Living here in often sunny Southern California, aka, San Diego, CA you may find yourself visiting from the heat of Arizona or the muggy weather in the Midwest. When vacationing we all want to have fun and go to Mission Beach, Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach and have some fun. Many visitor vacations for a week or two and want to go to Tijuana and eat tacos across the border. And what goes better with tacos and beach fun than a few beers or umbrella drinks!
I am an Arizona native and we used to pile in cars as college students and drive all day to catch the fireworks on 4th of July in Mission Bay. It is hot in Arizona in the Summer so we may have had a powerful thirst which we quenched with “Cowboy Koolaid” aka Coors Beer. What we did not know, and many people don’t know is that there are DUI checkpoints in Pacific Beach. If you are from out of state you may not know you can get a DUI on one of those electric Lime Scooters riding down the boardwalk. And if you go eat tacos in Tijuana or Rosarito Beach in Mexico, we certainly did not know that the US Customs Officers coming back into the U.S. could send us to Secondary and call the CHP officers to ask us to perform some FST’s or “field sobriety tests.”
But, do not panic! I am a lawyer in California and Arizona and my father, Judge Ralph G. Smith, Jr. and I wrote: “The Judges Top Secret Guide to Beating a DUI”* that is a short read on the way to California and well worth your time. The first message is if you are going to drink and have fun on the beach then don’t drive. But many people feel they are okay to drive and then get into the car when the alcohol starts to really hit the system…and even if you pull over to a safe parking spot, an officer may want to trick you into admitting you drove under the influence. We talk about that in the book. And being a DUI Lawyer in the San Diego area with an office across the street from the Chula Vista Court House where the border DUI cases are heard for 29 years as of 2019, we can go to court for you after you go to your home out of state. Call San Diego Defenders 24/7 phone at (619) 258-8888 and we can tell you if your state participates in the “Interstate Compact” in which the DMV or the MVD (in AZ or NM) may make a huge difference in how we approach your case. We have payment plans and we can communicate via phone, email and we can help you remember your vacation in San Diego as a good time when we get charges dismissed and make sure it does not create a problem in with your driving privileges in your home state.
San Diego Defenders – We go to Court (and DMV) for You! WWW.SanDiegoDefenders.com (619) 258-88888
*If you would like to purchase our book please click HERE
