DUI charges can impact people in Arizona regardless of fame or status. These charges can hit hard, even when there were no injuries. Former New York Knicks coach Derek Fisher had a one-car crash in early June in California. His car collided with a guardrail and flipped upside down. Fisher, who also played with the Los Angeles Lakers, was driving with a passenger at the time, but neither were injured. The flipped car blocked two lanes of traffic on U.S. Route 101 in the Sherman Oaks neighborhood of Los Angeles.
At the time of the accident, Fisher was arrested by police under suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol. He is now to be formally charged with two misdemeanor counts of driving under the influence. The two charges he is facing specifically are operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol and driving with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 or higher. The charges appear to be the first of these types for Fisher.
Convictions on DUI charges can carry harsh penalties, including lengthy license suspensions, steep fines, mandatory alcohol education requirements and even jail time. More serious drunk driving charges that involve multiple prior offenses, injured victims or significantly higher blood alcohol content, can result in lengthy prison sentences.
A Glendale DUI lawyer can examine the circumstances of the case and the arrest and look for flaws in testing and other information provided by the police in order to challenge any inaccuracies. A defense lawyer can also work to negotiate a plea bargain or deferral of prosecution that protects a defendant’s driving record and criminal record.