Well the attorney said that I should be able to get a "Wet Reckless" on my own without his services.
That may or may not be true ... a "wet reckless" is not a charged offense, it is a plead offense.
The only reason I would hire an attorney is if he could remove the
1.) "alcohol" part of the crime,
2) save my car insurance
3) No points on DMV
There is no way that an attorney can guarantee ANY of those.
If you go to trial and prevail on the charge of CVC 23152(a), then all the above would come into play. Otherwise, any conviction - including a wet reckless - would count against you in all three areas.
I doubt he can guarantee a reckless driving conviction (CVC 23103 as opposed to the wet reckless of CVC 23103.5) though I suppose it is possible. However, there are many DA's that feel reluctant to accept a plea to an offense whose elements have not been met. I cannot recall the details of your stop, but unless you were weaving all over the road and potentially a danger to others, the elements of 23103 were not likely met.
Oh, and $7,500 seems awfully high for a plea deal!
- Carl