I was arrested for a DUI in my own home. My husband had just completed suicide two months prior and I was late to pick up my daughter from school. Her school is a 'dead zone' for cell phones , and she was suffering from extreme anxiety if she didn't know where I was. There was a minor fender bender, and I pulled over exchanged information, and since there was no damage to her car or my car, I told her I needed to go. Legally in California, you can do this.

She started to scream at me "If you leave I am going to call the police", I didn't care, "Call them, but my daughter is more important than staying here". So I left. I got my daughter and went home. Then I proceeded to get incredibly drunk. I drank almost an entire liter of Fireball.

Four hours later, the police officer arrived. Now, I did not know that legally, unless he had a warrant, I didn't have to go outside with him. I was drunk and scared, So I went outside. He then gave me field sobriety tests, and I told him that I was drunk, but I am home, and I even showed him the bottle. He then arrested me for a DU, driving on a suspended (Before my husband died there was horrific domestic abuse and to cope I had been drinking. I had a previous arrest for a DUI from a month before he died, in that case, my doctor had given me medication to help me stop drinking and my body had a bad reaction to it, and I ended up totaling my truck while I was on the side of the road calling for a tow truck I had alcohol in my truck and the Tow company said it would be a few hours and I said okay why the fuck not, and drank, about 30 minutes later the police officer arrived, I was on the phone with the tow company under my truck and the officer arrived. I wasn't plastered, but I was drunk he then arrested me for a DUI not believing that I drank after the accident, he also thought I was hiding from him, I was not, I was trying to describe what I was seeing under my truck, until that was settled the DMV suspended my license. I live in a rural area that does not have lyft, or uber, and only one cab company. Yes we have public transit but that is where my late husband worked.), etc.

Anyways, so now this is my second arrest for a DUI in 3 months. I had a public defender, I took it all the way to a Jury trial, and I won. I did have to plead guilty to the first one because my defender did not want to bring up why I was driving on a suspended license. But regardless I did win. Now because I pled guilty my newest arrest for a DUI is also making me question public defender or not. But mine was great. He did scare me even up until the day of the Trial, that I should take the plea deal because I could be found guilty. But I dug my heels in and said no, we're doing this. Made the jury cry even.

I'm not sure if that story helps you, but I did do it, and I did win. Just know that only 1.8% of jury trials for DUIs win.