San Diego County · State and Federal Courts

A DUI arrest in San Diego starts two cases at once.

Q: Is it worth fighting a DUI, or should I just plead guilty?

Nobody can answer that until someone has read the evidence: the stop, the testing procedure, the maintenance logs, the video. Some cases have real suppression or accuracy issues and some do not. Pleading at the first appearance, before anyone has reviewed discovery, means accepting the same offer that would have been available anyway.

One is at the DMV, and it has a 10-day deadline. The other is in court: state or federal, depending on where you were stopped. San Diego DUI Defense handles both, and handles nothing else. Every courthouse in the county, plus the U.S. District Court downtown. Military clients are a large part of the work, including federal on-base cases and Penal Code § 1001.80 military diversion.

(619) 486-8860 Free Consultation

Time-Sensitive

You have only 10 days after a DUI arrest to request a DMV hearing to contest your license suspension. Don't wait.

Arrested for DUI in San Diego County? This is what happens next.

Your license. The DMV suspends it on its own unless a hearing is requested within 10 days. Out-of-state license: California still pulls your privilege to drive here. We request the hearing and fight the suspension.
Your court date. The date on the citation is the arraignment, not the trial. Superior Court for a public road; federal court downtown for a base. Misdemeanor: we go so you don’t have to. Felony: we stand next to you.
Your evidence. Stop, field tests, breath or blood number, body-cam, machine records. We read all of it before anyone talks about a plea. That’s where cases get won or made smaller.

DUI defense only. San Diego County. Since 2002.

What We Handle

DUI defense is the entire practice

Not one practice area among many. Every case is handled by an attorney who does this work every day, in the courts where it will be decided.

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Misdemeanor DUI Defense

First-time and repeat DUI charges in San Diego Superior Court, every division. Arraignment through resolution: evidence review, blood and breath test challenges, negotiations, and the DMV hearing to protect your license. If the case needs a trial, we try it.

Includes: DMV admin hearing · blood & breath test challenges · field sobriety test defense · plea negotiations · all standard court appearances

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Felony DUI Defense

Cases involving injury, a fourth offense, or a prior felony DUI carry prison exposure and need counsel who has handled them. Vehicle Code § 23153 and felony § 23152 cases, including screening for military diversion and mental health diversion where the facts support it.

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Federal & Military Base DUI

Stopped on Camp Pendleton, Miramar, North Island, 32nd Street, or other federal land? Your case is in U.S. District Court, a different system with different rules. San Diego DUI Defense has practiced in the Southern District of California for 24 years. How a federal DUI case works →

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Military Diversion (PC § 1001.80)

Current and former service members with a service-related condition can often complete treatment instead of prosecution, ending in dismissal. Since 2025 the statute reaches many felonies. San Diego DUI Defense litigates § 1001.80 eligibility as a core part of the practice. Who qualifies and how it works →

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Marijuana & Drug DUI Defense

California has no per se THC limit. The prosecution has to prove impairment, and the science is contestable. Blood results, DRE opinions, and the stop itself all get scrutiny in marijuana, prescription, and other drug DUI cases.

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DUI Expungement

An old DUI conviction shouldn't follow you forever. Petitions to dismiss under Penal Code § 1203.4, early probation termination, and related record relief for San Diego County convictions, handled start to finish.

Before You Hire Anyone

The most expensive DUI lawyer
isn't always the one who charges the most

DUI cases don't get better because the prosecutor becomes generous. They get better because somebody did the work.

Sometimes the most expensive lawyer is the one who quotes a serious fee, collects every payment on schedule, and never really works on the case. It happens more often than people realize.

Some firms make their money on volume. Their marketing is outstanding. Their intake staff is outstanding. After you sign, you're inside a system built to process files, not defend cases. The file goes behind a client portal. Questions come back days later from a case manager. A different attorney can appear at each hearing, and the ex-prosecutor résumé that sold you may belong to a founding partner you never meet. The case drifts toward the same plea offer that was available at the first appearance.

San Diego DUI Defense is built to be the opposite of that. San Diego County cases only. A limited number of them. The attorney who reviews your evidence is the attorney who answers your questions and the attorney standing next to you in court. The time goes into challenging evidence, not generating leads.

Five questions to ask any DUI attorney before you pay

Will you, personally, appear at every hearing in my case?
Is the attorney on your website the attorney handling my file?
Will you request the video, body cam and dash cam, and watch it yourself?
When I have questions, does the answer come from you or a case manager?
Where is your office?

Ask this firm the same five. The answers are on this page.

A Practice Area Most DUI Attorneys Don't Touch

Stopped on base? Your case is in
federal court, not state court.

A DUI on a military installation or other federal land in San Diego County is prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, downtown.

How it works, in short

The stop at a gate or checkpoint is processed through the Central Violations Bureau (CVB). The charge is California's DUI statute applied in federal court through the Assimilative Crimes Act, and it's prosecuted by a federal prosecutor before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. The procedures, timelines, and courtroom dynamics are different from Superior Court, and most San Diego DUI firms don't appear there.

It happens to civilians and service members alike: a wrong turn toward a sentry gate, or an active-duty, reserve, dependent, or contractor stop inside the fence line. Either way you need an attorney admitted in the Southern District who knows how these cases actually move.

San Diego DUI Defense has practiced in the Southern District of California for 24 years, and handles federal DUI cases directly. Read the full federal DUI guide →

Installations covered:

MCB Camp Pendleton

MCAS Miramar

NAB Coronado

NAS North Island

NBSD 32nd Street

MCRD San Diego

Naval Medical Center

Other federal land

What makes a federal DUI case different

Prosecuted by a federal prosecutor, not a county DA
Filed in U.S. District Court, not Superior Court
Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure apply
May affect security clearances and military career
DMV consequences still apply, with the same 10-day deadline
Service members may face separate command action (NJP, admin action) regardless of the court outcome

Served, or Serving Now?

Military diversion can end a DUI case
without a conviction

Penal Code § 1001.80 lets the court pause a prosecution while an eligible service member completes treatment. Finish the program and the case is dismissed. No plea, no conviction.

San Diego is the most military county in the country, and diversion screening is step one in every service member's case here, not an afterthought. Since January 1, 2025, the statute reaches many felony charges as well as misdemeanors. Whether that includes felony DUI is a question San Diego DUI Defense has litigated up through the California appellate courts.

Does this apply to me?

You are, or were, in any branch of the U.S. military, including the Reserves and National Guard.
You may have a service-related condition: PTSD, TBI, sexual trauma, substance abuse, or another mental health condition.
The characterization of your discharge is not part of the eligibility test. Don't assume you're out because of your paper.

Read the full military diversion guide →

About the Attorney

R. Robert Punta

State and federal courts. English and Spanish.

Admissions

California Bar2002 (SBN 220353)

USDC, So. District2002

USDC, Central Dist.2004

9th Circuit2004

A word from Rob

I’m a San Diego native, SDSU and California Western School of Law alum, and I’ve been practicing in the state and federal courts in San Diego County since 2002.

As a solo practitioner with no office staff, I can offer aggressive, personalized DUI representation at a lower cost, and when you retain San Diego DUI Defense, you’ll be talking to the attorney handling your case every time you contact the firm.

During our consultation I’ll bluntly assess your situation and the likely best-case, middle-ground, and worst-case outcomes based on the information you give me, quote a flat fee for representation, and answer your questions. If you decide to retain me, we’ll already have discussed my initial strategy, and you’ll have a game plan for the run-up to the first court appearance based on the level of charges anticipated. From there I handle everything with the court and the DMV and keep you updated by email as things play out, so you know what’s happening in your case from the start through resolution.

Fees

Flat-fee representation

You'll know what you're paying before you hire us. No hourly billing, no surprise invoices.

San Diego DUI Defense uses a flat-fee structure. The fee depends on the nature and complexity of the case. Once it's agreed, that's the fee. No additional charges for phone calls, emails, or standard court appearances.

A first-offense misdemeanor is a different amount of work than a felony with injury allegations, multiple priors, or a federal case. The fee reflects the work the case actually requires.

First-time misdemeanor DUIStandard flat fee

Repeat DUI offensesAdjusted for enhanced penalties

Felony DUIReflects complexity & stakes

Federal / military base DUIFederal court proceedings

Military diversion motionQuoted with the underlying case

Trial representationSeparately contracted

Call for a free consultation and you'll get a specific quote for your situation. A real number, and time to decide.

Common Questions

San Diego DUI questions, answered straight

How long do I have to request a DMV hearing after a DUI arrest?

Ten days from the date of arrest. If no Administrative Per Se hearing is requested in that window, the DMV suspension typically takes effect on its own. Requesting the hearing keeps you driving until the hearing is decided. It's the most time-sensitive step in any California DUI case, and it's included in the representation.

I was stopped on base. Is that a state case or a federal case?

Federal. A DUI stop on Camp Pendleton, Miramar, North Island, 32nd Street, or other federal land in San Diego County is prosecuted in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California, not in Superior Court. Different building, different prosecutor, different rules. The DMV deadline still applies. Read the federal DUI guide →

Is it worth fighting a DUI, or should I just plead guilty?

Nobody can answer that until someone has actually read the evidence: the stop, the testing procedure, the maintenance logs, the video. Some cases have real suppression or accuracy issues and some don't. Pleading at the first appearance, before anyone has reviewed discovery, means accepting the same offer that would have been available anyway. The evidence review is the point of hiring counsel.

Can I avoid jail time for a first DUI in California?

Most first-offense misdemeanor DUI resolutions in San Diego County involve probation, fines, and a DUI education program rather than custody. Outcomes depend on the facts: BAC level, whether there was an accident, and your record. Charge reductions such as a "wet reckless" may be available depending on the evidence. No attorney can promise a result.

Can military members and veterans get a DUI dismissed through diversion?

Often, yes. California's military diversion statute (Penal Code § 1001.80) allows eligible current and former service members with service-related conditions such as PTSD, TBI, or substance abuse to complete treatment instead of prosecution, ending in dismissal of the charges. San Diego DUI Defense litigates § 1001.80 eligibility as a core part of the practice. Read the full military diversion guide →

Do I really need a local San Diego attorney?

Procedures, prosecutors, and practices differ from courthouse to courthouse in this county. An attorney who appears in these buildings every week knows how each one actually runs. Unlike out-of-county volume firms, San Diego DUI Defense does not hand appearances to contract counsel. The lawyer you hire is the lawyer in court.

Get in Touch

Free consultation. Call now.

If the arrest was last night, you're probably running on no sleep and worst-case scenarios. A DUI charge is serious, but it's a process with deadlines, procedures, and defenses, not a verdict on the rest of your life. Call, and you'll get a straight read on where the case stands and what the next ten days look like. No lecture, no judgment.

Phone

(619) 486-8860

Answered 24/7 — bilingual intake

info@sdduidefense.com

Office

8880 Rio San Diego Drive
Suite 800, PMB 2047
San Diego, CA 92108

Courts Served

All San Diego Superior Court divisions
U.S. District Court, Southern District of California
DMV offices throughout San Diego County

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