Newport Beach Criminal Defense Lawyers

Learn about the best legal defenses:

• WHAT TO DO IF ARRESTED? Read more
• 17 BEST CRIMINAL DEFENSES Read more
• WHAT A LAWYER DOES FOR ME Read more

Recent Newport Beach criminal defense results:

Chudnovsky Law handles criminal cases in all Orange County courts, Harbor Justice Center, Los Angeles, Santa Monica and all Newport Beach area jails.

Here are examples of victories our Newport Beach felony lawyer has achieved:

• • Felony transportation and possession for sale of narcotic for sale (50kg cocaine) HS 11351 and HS 11352, Central Justice Center. Client faced 20 years if convicted. Result: Not guilty by jury trial.
  • Felony domestic violence on spouse by foreign citizen 273.5 PC, Harbor Justice Center. Client faced 1 year jail and denial of immigration green card. Result: Not guilty by jury trial.
  • Felony possession of explosives devices and terrorist threats 18710 PC and 422 PC, Central Justice Center. Client faced 4 years in prison. Result: Not guilty by trial of 18710 PC. 422 PC reduced to misdemeanor, no jail time.
  • Felony assault with firearm 245(a)(2) PC, North Justice Center. Client facing 5 years prison. Result: Reduced to misdemeanor 273.5 PC, no jail time.
  • Felony grand theft 487 PC and 459.5 PC with prior criminal record, West Justice Center. Client faced 4 years of prison. Result: Reduced to misdemeanor, no jail.
  • Large scale theft of US Mail by foreign citizen on work visa 530.5(e) PC, West Justice Center. Client faced 1 year jail, deportation. Result: Reduced to trespassing 602 PC, no jail, no immigration consequence.
  • Felony domestic violence on spouse by non-US citizen 273.5 PC. Foreign executive faced 2 years jail, aggravated felony conviction with deportation and immigration inadmissibility. Result: Dismissed, no immigration consequence.

Recent Newport Beach DUI defense results:

• • • Felony 6th DUI with accident resulting in great bodily injury. Client facing up to 16 years prison. Result: 6 months jail.
    • 2nd DUI involving accident, West Justice Center. Client faced violation of probation and up to 1 year jail. Result: Filed motion to suppress evidence, case dismissed.
    • 1st DUI enhanced due to high BAC, Harbor Justice Center. International executive faced 6 mo jail, job loss. Result: Reduced to VC 23105.5 “wet reckless”, no jail time, no immigration or job consequences.
    • 1st DUI enhanced due to high speed and high BAC, non-US citizen faced 6 mo jail, ICE deportation. Result: No jail time, no immigration consequence.
    • 1st DUI by foreign citizen. Client faced 6 months jail and ICE deportation. Result: No jail time, no immigration consequence.
    • 1st DUI enhanced due to very high BAC, Harbor Justice Center. Result: No jail.

Newport Beach DUI resources

• • • Guide: DUI penalties by type of DUI
    • How long do DUIs take to resolve?
    • How to save your license
    • DUI collisions and injuries per year
    • DUI arrests by OC city

Newport Beach criminal defense resources:

• • • Guide: best defenses to criminal charges
    • Types of criminal charges we defend
    • Newport Beach crimes rates
    • Newport Beach crimes by type

Newport Beach DUI Attorney

Getting a DUI in Newport Beach is a serious matter that can risk your driver’s license and have a major impact on your personal and professional life. But it is a charge our defense lawyers know how to defeat.

Our skilled Newport Beach DUI lawyer may be able to reduce the charges, exclude evidence against you, negotiate reduced sentencing or even get the matter dismissed altogether.

Get Your Charges Reduced or Dropped

When the stakes are high, you can rely on our former O.C. Deputy District Attorney & Public Defense Lawyers to use their knowledge of the legal system to aggressively fight for you.

Our top rated Newport Beach DUI lawyers have a proven track record of successfully handling thousands of cases including virtually all types of DUI such as 1st misdemeanor DUI, 2nd, 3rd, commercial driver’s license, drunk driving accident, foreign citizen DUI and bodily injury felony DUI including vehicular manslaughter.

Experience You Can Trust

As former government lawyers, our DUI attorney Newport Beach knows firsthand how the OC District Attorney and Harbor Justice Center court operate and how to skillfully work with them.

We also know how to analyze Newport Beach Police reports when building your defense. Our criminal attorneys are skilled at analyzing your case and all evidence for weaknesses and using them to construct successful defenses.

We are ready to skillfully defend you and achieve the best possible outcome.

Can you defeat DUI charges?

DUI cases are challenging, but they can be won. Our Newport Beach DUI attorneys successfully defend DUI cases all the time.

Evidence that seems strong can be tossed out by the court. Police officers can bungle stops and DUI investigations by not following proper procedure. Blood alcohol BAC tests are prone to error and there are many ways they can give falsely high alcohol readings.

Depending on the facts of your case, there are many ways a skilled lawyer can dramatically improve the outcome:

1) Get your charges dismissed outright

This is the most favorable outcome because your record will be totally clear. This can happen if critical evidence is disqualified, if the evidence is insufficient to charge, or if your DUI defense attorney successfully negotiates dismissal.

2) Negotiate a reduction in charges

If the case cannot be dismissed nor defeated in trial, this is the best outcome. DUI penalties and consequences are set by statute in California, so the goal is to reduce the charges to something with lower penalties.

For example, if a DUI is reduced to a dry reckless driving charge (California Vehicle Code 23103 VC), it has greatly reduced penalties including no SR22 insurance requirement, not being considered a “priorable” offense for any future charges, and reduced consequences and fines. Our Newport Beach top rated DUI lawyer knows the courts, the District Attorneys and how to negotiate the best possible outcome.

3) Win an acquittal in trial

If you and your attorney decide to fight your case in a trial, acquittal is when the court determines you are not guilty of the charges. There are strict rules of evidence and procedures for California DUI trials.

A skilled DUI lawyer Newport Beach will carefully review all case evidence, the D.A. and the assigned judge to evaluate the odds of success and compare them to the best outcome that can be negotiated. In general, your odds of acquittal are higher if your DUI attorney can successfully argue that some crucial evidence is inadmissible or flawed.

What are DUI penalties?

The penalties and consequences for DUI can vary widely based on the facts of the case. Judges have discretion to select from a range of penalties as defined in California DUI laws.

Judges consider many factors including: prior criminal record, blood alcohol level, whether there were injuries or property damage and type of drivers license.

Judges select from the following types of penalties:

• • 1. Fines & penalty assessments ranging from $390 to $18,000
    2. Jail time: from none up to 15 years or even life in prison
    3. License restriction, suspension or permanent revocation
    4. Probation of 3 to 5 years
    5. Mandatory ignition interlock device
    6. Foreign citizen visa revocation and potential deportation

Most penalties can either be dramatically reduced or eliminated if the charges are dismissed or reduced to a lesser offense. 

You can read our Newport Beach drunk driving accident lawyer guide to penalties for all types of DUI by visiting the page below.

Guide to Newport Beach DUI Penalties →

Newport Beach DUI programs

If our attorney is not able to have your DUI dropped, the DUI court judges at Harbor Justice Center will typically require that you enroll in a qualified DUI program for 3 to 18 months, depending on your case.

The court has a list of approved programs throughout southern California. The approved program in Newport Beach is:

Academy of Defensive Driving (website)
2028 Quail St, Newport Beach, CA 92660. Phone: (949)752-0710