The skilled criminal defense lawyer with 30 years experience, David Pflaum protects your rights if you have been involved in leaving the scene of an accident, more commonly referred to as hit and run.
Just because you are under investigation, cited, or arrested for leaving the scene of an accident does not mean that you are guilty.
You have rights and remedies.
THE RIGHT CRIMINAL LAWYER FOR LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT
Leaving the scene of an accident is a very serious crime according to Vehicle Code sections 20002 and Vehicle Code section 20001.
An accusation of hit and run can be filed by the police and the prosecution as either a felony or a misdemeanor depending upon whether another person was injured as a result of the alleged hit and run. (See Vehicle Code sections 20001 and 20002).
When a person is arrested for a felony violation of hit and run, he or she will be placed into custody with bail set according to schedule.
The procedures to get a person out of custody depend on the circumstances of the alleged crime.
Click here to learn more: get out of jail.
Investigation. If the police or a detective wants to speak to you about an accusation of leaving the scen of an accident, call the defense attorney right away to protect your rights.
Contact the Prosecutors Office. Depending upon the circumstances, such as assistance from the alleged victim, interviews with witnesses, and additional facts about the arrest, attorney Pflaum gets vital information and delivers it to the prosecutors office to persuading the prosecutors office not to file any criminal charges.
STRATEGIES OF THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY FOR A CHARGE OF LEAVING THE SCENE OF AN ACCIDENT
The effective defense of an accusation of leaving the scene of an accident begins as follows.
- Talking to the client during the initial consultation and learning about the clients background and the facts of the case
- Examining the alleged evidence contained in police reports and photographs of damages
- Determining whether there are witnesses who are credible
Defense strategies that attorney Pflaum relies on to include the following.
- No criminal intent
- The accused did not know he or she was in an accident
- The accused complied with the law
- No corroboration by an independent witness
- Insufficiency of the evidence
- Failure to identify the driver
- Improper police investigation
- Failure to advise the client of rights
In misdemeanor cases the client may never need to go to court. The defense lawyer performs all the work on behalf of the client.
HOW THE CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER EFFECTIVELY REPRESENTS HIS CLIENT
There are many ways an experienced defense lawyer helps his client who is involved with leaving the scene of an accident. Every case is different. Each client is unique.
Many cases are resolved before trial by way of a plea bargain.
A plea bargain is an agreement between the prosecution, judge, defense attorney and client to eliminate or reduce the charges, avoid or minimize the amount of time in prison and jail, and reduce the fines.
David gets excellent plea bargains. He aggressively asserts his clients rights, exposes weaknesses in the prosecution case, and presents favorable information about his client.
Some cases, depending upon the client’s preference and the state of the evidence, may proceed to jury trial.
Winning the jury trial requires a persuasive statement to the jury in support of the defense, proving prosecution witnesses are not fair or accurate, introducing evidence in different forms to show innocence, and making a convincing final presentation for a verdict of not guilty
THE DEFENSE ATTORNEY DEDICATED TO JUSTICE
Attorney Pflaum is a relentless defender and legal advocate of his clients charged with leaving the scene of an accident.
Experience makes a difference.
MORE ABOUT THE APPLICABLE LAW OF HIT AND RUN
A violation of hit and run occurs when there is an accident and a driver fails to stop at the scene to identify himself of herself, or to leave a note on the other car.
If there were no injuries during the course of a hit and run, the case will be a misdemeanor violation of Vehicle Code section 20002.
If someone was injured during the course of the alleged hit and run, the case will likely be a felony violation of Vehicle Code section 20001.
Penalties. For a misdemeanor hit and run under Vehicle Code section 2002, the accused may face a fine of up to $1,000, up to 6 months in county jail, or both.
A hit and run accusation under Vehicle Code section 20001 may be a felony or a misdemeanor, and therefore is referred to as a wobbler offense.
If the case is considered a misdemeanor, the penalties are a fine between $1,000 and $10,000, up to a year in county jail, or both.
For a felony case the penalties are a fine between $1,000 and $10,000, up to 4 years in a state prison, or both.
If you are involved in a car accident while driving a vehicle, California Vehicle Code sections 20001 and 20002 require a driver to provide a driver’s license and vehicle registration to the other driver.
If the other driver cannot be found, then you should write down on a piece of paper your driver’s license number and vehicle registration number, along with a description of how the accident occurred, and leave this information on the windshield of other vehicle. Then you are also supposed to call the local police and report the accident.
Vista – Escondido – Carlsbad – Fallbrook – Oceanside – Encinitas – Solana Beach – San Ysidro – Chula Vista – San Diego – Carmel Valley – Pacific Beach – Del Mar – San Marcos – El Cajon – La Costa – Leucadia – La Jolla – Mission Beach – Imperial Beach – North Park – Hillcrest – Rancho Santa Fe – Poway – North County – South Bay – Coronado – Miramar – Scripps Ranch – Rancho Bernardo – Ramona – Mission Hills – Bonita – Point Loma – Mission Valley – Valley Center – Bonsall – Fallbrook – North County