San Bernardino DUI Lawyer - Seyb Law Group

DUI Lawyer San Bernardino, CA

If you have been arrested for driving under the influence in San Bernardino, you are now facing two separate legal proceedings at the same time. The criminal charge will be prosecuted through the San Bernardino County District Attorney’s office and heard at the San Bernardino Justice Center. Meanwhile, the DMV has already started its own administrative process to suspend your license and you have exactly 10 days from the date of arrest to challenge it.

Most people do not realize these are independent proceedings. Winning one does not affect the other. You need a DUI attorney who handles both. Our San Bernardino, CA DUI lawyer at Seyb Law Group has been doing exactly that for over 13 years. Free consultations are available for every DUI case.

Why Choose Seyb Law Group for DUI Defense in San Bernardino, CA?

Who We Are

Spencer Seyb founded this firm on a simple premise: that the people accused of crimes deserve attorneys who will actually prepare their cases and fight on their behalf. He earned his law degree from Trinity Law School after studying at the University of Houston, and he has spent the years since defending DUI and criminal cases across San Bernardino, Riverside, Orange, and Los Angeles counties. Spencer’s familiarity with the San Bernardino DA’s office and the judges who handle DUI cases at the Justice Center gives our clients an advantage that attorneys from outside the area cannot replicate.

We also believe that legal representation should be accessible. We offer free consultations and payment plans for every DUI case. No one should plead guilty to a DUI simply because they could not afford to explore their options.

What We Have Accomplished

In one case, we obtained a full dismissal for a client facing a second DUI charge with a BAC of .18. In a separate first DUI with injury matter, we secured a dismissal with probation. And in a case involving DUI combined with a hit and run charge, we negotiated a probation-only outcome with no custody time. These results came from preparation, including examining the evidence, identifying procedural errors, and refusing to accept the prosecution’s first offer.

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“When getting my 2 DUI I knew I needed to get an attorney, Seyb Law Group help me with all the process from my DMV hearing to my DUI court case. Spencer is very knowledgeable, very communicative when i have questions and keeping me updated on my case. I would recommend him to my friends and family also i have him on my phone in case anything else happens.” — Skippy Man

Read more reviews on our Google Business Profile.

Types of DUI Cases We Handle in San Bernardino

California criminalizes driving under the influence through several subsections of the Vehicle Code. The charge you face depends on your BAC, whether drugs were involved, whether someone was hurt, and your prior record. We handle every type of DUI case in San Bernardino County.

First DUI offense. Classified as a misdemeanor with penalties that include up to six months in jail, fines between $390 and $1,000 before assessments, a four-month license suspension, and mandatory alcohol education. In practice, most first-time defendants receive probation. But probation is not nothing as it lasts three to five years and comes with conditions that restrict your life.
Second DUI offense. Mandatory jail time, a two-year license revocation, and an 18- or 30-month DUI program. Prosecutors in San Bernardino have less flexibility to negotiate on repeat offenses, and the consequences of a second conviction compound quickly when layered on top of a prior.
Felony DUI. A fourth DUI within a decade, or any DUI that results in injury, triggers felony charges. State prison becomes a real possibility. In some situations, a felony can be reduced to a misdemeanor through negotiation or a post-conviction motion, but the defense has to be built with that goal in mind from the start.
DUI with injury. Charged under Vehicle Code 23153, this wobbler offense requires the prosecution to prove impairment and a negligent act that caused harm to another person. Felony filing is common, especially when the injuries are serious.
DUI involving drugs. Vehicle Code 23152(f) covers impairment from any substance like illegal drugs, prescription medication, even over-the-counter products. The prosecution typically relies on a drug recognition evaluator’s opinion and blood test results, both of which have vulnerabilities that an experienced DUI defense attorney can expose. Some drug-related DUI defendants qualify for California’s drug diversion program.
Third DUI offense. A minimum of 120 days in custody, three-year license revocation, and habitual traffic offender designation. The margin for negotiation is narrow, but it exists particularly when the evidence has problems.

California Legal Requirements for DUI Cases

Vehicle Code 23152 contains the statutes that govern DUI prosecutions in California. Section 23152(a) makes it illegal to drive while impaired by alcohol regardless of your BAC level. Section 23152(b) makes it illegal to drive with a BAC at or above 0.08%. Prosecutors almost always file both counts, which gives them two separate theories to argue at trial. The defense has to address each one.

Under the state’s implied consent law, anyone lawfully arrested for DUI is deemed to have already consented to chemical testing. Refusing a blood or breath test after a lawful arrest carries a mandatory one-year license suspension through the California DMV and adds mandatory jail time to any eventual conviction.

The 10-day DMV deadline is one of the most urgent aspects of any DUI arrest. The arresting officer confiscates your license at the scene and hands you a pink temporary permit. If you do not request an administrative hearing within 10 days, the suspension goes into effect automatically 30 days later. This DMV action is completely independent of the criminal case.

According to NHTSA crash data, California saw 1,355 alcohol-impaired driving fatalities in 2023. Those numbers fuel aggressive prosecution throughout the state, and San Bernardino County is no exception.

Important Aspects of a San Bernardino DUI Case

What Happens at Arraignment

Your first court appearance at the San Bernardino Justice Center is the arraignment. The judge reads the charges, sets bail conditions, and asks for your plea. For most misdemeanor DUI cases, your attorney can appear on your behalf so you do not have to miss work. At arraignment, we also request the police reports, chemical test results, and any video evidence as the materials we need to start building your defense. Knowing how to work with your attorney from this stage forward makes a meaningful difference in outcomes.

Evidence We Challenge

Every DUI prosecution depends on a chain of evidence: the reason for the traffic stop, the officer’s observations, field sobriety test performance, and chemical test results. Each link in that chain has potential weaknesses. The stop may have lacked reasonable suspicion. The officer may have administered field sobriety tests incorrectly or on surfaces that would cause anyone to stumble. The breathalyzer may not have been calibrated according to Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations. The blood draw may have violated proper protocols for collection, preservation, or chain of custody. We examine all of it, and when we find problems, we use them.

The Two Separate Proceedings

The criminal case and the DMV case operate on different tracks, under different rules, with different standards of proof. The criminal case requires proof beyond a reasonable doubt. The DMV hearing uses a preponderance of the evidence standard, essentially, whether it is more likely than not that you were driving with a BAC of 0.08% or higher. We handle both proceedings and use different strategies for each. A favorable result at the DMV hearing preserves your driving privileges while the criminal case moves through court. The legal rights and options available to you differ between the two, and understanding that distinction early matters.

Probation Terms and Violations

Most DUI convictions in San Bernardino result in probation rather than the maximum jail sentence. But the terms of that probation are strict. You cannot drive with any measurable amount of alcohol in your system. You must complete a DUI education program. You pay fines and penalty assessments that typically exceed $2,000. A probation violation even a minor one can result in additional jail time and extended probation conditions. We make sure our clients understand every term of their probation so they can comply and move forward.

How a DUI Affects Your Record

A DUI conviction stays on your criminal record and your DMV record, but the implications are different for each. Your DMV record retains DUI priors for a 10-year lookback period, meaning a new arrest within that window is treated as a second, third, or subsequent offense with escalating mandatory penalties. On the criminal side, a conviction may be eligible for expungement after you complete probation, which can help with employment and professional licensing. We also represent clients facing new charges who need us to evaluate whether a prior conviction can be challenged or may qualify for charge reduction.

When Other Charges Are Involved

A DUI arrest does not always happen in isolation. We have represented clients whose DUI arrest also involved domestic violence allegations, drug possession, or driving on a suspended license. When multiple charges arise from the same incident, the defense strategy must account for all of them. Our firm handles criminal defense broadly as a criminal defense lawyer in San Bernardino, which means we can coordinate a unified defense rather than splitting your case between multiple attorneys.

Contact Seyb Law Group

A DUI charge in San Bernardino, CA does not have to end with a conviction. The 10-day DMV deadline is real, and the sooner you have an attorney reviewing the evidence, the more options are on the table. The consultation is free.