Woman Arrested for DUI, Fell Asleep in the Middle of the Road

There are many ways to defend a DUI case. The key in most cases is to create some doubt of guilt, or expose some weakness in the prosecution’s case, that might later impact a jury. Once a bit of doubt of a person’s intoxication or impairment is shown, a prosecutor becomes much more willing to offer a favorable plea bargain.

We wish you luck, Yohana Alvarez. Sparse details of your Burbank DUI arrest have been made public by the Contra Costa Times, but we’re pretty sure the prosecutor is not going to be in a wheelin’ and dealin’ mood, especially after you reportedly fell asleep in the middle of an intersection while there was an outstanding warrant in your name for a prior DUI. Plus, the officers are still pretty mad about your car rolling into their cruiser. They’ll probably be ready and willing to testify at your trial.

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No results of a blood or breath test have yet been released, but should a test come back positive, there is little incentive for a deal to be made by the prosecutor. Alvarez is an alleged repeat offender. There was a warrant out for her arrest, which only tends to happen in DUI cases when the defendant no-shows to court appearances. Plus, this time, while allegedly intoxicated, she fell asleep at the wheel and her car rolled into the police cruiser.

Sure, there are many reasons why people fall asleep while driving. Some people work long hours. Others have narcolepsy. Absent a medical diagnosis, if there was any alcohol or drug in her system at the time of driving, a hypothetical jury is going to make the correlation/causation mistake (or simply connect the obvious dots) and think the drug caused the drowsiness.

In cases like these, where the alleged impaired driver’s conduct so strongly indicates impairment, there is little to no weakness in the prosecutor’s case, especially if there is a positive drug or alcohol test. Plea bargain negotiation is all about creating leverage, and when you fall asleep in the middle of the road, there is little leverage to be had.

In most DUI defense cases, there is no “magic” defense that gets the charges dismissed. The best case scenario is a plea to a lesser offense, such as the Wet Reckless, which means no jail time and a reduced fine.

Related Resources:

• Consult a Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney (FindLaw)
• Possibly Drunk Driver Arrested After Allegedly Falling Asleep in Middle of Street (LAist)
• Defense Plea Bargains (FindLaw’s Learn About the Law)
• Killing Someone While DUI: Manslaughter or ‘Watson Murder?’ (FindLaw’s Los Angeles DUI Blog)