Military DUI Explained by Dan Smith | San Diego Defenders Lawyer

San Diego DUI defense attorney Dan Smith explains basic DUI procedure in military setting. We get a lot of questions at the office from sailors serving, active duty, or reserve about DUI’s. Basically there are a couple of ways a DUI can “go down” and three ways they can be adjudicated. So lets talk about it… theres a DUI you can get on base. Lets say you are on North Island on base, you get a little “squirrelly” in your car and you pick up a DUI on base.

That is scenario 1, scenario 2 is you get a DUI in the “civilian” world. You get one at the Gaslamp or Pacific Beach, you leave, you go through a DUI checkpoint and you end up getting a DUI. It results in a DUI charge on this side and it is probably by SDPD. Over here, it might be the MP on base. The way it’ll “go down” is over here on North Island, at the base, is you might go to non-judicial proceedings (NJP) where you can get busted in rank or lose some pay or consequences of not driving off base, but there are some ramifications when reporting to your command. This same DUI can be sent to what they call “civilian court” or the CVB (civil violations bureau) which you can end up in federal court, in which case you will have to handle the case with our help (hopefully) or with a JAG officer. With NJP your command for the most part.

The third scenario would be getting a DUI off base, you’re picked up by SDPD or CHP and these cases end up in what we call “state court”. So, in state court we got a couple of things we have to deal with, not only the state court itself which could result in a Jury Trial, plea bargain or a number of other things. At any rate, it will have ramifications with your command. So, you’re dealing with your proceedings in state court, with the CVB in federal court or with the NJP/command.

So, the ramifications are quite different for each scenario. Come over and talk to us, we’ll explain just exactly what you should do, what might be most helpful. A lot of you are looking at advancing and this is very important to your career. Our job is to save you career and help you get through this mess. There is a lot of different things to maneuver, give us a call at 619-258-8888 and we will explain just how these different scenarios work and which one you are in. Because there are a lot of time you can get a case and you don’t know whether or not you are being sent to CVB or NJP or a combination. Give us a call, we’ll try to straighten all that out for you and help you. Our job is to save your career and help you get where you are going.

Thanks. I am Dan Smith, we are San Diego Defenders and you can reach us at 619-258-8888. Thank you!



San Diego Defenders
State and Federal Criminal Defense/DUI & DMV Cases
585 Third Ave
Chula Vista, CA 91910
24 Hrs. (619) 258-8888
Direct Office Line (619) 233-6900
www.sandiegodefenders.com