Kern County DUI Attorneys

Recently the local Courts announced a change in the way citations are handled for speeding, reckless driving, commercial violations and many other traffic matters.  It used to be the case that an attorney could set a case for trial and on the day of trial negotiate directly with the CHP officer for a reduction or dismissal of the charges, this is no longer the case.

The Kern County District Attorney recently issued a memo that disallows direct dealing with the cop for dismissal of a charge.  Now the lawyer has to request a reduction from the Judge who can exercise discretion to reduce certain charges to non moving violations under certain conditions.

For example, if a commercial driver gets a speeding ticket and hires an attorney, the lawyer can request a reduction from the Court if the driver has a clean record an a copy of his or her driving record is produced.  This does not apply to DUI or other misdemeanors.  In Lamont Court Judges will permit a reduction in most cases.  Lamont covers interstate 5 through the grapevine and covers cities such as Frazier Park, Pine Mountain Club, and Taft.

The CHP actively patrols the Interstate 5 area of Kern County for speeders and reckless or drunk drivers.  They are most aggressive in this area due to the high number of deaths caused by accidents related to speed.  Most drivers are pulled over when the officer detects a high speed on their front or rear radar.  The units are passive which means they are always on and on mounted on the front dashboard and rear deck of the car.  In some cases the officer can observe fast drivers and estimate the speed based on training and experience.  At which time they may “pace” the suspect vehicle using their speedometer as a reference.  In either case a ticket may result which could then lead to other charges depending on what the officer observes during the contact.

If the charge is simply speeding, not DUI or reckless driving, then the driver gets a ticket to appear in Kern County Superior Court, often Lamont, Shafter or Bakersfield.  Our Attorneys can handle the case for you, we show up in Court and enter a not guilty plea, set the case for trial and then again show up at a future date to contest the ticket.  Bruce Blythe had fought all manner of tickets for 20 years and therefore is respected by the Courts as experienced and knowledgeable.  He boasts a near 90 percent dismissal rate for most speeding tickets due to his familiarity with the local Judges and officers that issue citations.  When the case cannot be completely thrown out he will negotiate a lesser charge or mitigate the offense for traffic school, lower fines, etc.