Extended Vijay Law Library

Most people arrested for a first DUI tell themselves a version of the same thing: ‘No record, no priors, nobody got hurt. I should just pay the fine, take a class, put it behind me. It’s just like a speeding ticket with extra steps’. That belief can be the most…

For much of the twentieth century, driving drunk was treated as bad luck more than a serious crime. "One for the road" was a common expression, not a warning. Even a fatal crash caused by a drunk driver could be written up as an accident, the driver was rarely…

You take cold medicine for a bad cough. You take a medication your doctor prescribed. You use marijuana, which is legal in California. Or you use an illegal drug. Every one of those can expose you to a DUI, because California's drugged-driving law does not care…

An ordinary DUI is about what tragic outcome could have happened. A DUI causing injury or death is about what did happen. That difference changes everything: the charges, which can go from a misdemeanor all the way to murder; the penalties, which can be up to life…

An engineer on an H-1B visa is arrested for driving under the influence (DUI) on a Friday night in California. He has been in this country for years. His job sponsors his status and his family's status is dependent on his status. For a citizen, that arrest is a…

A DUI is a criminal case, but for many people the courtroom is not where the real damage happens. It happens at work, in the consequences for a professional license and in the continuing ability to maintain a livelihood. A misdemeanor DUI conviction can cost an…