Sacramento Criminal Lawyer

A Successful Defense is a Prompt Defense
Whether the criminal charge is for first offense drunk driving, felony DUI, or other serious criminal offense, it is critical to speak with an experienced defense lawyer right away. Our attorneys move quickly to investigate your case, review the evidence, and start preparing your defense. In addition, we ensure your rights are protected and were not violated during the arrest process. While our criminal defense practice is concentrated on DUI and traffic offenses we are experienced handling all types of misdemeanor and felony charges, such as:

• Alcohol offenses: We are experienced defending clients facing DUI charges, whether it is their first time being pulled over or a third offense felony. In addition, our attorneys handle minor in possession cases and other charges.
  
• Traffic violations: We protect our clients' driver's license and driving record by challenging traffic tickets involving speeding, driving in excess of 100 mph, driving under suspension, and other traffic offenses.
  
• Drug offenses: We work to exclude or call into question the evidence in cases involving illegal drugs, such as marijuana, crack-cocaine, heroin, meth, and other illegal substances. We are experienced defending clients against drug possession, drug trafficking, and other serious drug charges.
  
• Assault and violent crimes: We aggressively defend clients facing charges involving abuse or violence, such as assault, aggravated assault, battery, domestic violence, weapons offenses, and other violent crimes.
  

If you have been arrested for drinking and driving or other criminal offense, contact the experienced attorneys at Choyce & Crowell, LLP. Our criminal defense and DUI attorneys answer your questions, communicate with you and provide the information you need to make informed decisions about your case.

Our firm has received many new clients through referrals from other satisfied clients. View some of our dismissed cases or results and testimonials. To discuss your defense in a confidential, free consultation, contact our California criminal defense lawyers today.

We represent clients throughout Northern California with local offices in Sacramento, Fairfield, and Oakland, California. We have a great reputation among Judges and District Attorney Offices in Northern California because we regularly apear in counties such as Sacramento, Yolo, Placer, San Joaquin, Solano, Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco. With offices in downtown Sacramento on 9th and J Street, downtown Fairfield on Jefferson Street, and downtown Oakland on Clay Street, we are blocks from the local county courthouse and ready to appear for you on a moment's notice. We also accept cases all over California, so please don't hesitate to call to see if we can help.

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Since 1986, the numbers of alcohol-related crashes and fatalities have been slowly decreasing. Alcohol-involved traffic fatalities decreased 21 percent from 1993 to 1996. Although alcohol involvement in traffic accidents has declined over the past 10 years, 31.6 percent of all traffic fatalities were still alcohol involved.

Alcohol-involved traffic fatalities have dropped by 57.3% since 1988.

If you have been arrested for a dui contact experienced Sacramento DUI Lawyer at Choyce & Crowell immediately. Protect your legal rights. Call (916) 449-9636 for your free consultation.

2000 CALIFORNIA STATE STATISTICS

• 3,730 people in California were killed in traffic crashes. 1,233 of these fatalities were a result of alcohol; this represents an average of one-third of all traffic fatalities in the State.
  
• 30,971 people suffered injuries in alcohol-related collisions statewide.
  

2000 NATIONAL STATISTICS

• 41,821 people were killed in traffic crashes.16,653 of these fatalities were a result of alcohol(40 percent of all highway deaths.).
  
• Over 300,000 people suffered injuries in alcohol related collisions.
  
• 31 percent of all fatal crashes involved a driver or non-occupant with a Blood Alcohol Concentration (BAC) of .10 percent or greater.
  
• 33 percent of all pedestrians aged 16 and above killed by motor vehicles, were intoxicated.
  

DRIVERS

• 8,146 intoxicated drivers were fatally injured in single-vehicle crashes. Intoxicated drivers represent 57% of all alcohol-related motor vehicle fatalities.
  
• More than 1.5 million drivers were arrested for driving under-the-influence of alcohol or narcotics. This is an arrest rate of 1 for every 121 licensed drivers in the United States.
  
• Nearly three-quarters of drivers convicted of driving while impaired are either frequent heavy drinkers or alcoholics.
  
• For every 100,000 licensed drivers, young drinking drivers are involved in fatal crashes at twice the rate of driver's aged 21 and older.
  

If you have been arrested for a dui contact experienced Sacramento DUI Attorney at Choyce & Crowell immediately. Protect your legal rights. Call (916) 449-9636 for your free consultation.

The distinguishing feature of criminal law is the element of punishment. The purpose of criminal law is to punish the wrongdoers. If someone is accused of a crime and subsequently convicted of that crime, then they are to be punished. That is dramatically different than the purpose of civil law. Generally, civil law is intended to compensate someone for an injury suffered or to undo a wrong that has been committed. In the field of criminal law, the victim is not necessarily compensated, but the perpetrator is punished. In the eyes of the criminal justice system, the purpose of that punishment is to help reform the perpetrator; to restrain future misconduct by that perpetrator; to create a system of deterrents to other potential perpetrators; and, finally, to obtain retribution for the crime that has been committed.

Although most criminal prosecutions are initiated against individuals, there are certain types of crimes for which corporate entities may be responsible. Those crimes fall under the category financial crimes - fraud and other types of financial transactions.

The ultimate punishment allowed in our criminal justice system is that of Capital Punishment. That form of punishment is reserved for the most heinous crimes.

Criminal law is a complicated process one which must be handled by an experienced Sacramento criminal lawyer. If you have been arrested or charged with a crime contact a Sacramento criminal attorney at the Law Offices of Choyce & Crowell today.

CHOYCE & CROWELL
980 9th Street, 16th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Office: 916-449-9636
Fax: 916-449-9637

Sacramento Criminal Lawyer
Sacramento Criminal Attorney

In all but a few states, if your careless driving results in an injury to a passenger in your car, you are responsible for that person's injuries. Sounds simple enough. But the law has not always been so easy. Earlier in our legal history, whether you were liable to a passenger depended on who the passenger was and the extent of your fault. For example, a married person was prohibited from suing a spouse for careless (negligent) driving. The reason for this rule was to promote marital harmony, as it was thought that by pitting one spouse against the other would result in marital discord and phony claims. In fact, this rule was a windfall for the insurance companies.

Similarly, in many states, at one time a nonpaying passenger (in legalese, a "social guest") could not sue the driver of the car for injuries resulting from the driver's negligence. The rationale behind the rule was that a person doing a favor for a friend should not be penalized because he causes an accident, that it would cause friend not to ask other friends to go along on motor outings. Suppose that Bill and his friend Debbie are on their way to see a movie; Bill runs into the car in front of him because he didn't see that the light had turned red, and Debbie is injured. In a state having a so-called "guest statue," Debbie could not sue Bill because Debbie was merely a nonpaying passenger (a social guest) who did not pay for the ride. It was a different story, however, if she had contributed money towards gas. Then she became a paying passenger to whom Bill owed a duty not to act in careless (negligent) manner.

In states that prohibited nonpaying passengers from suing the driver, the prohibition usually applied only to injuries resulting from the driver's "ordinary negligence". Ordinary negligence can be defined simply as carelessness: making an unsafe turn or lane change without looking; speeding (but not excessively); or not paying attention to the traffic around and in front of you. But if the driver deliberately tried to harm the passenger or was "grossly negligent", the passenger usually was able to sue the driver for his or her injuries.

Personal injury law is a complicated process one which must be handled by an experienced Sacramento injury lawyer. If you or a loved one has been injured dues to negligence of another contact a Sacramento injury attorney at the Law Offices of Choyce & Crowell today.

CHOYCE & CROWELL
980 9th Street, 16th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Office: 916-449-9636
Fax: 916-449-9637

Sacramento Injury Lawyer
Sacramento Injury Attorney

Suppose you are driving home from a nice dinner or from a bar where you had a few drinks and a police officer pulls you over on the pretext that you back light is out or that the officer saw you weaving from side to side. The officer smells alcohol on your breath and asks you to step out of the car. The officer asks you whether you have been drinking that evening, and you apply in the affirmation. The officer then asks you how much you had to drink and you reply "two or three beers." (Everyone stopped for suspicion of drunk driving tells the officer they had only two or three drinks.) The officer says that he or she suspects that you are driving under the influence and then tells you that he or she is going to conduct a field sobriety test on you. Should you comply with the officer's request? Many lawyers who specialize in defending motorists accused of drunk driving advise that you do not comply, because the field sobriety tests are difficult to do even if you are sober. And if you fail the field sobriety test, this will not look good in the eyes of the jury if you end up fighting the case.

Rather, these expert lawyers advise, calmly and politely tell the officer that you refuse to perform the tests. The officer tells you that if you refuse to take the field sobriety tests, he or she will arrest you immediately on suspicion of drunk driving and take you down to the station for a breath or blood test. The officer may have a portable breath test devise he or she want you to breather into. Again, experienced drunk-driving defense lawyers advise drivers against doing this type of breath test, as it is not reliable.

Instead, seasoned drunk-driving defense lawyers advise that you only submit to a breath test administered down at the police station. By the time you get there, your blood alcohol level is like to be higher than when you were stopped by the police officer, as the alcohol has had more time to be absorbed into your bloodstream. A good drunk driving defense lawyer may be able to convince the jury that when the police officer originally stopped you, your blood alcohol level was well within .08 level. This is the time that counts to determine your guilt for drunk driving - your blood alcohol content at the time you were stopped, not at the time the breath test was administered.

DUI law is complicated and must be handled by an experienced Sacramento DUI lawyer. If you have been charged with a DUI, contact a Sacramento DUIattorney at the Law Offices of Choyce & Crowell today.

CHOYCE & CROWELL
980 9th Street, 16th Floor
Sacramento, CA 95814
Office: 916-449-9636
Fax: 916-449-9637

Sacramento DUI Lawyer
Sacramento DUI Attorney