At the beginning of 2022, the law regarding DUI diversion changed. DUIs are no longer eligible for diversion in California. Please contact our office with any questions. Email us at abortellaw@gmail.com OR Call us at: (415) 523-7878

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Law Firm of Aaron Bortel

How Much Does A Marin County DUI Case Potentially Cost Someone?


The cost of a DUI case in Marin County depends on the type of case. Some are more expensive than others because investigation is needed. Sometimes accident reconstruction is needed, and sometimes we need expert witnesses, forensic toxicologists, etc. It also depends on the lawyer that you hire. There is a saying that “Good lawyers aren’t cheap and cheap lawyers aren’t good.” That is true. You can go into Marin County and plead yourself guilty if you want to, but you’ll never know if you could have won your case or gotten your charges reduced. The problem with the DUI conviction is that it’s expensive, requires you to complete DUI school, and causes your insurance to go up. In addition, it can be hard to get or retain jobs, especially those that require driving.

Travel can also be an issue. If you have a DUI, you can’t go to Canada. And if you are not a US citizen, a DUI can actually have an effect on your visa and ability to come in and out of the country. You really need to try to win your DUI case. However, you can’t go cheap to a lawyer. You don’t want to hire a lawyer who is sending you solicitations in the mail to hire them. I have a real problem with that. They are advertising to anybody who lives in your house, but you’re the one that got a DUI. That intrusiveness can start a working relationship with a lawyer, and I have a problem with that.

You want to find a lawyer who is either recommended to you by someone you know, or who has positive reviews online. Furthermore, you want to make sure that you feel comfortable talking with them, and comfortable with the amount of experience that they have. You are going to have to pay for the right lawyer. Some lawyers do payment plans, others don’t. In most of my cases, I will allow the client to do a payment plan if they need to. That’s fine in this office. Other offices won’t do that, but if you are talking to a lawyer who is charging you $2500, $3000 or less (I know that’s a lot of money for a lot of people), that’s typically not going to be enough to accomplish what needs to be accomplished. There is too much work for the lawyer to do, and anybody charging low fees like that is desperate for business. They are not one of your top DUI lawyers, and they are not going to be doing all of the work that a top DUI lawyer would be doing.

Fees can go as high as $10,000 or $20,000 or more in these cases, and the more complex they are, the greater the fees. But every case is different, and I don’t have a specific number that I put on cases. I need to talk to the client first to see how much work is going to go into the case. Your fees are typically between $4000 and $8000 for a higher end lawyer who knows what they are doing (sometimes $3500). There is so much on the line. I’ve had many cases over the years where I have saved my clients so much money on other things, like insurance. Just based on the way the cases came out, my clients ended up saving in insurance two or three times what they paid in legal fees. This is what savings and credit cards are for: emergency situations that you didn’t expect.

If you are a student in medicine or nursing and you want to go to medical school or drive an ambulance, then you want to obtain a very good lawyer who can fight for you and give you the best chance of getting the best result. Your future is on the line here.

How Long Does A Typical DUI Case Last In Marin County?

The length of a typical DUI case depends on the lawyer that’s handling it. There are some lawyers that I see pleading their clients guilty at the first or second court appearance and not doing the work. Those are usually the cheaper lawyers who are not experienced or who are just churning through their cases and not doing the amount of investigation that’s needed (not getting the records on machines, blood testing in video, the audio, etc.) in order to get the best result possible. Typically, the length of my cases ranges from three to four months to a year or more. I would say four to six months is very typical.

Additional Information On Marin County DUI Convictions

If you are convicted of DUI, Marin County requires that you complete a DUI school. In a lot of counties, you need to show proof of enrollment in a school within 21 days. Marin County just requests proof of completion, and they usually give you a year to show it. That is something that the schools don’t always send in to the Marin County Room C-10, which is the superior clerk’s county office in Marin County. So, you should make sure that it gets there. If the DUI school that you went to says that they sent it, check a couple of weeks later and call the court to see if it’s come in. If it has, fine. But if not, then you’ll have to bring it yourself. Get it to your attorney and confirm that they’ve turned it in for you, because but if you don’t, a warrant will be issued for your arrest.

That is something that I’ve seen happen to people. So, just make sure that it happens. There are a lot of other things that go into a DUI case in Marin County. I’m more than happy to talk with anyone who has been arrested for DUI or has friends or family members who need help with this area. I offer free consultation and answer all questions. If I don’t have the answer to a question, then I usually know where to find it. So, feel free to call me or email me. Call my office and we can talk about what’s going on with your DUI case in Marin County.

For more information on Cost Of A Marin County DUI Case, a free initial consultation is your next best step. Get the information and legal answers you are seeking by calling (415) 523-7878 today.

Aaron Bortel

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