# DUI or no DUI **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 16, 2011, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798 "2011-10-16T06:04:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![raskolnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47c2d/32.png) [@raskolnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raskolnik)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/21 "2011-10-17T14:03:47Z")
Isn’t a .18 like 5 or six shots in an hour? I’ve had a .28 and was pretty close to passing out. I don’t drive so I don’t worry but a friend had a BAC tester and we were trying to see who could get the highest…young and stupid is pretty different from young stupid and car keys. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/22 "2011-10-17T14:11:06Z")
> [@raskolnik](#): > > Isn’t a .18 like 5 or six shots in an hour? I’ve had a .28 and was pretty close to passing out. I don’t drive so I don’t worry but a friend had a BAC tester and we were trying to see who could get the highest…young and stupid is pretty different from young stupid and car keys. It’s more than 6 shots for a 160 pound man with 11% body fat. Rough guide [here](http://www.brad21.org/bac_charts.html). Note that you’re almost certainly not going to get an accurate reading if you’re fucking around with a breathalyzer while drinking; if you’ve consumed any alcohol in the last half hour or so there will be more on your breath than is actually in your blood. ---
**Author:** ![raskolnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e47c2d/32.png) [@raskolnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raskolnik)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/23 "2011-10-17T14:19:09Z")
I always thought .4 is dead .35 is coma. How’d he find his keys? ---
**Author:** ![Antinor01](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecae2f/32.png) [@Antinor01](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antinor01)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/24 "2011-10-17T16:50:39Z")
One thing to keep in mind is that in CA, the court case and DMV case are two different things. You could potentially be cleared of charges or have reduced charges in court and still lose your license. California really doesn’t mess around when it comes to DUI cases. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9fc348/32.png) [@The\_Flying\_Dutchman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Flying_Dutchman)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/25 "2011-10-18T02:47:13Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > The officer called your mother? This is “the” LA, right, not a small town? He must have totalled his mother’s car I know that here in British Columbia, if I have an accident while under the influence, my insurance is void and null. Will his mother’s insurance cover the damages resulting from the accident ? ---
**Author:** ![Tortuga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c4cdca/32.png) [@Tortuga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tortuga)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/26 "2011-10-18T03:33:33Z")
> [@JimmyTBS](#): > > Los Angeles, CA > > I was involved in a car accident and was told that I got a DUI by an officer. > > I was not issued a ticket from the police department stating any kind of violation. > > I WAS issued a paper from the DMV that has a box checked that my license had been “surrendered”. > > The box on the same DMV paper that says 0.08% or more BAC Chemical Tests Results was NOT checked. > > The only other paperwork that I received is for the impound where my totaled car was taken. > > So my question is this. If I did actually get a DUI then shouldn’t I have an actual ticket. Shouldn’t I have been taken directly to jail. And shouldn’t at the very least that box on the DMV paper been checked??? > > Is this all possible?? Mr. Tortuga here, not a lawyer but I do know a fair bit about DUI in California… The OP is pretty vague and there is a lot s/he isn’t telling us. The 0.08% box that isn’t checked isn’t the only box on the DS367 or DS367M that might be applicable. A simple error on this form merely will guarantee a hearing prior to license suspension but won’t prevent a suspension. Was s/he hospitalized? A minor? No ticket may just mean that it is being processed “complaint to be filed.” The lawyer argument when dealing with DUI is endless. Most of the legal advice given by DUI lawyers will just generate billable pre-trial hours but won’t help much with a trial or the outcome of a DUI arrest. Lawyers say to lawyer up. _Juries hate DUI_. Most of the time a lawyer will only be able to get the same plea deal offered by the DA at arraignment (there are some lawyers who will do better but the OPs chance of finding these is slim). Going through a trial will almost always be as expensive or more expensive than entering a guilty plea and getting on with your life. I do agree that posting is a bad idea for civil reasons. Most DUI “specialists” will take a retainer and exhaust it with a DMV hearing and a motion to suppress along with a readiness hearing. Then the accused learns that they can take the plea or cough up money they don’t have for a trial. For a misdemeanor DUI where there is little doubt of guilt this can be a serious waste of money. If it is a felony, that all goes out the window. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/27 "2011-10-18T03:50:42Z")
> [@Tortuga](#): > > Mr. Tortuga here, not a lawyer but I do know a fair bit about DUI in California… > > The OP is pretty vague and there is a lot s/he isn’t telling us. The 0.08% box that isn’t checked isn’t the only box on the DS367 or DS367M that might be applicable. A simple error on this form merely will guarantee a hearing prior to license suspension but won’t prevent a suspension. Was s/he hospitalized? A minor? No ticket may just mean that it is being processed “complaint to be filed.” > > The lawyer argument when dealing with DUI is endless. Most of the legal advice given by DUI lawyers will just generate billable pre-trial hours but won’t help much with a trial or the outcome of a DUI arrest. Lawyers say to lawyer up. _Juries hate DUI_. Most of the time a lawyer will only be able to get the same plea deal offered by the DA at arraignment (there are some lawyers who will do better but the OPs chance of finding these is slim). Going through a trial will almost always be as expensive or more expensive than entering a guilty plea and getting on with your life. I do agree that posting is a bad idea for civil reasons. Most DUI “specialists” will take a retainer and exhaust it with a DMV hearing and a motion to suppress along with a readiness hearing. Then the accused learns that they can take the plea or cough up money they don’t have for a trial. For a misdemeanor DUI where there is little doubt of guilt this can be a serious waste of money. If it is a felony, that all goes out the window. _Valuable_ post. ---
**Author:** ![Senegoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/senegoid/32/6606_2.png) [@Senegoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Senegoid)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2011, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/28 "2011-10-18T04:26:16Z")
Boy oh boy, as others have already noted, there really is something that OP isn’t telling us. And as **Bricker** says, the more he DOESN’T tell us, the better. I cannot imagine, given what little we HAVE heard, why they didn’t arrest him there on the spot and haul him off to the drunk tank forthwith. If, in fact, he did blow .18 especially. ---
**Author:** ![Rachellelogram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rachellelogram/32/8689_2.png) [@Rachellelogram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rachellelogram)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798/29 "2011-10-19T01:29:48Z")
> [@Senegoid](#): > > I cannot imagine, given what little we HAVE heard, why they didn’t arrest him there on the spot and haul him off to the drunk tank forthwith. If, in fact, he did blow .18 especially. Well, maybe he’s 12. 🆒 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dui-or-no-dui/599798.md?page=1)