Today I will be discussing VC 12500, which is the California code section giving penalties for driving without a license. If you have questions about the close cousin of VC 12500, which is VC 14601.1 (a) driving with a suspended license, please click on that link to read my blog post on that topic. VC 12500…
A large percentage of my clients hire me because they end up in an LA County traffic court due to a Vehicle Code 14601.1 (a) charge, which is a traffic ticket given for driving on a suspended license. You will be found guilty in an LA County traffic court or in criminal court if: 1)…
You may be fighting a traffic ticket in LA traffic court or maybe in an Orange County traffic court for driving in the HOV lane. Vehicle code section VC 21655.5(b) prohibits driving in the HOV lane in California. What Is the HOV Lane? The HOV lane refers to what normal people like you and I refer to as…
If you have a case in LA traffic court and you got an LA Failure to Appear, try not to sweat bullets over it. I know it’s a pain in the ass, but at least I can teach you how to get your driver’s license back NOW. To make things easy, I’ve broken it down into 3…
Let’s face it. Drugs are terrible. They might be fun at first. But anytime you’re battling an addiction, the fun has gone out the window. California criminal law recognizes that drug use and related crimes are a special type of crime. Due to the element of addiction, the courts provide for rehabilitative measures to help…
You may be wondering why you got a traffic ticket for driving without a valid license in California, when you have a perfectly fine out of state driver’s license. California is a popular state because, frankly, we have a lot of cool shit here. It’s not uncommon for out of state drivers to get pulled…
The 4th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution protects your right to be free from unlawful searches and seizures. That means the cops can’t search your body, your house, your purse, your man-bag, or your vehicle unless they have “probable cause,” or in some cases, “reasonable suspicion” (reasonable suspicion is something less than probable cause). Every…
Words are funny things. We think we know what a word means until we stop for a second and try to define it. Let me ask you a question: Have you ever driven while you were drunk? What the hell is “drunk” anyway? In terms of the law, it is really a misnomer to say…
If you are facing DUI charges in California, I hope you weren’t driving too fast. What’s too fast? Vehicle Code (VC) 23582 says that if you are guilty of a DUI and were driving 30 mph over the speed limit on a freeway, or 20 mph over the speed limit on any street or highway when…
It’s not a distant planet. It’s not a Kama Sutra move. It’s a DUI field sobriety test. And it’s coming to hipster parties near you. The Horizontal Gaze Nystagmus is one of many field sobriety tests given by law enforcement to determine whether you are under the influence of alcohol. “Nystagmus” means a jerking of…
