's a group of vigilantes in my area that find dui drivers and shoot and rob them. what town are you in, i want to send them there.

Beth

If you are operating a vehicle, YOU are the one responsible for everyone and everything inside of it. It doesn't matter that the bottle "wasn't his". Do you know how many times kids have made that claim..."hey, it wasn't mine". That's old.

Your boyfriend needs to just deal with the fact that he got busted for doing something very stupid and reckless.

Typically, avoiding jail time means not doing the crime in the first place. It IS preventable!

It's dangerous for people to refer to this as an "underage" problem. It doesn't matter if you're 16 or 61....driving with alcohol in your car or in your body is WRONG.

AM-NM centaur

Sorry, he loses. In California, you cannot have an open container in the passenger compartment regardless of whose bottle it is. The law was written that was so the driver couldn't say it belonged to the passenger. Find yourself a good attorney and fight this.

Problem Child

You can't visit because he is a minor and usually only parents can visit. They are strict and mean because it is a jail and that is the way it works. If he doesn't like it, he should avoid going back. That is the point. Its not the Hilton.Most jails have strict visiting hours/days when only certain people can visit. Often visitors must be pre cleared or put on a list prior. You usually can't just show up. In addition, he may have been sent to detox or is still in the intake stage. Then again, he may just not want to see you.
As far as pleas, they arraign you and ask, How do you plead? Happens thousands of times a day all over the country. ever hear of innocent until proven guilty? At that point he can say guilty or not guilty. Even if he tries to say guilty, the judge will often discourage that until he can talk to the DA and his lawyer. People rarely plead to the crime for which they are charged, even if they are as guilty as can be. They usually accept a plea.
If this is his first offense, he most likely won't get jail time. The DUI will most likely be plead down to a lesser offense, as will the other charges. He will pay some serious fines, probably be on probation, have to do some sort of drug/alcohol treatment and lose his license until he is 21.

squirrelsmom

They let his friend go sweetie..because your boyfriend was the driver..although friend should have been charged too. This is the way the law works...just because your boyfriend is minor..doesn't mean he has been charged with something minor.. This is sooo serious!!! No matter how good of a lawyer..its still going to cost him big time..in a lot of different ways. Law enforcement is not trying to be mean...they save lives...like getting people such as your underage drinking boyfriend and others off the road..before they kill us all.

CGIV76

Regardless whose bottle it was, it's illegal to transport alcohol with the seal broken. No matter what your boyfriend pleads, he will have to retain an attorney. Because of the seriousness of the charges, the Judge will not allow him to represent himself in court.

virginia l

Stirict and mean? Is that how you feel? Let's get real !! Dont you think he could of hurt or even killed someone?

Kimberly G

he can plead it, but he'll probably spend wasted money on a lawyer b/c he'll be found guilty. Also, it doesn't matter if the open container belonged to a friend; it is the driver's responsibility to not have an open container in the car while driving. A pasenger is allowed to be as drunk as he wants (although they could have tried to get him on underaged drinking but maybe it wasn't worth it to them).

internits

He can plead what he wants but it is most likely he will get dealt with more severely if he lies to the police.

They are strict about these things because often innocent people get killed by drunk drivers.

I don't know why you even want to go and visit him - he sounds like a total waste of oxygen...Your boyfriend is the one at fault, not the police.

spider

Kiddo , your not looking at this in the right perspective. Look at it on the good side. At least your boyfriend can't get pregnant. Cause he's damn sure gonna get screwed here...

Mikey D

Open container, underage drinking..the judge would probably laugh at him.

iamjem93

Your boyfriend is a loser. He could have killed someone. He should be a man and take his punishment. He made a huge mistake and he needs to own up to it. Thousands of people are killed every year because of idiots like your boyfriend. What if he would have crashed? What if he did kill someone? What if that someone was your mom or dad or sister or brother, what if that someone was your child? Would you still be whining and complaining because he got caught or would you hate him and hope he got fair punishment?
Grown up, he made a choice and he got caught. Take responsiblity!

JOHN

He's in a lot of trouble. You probably can't visit because ypo are a minor. hint go with a family member.

MACK

they wont let you see him if he just in a holding sell, you have to wait till he get processed and get in general population.. .. funny thing though last week a guy got two dui's in one day, they let him out on his own, ,wonder why they keeping your boyfriend, wonder if they have anything else on him, cant answer anything else about it

fwf43

Being under age and having any amount of alcohol in your system while driving is illegal. An attorney may plea it down to minor in consumption depending on the BAC. In many cases the lesser charges will be dismissed and they will go for the DUI. Good luck.

Jessa

Yes he can but its not very smart, I mean if he admits to driving drunk then he deserves the DUI. Anyway by pleading not guilty and then being proven guilty the person will usually get a more harsh sentence then if he pleaded guilty. He probably will do not jail time unless someone was injured, most of the time the person gets fined, probation and their license taken away. He needs to consult his lawyer about the best route to go, because the lawyer knows all of the details of the case and is trained to deal with these things.

crazyem

He could, in theory, as you can decide how to plea. It would however be very stupid of him. They caught him driving drunk. Unless he has some expensive super lawyer who can prove that current police methods are ineffective, then they know that he did it. It wouldn't hurt to consult a lawyer. And they don't have to allow visitors in jail, especially ones who are not family.

Freakalicious

He can plead not guilty, but the best thing he should to is get a lawyer and plea bargain for a lesser sentence. If the cops have his breathalizer test, he's screwed.

wizjp

He can; but if he were drunk, he's going to be guilty. Get a good lawyer and do what he tells you to do.

shannonbm508

if the police have bad information on the case and thing's do not add up the case will be thrwn out get a good lawyer because if you dnt and he is charged he will be charge with more for not pleading guilty and for people that beleave he should get max can go to hell because its not far what if he is telling the truth what if it was you in the wroung place at the wrong time i no how this feels i got charge with hitting somone with my car when i only pulled up after the crash happened to see if he was ok i call to get help he crash his bike drink driving and he died i got blamed for it but i wasent even there when it happend i was just trying to help him after after the crash but becouse i was in the wrong place at the wrong time and some dum old lady did not see him crash but seen my car i get charge so dont be saying give him max you were not there i was not there its up to the right information to prove right or wrong. ps i didnt get charge after the lady did not give good information.

strangefacts

If nearly half of all auto accidents are due to drunk driving.....doesn't that mean that the other half of all auto accidents are due to sober driving? Maybe driving is the dangerous part, whether sober or inebrieated!

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