Jeff Yeh, California DUI Attorney (Interview Transcript):

 

Rich Jacobs sits down with Jeff Yeh, a Los Angeles DUI Lawyer. Jeff talks about the future of DUI laws, exactly how critical a good DUI attorney's help is, and more. An absolute must-read for anyone facing a DUI charge in the LA or California area.

 

RJ: What’s important when someone is looking for a good DUI attorney? What should they look for?

 

JY: Well two things. Number one, they should always ask, who is the attorney that is actually going to represent me? Keep in mind that a common industry trick is to take your money, and then pass the case down to someone who is not experienced, for example, the young associates, and every time you call, a different attorney will talk to you and a different attorney goes to court for you every time, depending on whose available at that given day. So you want to make sure that you have the person that you paid to represent you. The second thing you should look for is, does this firm specialize in DUI? A lot of law firms out there will take whatever walks in the door; divorce, bankruptcy, personal injury, and DUI is just one of the many things that they do. DUI is a very complicated field as there are both criminal and civil consequences, so you owe it to yourself to have someone who specializes in it to represent you.

 

RJ: It would be very disconcerting to have to talk to one person, then another and have yet another represent you in court.

 

JY: Right, you have to bear in mind that some of these attorneys who advertise, have not stepped into the court room in years! So, you want to hire someone whose good right now, not someone who was good ten, twenty years ago.

 

RJ: What percentage of cases that you’ve taken have gone to trial versus settled out of court?

 

JY: Well if you’re talking about a case that is set for trial, goes to trial, and then goes to verdict, I would say less than 5% but if you’re talking about cases that are just set for trial, I would say about a quarter of my cases are set for trial at one point. Keep in mind that just setting something for trial does not mean that it will go to trial.

 

RJ: So the vast majority of cases never make it to the full trial stage?

 

JY: Exactly.

 

RJ: Is it wise to take a DUI case to trial or is it wise to settle outside of a trial, say for a normal DUI case where there’s not an unusual set of circumstances?

 

JY: Typically, on a first time DUI case one of the best strategies is to set it for trial. The reason being, most judges will not punish a first-time offender with no criminal history, so if you go to trial and you lose you are likely to get the same punishment as you would have if you had pled guilty earlier, so for setting it for trial, you are pressuring the prosecutor to give you a good deal, and some of my best offers have come because I set something for trial.

 

RJ: What blood alcohol content (BAC) is typical for the clients you take on?

 

JY: Well, in California if you are 21 the legal limit is a .08 so almost all of my cases are over a .08 because if your test comes back under a .08, you are probably not going to be charged in the first place. So people that come to me have a .08 or higher, and can go all the way up to a .30 or higher.

 

RJ: What percentage of your cases are close to that legal limit versus way over?

 

JY: I’d say extremely high levels accounts for around 20% of cases. So 80% have somewhere between a .08 and a .19.

 

RJ: What’s your best tip for someone who has been drinking and has been pulled over? What should they do and what shouldn’t they do?

 

JY: I have three tips. Number one, remain silent – you have the right to remain silent so remain silent. Number two, realize that field sobriety tests are optional. You are not required to do them and you shouldn’t do them. Number 3, the hand-held breathalyzer test commonly known as the PAS test, that’s optional so don’t do that either.

 

RJ: So if an officer says to you “Have you been drinking?,” or “How much have you been drinking?” you say..

 

JY: “I have the right to remain silent, and I will exercise my right.”

 

RJ: What kind of help can you provide to DUI clients? Can you help reduce their time in jail, or their fines, or get them into classes instead of going to jail, for example?

 

JY: A lot. Let me just begin by talking about the underlying charge. If we can get the DUI knocked down to any kind of reckless driving charge, then there wouldn’t be any of the DMV consequences from the court. In other words, you will not face a license suspension from court, and that’s important to a lot of people. And in getting it reduced it means you have reckless driving, or speeding, or something that’s not a DUI on your record, which could help you when you apply for job or two a school, or whoever looks at your record. And the second thing is we can obviously help people with their licenses. If you request a hearing within ten days, and request a stay of suspension, your license will be valid pending the entire DMV process which could drag on for 6 months easily, so you want to be able to drive while this thing is pending. Most people don’t know that, they let the ten days slip and then they lose their license. The third thing is jail. We could reduce jail or eliminate jail, or convert it to something else, for example, home confinement, electronic bracelet, or community service. The final thing is we can get you into a lesser program, or eliminate the alcohol program altogether. These programs can last up to 32 months, so obviously you want to do as short a program as you can or no program at all, and most people don’t realize that even if you get the charge reduced just a little bit, to reckless driving for example, you don’t have to do a program, it’s not a legal requirement.

 

RJ: So it sounds like you can help people in many different ways. Very good to know. Another question, what’s the typical DUI circumstance?

 

JY: Well there’s not really a typical DUI client although I will say that there’s more men than women, and there’s more first- time than people who have priors. But the similarities end there as anyone could get a DUI. We have police officers that come to us who need representation for DUIs, lawyers even, doctors, students, and that’s the good thing about our practice in DUI is that you meet people just like yourself, you meet people that you can be friends with, that you can relate to.

 

RJ: What have you learned about people’s reaction to DUI? What insights have you gained into this whole process?

 

JY: Well what I’ve learned from representing thousands of clients is that people like to talk. People rarely exercise their right to remain silent, they just talk and talk and it’s important to realize that every question that the police ask you has a purpose. The purpose is to convict you later in court. They are not asking you these questions because they are bored, or for fun. When they ask you “Where are you coming from,” “What did you drink”, “What time did you last eat or sleep?” Each of these questions has a purpose. I have police officers that get arrested for DUI and they talk, so it amazes me how people cannot resist the urge to just volunteer all sorts of information, a lot of which is incriminating.

 

RJ: So a lot of times a person’s biggest enemy can be themselves?

 

JY: Yes, exactly. A great case could easily turn into a horrible case as they talk more and more and volunteer more information.

 

RJ: So I guess the take home message is the arresting officer is not your friend.

 

JY: Right and that he is asking questions for a reason, he’s not just starting up a fun conversation with you.

 

RJ: Do you feel the current DUI punishments are too harsh, too lax, or just right?

 

JY: I definitely feel that the current DUI punishments are too harsh. Keep in mind that in the 1970s that DUI used to be a traffic ticket, and over the years it’s gotten harsher and harsher. And it seems to be a one-way street unfortunately. I think a lot of it is because it’s political, you don’t want to be the legislator who just made DUI laws more lenient. You always want to be the one to say, “I just signed this law, it’s tougher now on DUI.” So unfortunately, it’s going to continue, and every year that I’ve practiced, it’s gotten worse.

 

RJ: What do you see as the future of DUI in terms of punishments, and at some point is it going to be really difficult to defend people?

 

JY: The future of DUI is they are going to continue to make arrests, laws are going to get tougher, but on the other hand, that gives attorneys more things to attack. When they start creating all these little laws, these requirements, they give attorneys a lot of holes they can find and attack so lawyers will always have the ability to help clients arrested for DUI. That will not end, just because the law got tougher. If anything, there’s more to examine, more to look out for.

 

RJ: What’s the ballpark cost for a DUI that goes to trial and for one that doesn’t?

 

JY: Well with my firm, if you take a case all the way to from arraignment to jury trial, it will run you about $6,000 and that would be a first-time offence. Now keep in mind that not all the cases have to go to trial, and without trial it would be significantly cheaper. But if you had a second, or third DUI, or an accident or some unusual, aggravated set of circumstances, it could run you higher. If somebody wants you to set something for trial, then I still have to prep for trial, even if it doesn’t end up actually going to trial. A lot of times in LA County we can get great deals without having to go to trial, and that would run you about $2000.

 

RJ: What would you like to say to potential DUI clients looking to hire you?

 

JY: Well, when you hire my firm I will be the one to personally represent you. It’s not going to be someone else that I pass the case down to, the case is not going to be contracted out to someone else, it’s going to be me. And I focus, specialize and concentrate on DUI. There’s a reason why our website is the DUIspecialist.com. You owe it to yourself to have a DUI specialist on your side.

 

To hire Jeff Yeh, visit www.theduispecialist.com or call 213.446. 2495

 

Watch Jeff Yeh's Interview HERE >>