Corona Drug DUI Lawyers

Arrested for Drug DUI in Corona? What Happens Next

If you are pulled over in Corona or elsewhere in Riverside County and suspected of drugged driving, the process typically follows these steps:

1. Traffic stop and roadside evaluation: An officer may claim to observe signs of impairment such as erratic driving, dilated pupils, or slurred speech.
2. Field sobriety tests (FSTs): You may be asked to perform coordination tests that can be highly subjective.
3. DRE evaluation: A specially trained officer known as a Drug Recognition Expert may be called in to assess whether you are under the influence of a specific drug class.
4. Chemical testing: You may be required to submit to a blood test (there is no breathalyzer equivalent for most drugs).
5. Booking and release: You may be booked at a local facility and released with a notice to appear in court.
6. DMV and court proceedings: You face a possible license suspension through the DMV and criminal prosecution through Riverside County courts.

Legal guidance at each of these stages is critical. A misstep early in the process can make defending your case more difficult later on.

Unique Challenges in Drug DUI Cases

Unlike alcohol-related DUIs, drug DUIs in California lack clear legal thresholds. Instead, prosecutors must rely on circumstantial evidence and often ambiguous testing to prove impairment.

Here’s where these cases often break down:

• No established limits: There’s no legally defined “safe” level for most drugs in the bloodstream.
• Outdated testing methods: Blood or urine tests can detect drugs long after their impairing effects have worn off.
• Unreliable DRE evaluations: These subjective evaluations are based on interpretation, not hard science.
• False positives: Prescription medications can trigger positive results in drug screens even if you weren’t impaired.

Our Corona drug DUI lawyers know how to challenge the science, the procedure, and the assumptions at the core of these cases.

Legal Penalties for Drug DUI Convictions in Corona

While each case is unique, California imposes serious penalties for a first-time drug DUI conviction:

• Jail time: Up to 6 months in county jail
• Fines: Between $390 and $1,000, plus penalty assessments
• Driver’s license suspension: Up to 6 months (longer for repeat offenses)
• DUI school: 3 to 9 months of education or treatment programs
• Probation: 3 to 5 years of informal probation
• Ignition Interlock Device (IID): May be required depending on the case

Repeat offenses, accidents involving injury, or the presence of minors in the vehicle can significantly increase the severity of your sentence — including felony charges in some cases.

Strategic Defenses Our Attorneys Use

Every drug DUI case in Corona demands a customized defense. At Liberty Criminal Defense & Immigration, we evaluate the evidence from all angles and craft strategies designed to get charges reduced — or dismissed entirely.

Some of the defenses we may raise include:

• No proof of impairment at the time of driving
• Legal use of prescription drugs without impairment
• Improper or unlawful traffic stop
• Inaccurate or mishandled blood test samples
• Improper DRE procedures or flawed interpretation
• Medical or physical conditions mistaken for impairment

We may also work with expert witnesses such as forensic toxicologists or medical professionals to undermine the prosecution’s case and create reasonable doubt.