Our client was originally charged with two counts of DUI in violation of Vehicle Code section 23152(a) and 23152(b) after hitting eight parked cars and admitting to drinking two beers prior to driving and smoking marijuana. Our client had a low blood alcohol content (“BAC”) but did not perform well on the field sobriety tests. Despite the circumstances of the offense, after diligently investigating the charges, we were able to negotiate to a wet reckless charge for our client.
As a condition of his sentence, our client had stipulated to restitution liability for damaging the parked cars.
At the initial restitution hearing, one victim was requesting over $3,000 for loss of use of his vehicle during the time the insurance claim took to resolve. Another victim was also claiming restitution for the gap in coverage after payout by our client’s insurance company and also for loss of equity. The matter was put over to allow our office to review the documents the victims had provided.
After review of the documents, it was clear that the victim requesting restitution for the loss of use of his vehicle pending compensation from the insurance company was not entitled to restitution unless he actually suffered economic loss. The other victim was also not entitled to loss of equity but should receive compensation for the gap in payment only.
At the restitution hearing, we explained our position to the prosecution and they agreed. We then stipulated to compensation to the victim for the gap in insurance payout.
Our assistance at the restitution hearing saved our client over $5,000 in claimed loss!
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