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California DUI Arrests - Client Testimonial Thanking DUI Attorney Darryl Genis

A California Drunk Driving Arrest, The Client's Perspective

My name is Kenneth London.
Let me tell you what it's like to be accused of a DUI.

It's worse than the scarlet letter!
If you are accused of Drunk Driving, there is nothing you can do but plead guilty, receive your punishment from the court, and suffer a license suspension, not to mention losing thousands to the insurance company over the next seven years. A lawyer can't help you. Almost everyone I sought advice from held the above stated views. THEY ARE WRONG. DEAD WRONG.

My name is Kenneth London. I am not an attorney. I am not a criminal. I am not a drunken driver. But on May 31, 2002, I was made to feel like a criminal when I was falsely arrested and falsely accused of being a drunken driver. As I was leaving the Officer's club on Vandenberg Air Force Base, I got stopped for a DUI, the forced me to take the portable roadside breath test, while I had Listerine Breath strips in my mouth. My results appeared to be .16%

I did not want a Drunk Driving Conviction on my record, and I wanted to keep my California Driver's License from being suspended. Those blood sucking Insurance Companies would not use this unfortunate event to rob me of tens of thousands of my hard earned dollars over the next Seven years. I refused to hand over thousands more of my hard earned dollars to the Judicial System, and those crooked state authorized alcohol driving schools.

It is perfectly legal to drink alcohol and then drive your car in California. That is a fact. Of course M.A.D.D., S.A.D.D, R.A.D.D, and all those other zero tolerance groups just do not want you to know that fact. The court's don't want you to know that either. They want you to drink and drive. They want you to get arrested. Most importantly, they want you to feel as helpless as a Robbery victim when they get you to agree to pay them upwards of Two Thousand Dollars.

You have the right to refuse to take the portable roadside breath test (PAS). The cops are supposed to tell you, but most of them simply don't.

Breath Machines are not even close to accurate in many cases. In fact the machines in use in Santa Barbara County are almost twenty years old! Blood tests are the most accurate. Urine tests are the least accurate.

At, or after the time when you take a stationary breath test, the cops are required by law to offer you a Urine test (or a blood test) to have a sample to retest in your own defense, but they almost never make the offer for a urine test, because they have been systematically trained not to tell you about that option. You should insist upon taking a urine test as a means to retest your results after taking the breath test. The cop's failure to give you the option to save a urine sample can be used by a talented defense attorney, like California Deuce Defenders, Specialist Member Darryl W. Genis to throw out the breath test results completely. Once that is done, the prosecution practically has no case at all against you.

Lystirine breath strips contain Menthol which may be read by the Breath machines as alcohol. In fact, if you have been drinking, the strips help trap, and pool, your alcohol rich saliva (there is more alcohol in your saliva than in your blood, breath, or urine!) beneath the strip. This trapped mouth alcohol leads to readings that are over 3 times too high!

Thankfully, I ignored my friends well meaning advice to plead guilty, and went on the internet to find a good lawyer. I found a site called California Deuce Defenders. They are the California governing body for DUI Specialists, since the closest specialty the California State Bar has is a designation of Criminal Specialist . (I thought all lawyers were criminals). All joking aside, I discovered that within the California Deuce Defenders, there are two types of members: 1) general members, and 2) Specialist Members. The difference is this: 1) If someone is not a member of California Deuce Defenders, I would not hire them. 2) All any lawyer has to do to become a general member is send in the annual fee and keep up a minimum ongoing education in the area. 3) Specialist Members, however, must qualify by going through a ridged screening process, including requiring a large number of successfully completed jury trials, as well as appeals in the Court of Appeal, and the California Supreme Court. It made sense to me to limit my search to Specialist Members. I interviewed several lawyers, but the one who impressed me the most with his knowledge, courtesy, and professionalism was California Deuce Defenders, Specialist Member Darryl W. Genis. (Apparently he impressed the Los Angeles Times Magazine too, because they did an article on him years ago, You can see the article on his web site at www.WINyourDUI.com).

So I hired Mr Genis, whose telephone number is (800) DIAL-DUI (area code 805).

He immediately set up a hearing with the Department of Motor Vehicles (which must be done within 10 days of your arrest, and has nothing to do with your up-coming court date.) He did this without any obligation on my part as to payment.

Remember those well meaning friends who told me not to hire lawyer because he could not help me? Well guess what? Mr. Genis won my Department of Motor Vehicle (APS) hearing, so I got my Driver's License back without any negative comment or restriction of any kind. (Mr Genis claims he wins over 90% of these hearings, and my case was consistent with that claim). Also, because I work on a Military Base, I had to have a separate Administrative Hearing to determine if I could drive to work. Mr Genis won that hearing too, and I am still allowed to drive to and from work.

When we got to court, the Prosecutor was very unreasonable, probably in part because M.A.D.D., S.A.D.D, R.A.D.D, and all those other zero tolerance groups etc. have done such an effective job of brainwashing the public into believing they cannot successfully fight and must be led like sheep to a slaughter and plead guilty. Another reason for the rigid attitude of the prosecutor is in part because most lawyers who take DUI cases don't fight for you (Mr. Genis explained to me that those kind of attorney's are jokingly and alternatively referred to as 1) Dump Trucks , 2) bleed em and Plead em lawyers and V-6's (walking violations of the 6th Amendment to the United States Constitution, right to counsel.)

Mr. Genis calmed me down and assured me everything was under control. He explained that he would try and get my case dismissed or reduced, but that in order to succeed, we needed to be prepared to go to a trial we would win. (kind of like having Nuclear superiority in order to avoid a nuclear war).

He lined up all my witnesses, and interviewed them, including expert witnesses on the breath machine for the Department of Motor Vehicle (APS) hearing, and the Criminal Court Trial.

In spite of repeated efforts on Mr. Genis' behalf, the Government Prosecutor would only offer a Wet Reckless . Mr. Genis (unlike most lawyers, i.e. Dump Trucks) went to great lengths to explain to me was no offer at all because it was my first offense, and a wet reckless carries the same 2 alcohol related points on your driving record for the same amount of time as a DUI, and a Wet Reckless is treated as a First offense DUI for purposes of charging you with a prior if you get re-accused within 7 years (under current law, except 10 years under certain limited circumstances.)

I listened to myself, instead of all my well meaning but horribly mistaken friends. I went to trial. Here is part of what the Judge had to say at the conclusion of my trial:

The Air Force was ably represented by Captain Joseph Carroll, Esq., and the defendant's case well presented by the experienced and thoroughly prepared Darryl W. Genis, Esq.

***

Defense Expert Mr. Daryl Clardy's testimony on the subject of printing error versus electrical circuit error impressed me. (more than the prosecution expert's unsupported claim that the problematic readings were mere printing errors)

***

The prosecution testimony relating to the defendant's alleged failure to pass certain elements of the field sobriety test is simply not enough in the court's opinion to justify a conviction.

***

The arguments of the defense regarding mouth trapping alcohol emanating from defendant's established habit for ongoing continual use of Listerine Strips' merits the Court's attention and consideration. ...it is distinctly and unrefutably possible that the Listerine Strips did serve to retain alcohol within defendant's mouth cavity and thereby create the higher alcohol registration on the Breathalyzer.

The Court's judgment of acquittal is now tendered and entered on both count 1 (Driving Under the Influence) and Count 2 (Driving with a Blood Alcohol Level of 0.08% or greater. The Defendant, having been fully acquitted and exonerated is discharged from this court's jurisdiction.

So after all I have been through, if I can help just one person, here is my advice:

1. If you are going to drink, wait 12 hours before driving, just to insure that you will not have to be falsely accused and go through what I went through.
   
2. If you do get arrested for Drunk Driving, make sure and Hire a good Lawyer with lots of experience with defending DUI's: I Highly recommend California Deuce Defenders, Specialist Member Darryl W. Genes, You can reach him at (800) DIAL-DUI (area code 805). If you do not Hire this lawyer, at least hire another Specialist member of California Deuce Defenders.

Protect yourself, protect others, defend yourself, defend your country, it gives you your Constitutional Bill of Rights Do not let mindless groups and oppressive governments take advantage of you as the little guy . There are people out there who care about you.

Darryl, thank you very much for restoring my life to order and returning my dignity and my good name.

Sincerely

Kenneth London