Our People

Lee A. McCoy — Attorney and Founder

Mr. McCoy has been an attorney in southern California for more than thirteen years. He began his practice as an appellate lawyer with the 350-lawyer international firm Thelen, Marrin, Johnson & Bridges, where he was amicus counsel before the California Supreme Court in the landmark decision Mitchell v. Gonzales.

The research and writing experience as an appellate lawyer has proven invaluable in the practice of criminal defense. The law of drinking/driving is a science-based discipline; a competent attorney must be comfortable researching scientific concepts and legal doctrines.

Education

Mr. McCoy received his bachelor’s degree in music from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and he earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois College of Law. During law school, Mr. McCoy served as Notes Editor and later Topics Editor for the Illinois Bar Journal.

DUI Seminars & Training

Mr. McCoy is the only attorney in Santa Barbara County to have been graduated from the National College for DUI Defense Course at Harvard Law School. This intensive five-day course covers all aspects of DUI defense and is essential for anyone who is serious about defending DUI cases.

Mr. McCoy received his certificate in the Standardized Field Sobriety Tests by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the International Association of Chiefs of Police. This three-day course is the same one taken by all California peace officers at the Academy.

Faculty Positions

Mr. McCoy is also the only DUI attorney in Santa Barbara County to be an active Professor of Law, teaching Criminal Procedure and Drinking/Driving Law in Santa Barbara and Ventura. In 2003 he was voted Professor of the Year by his students.

Carlos Tornes

Carlos Tornes is a retired DMV Principal Hearing Officer. Mr. Tornes comes to the Santa Barbara DUI Center with more than 20 years experience presiding over DMV Administrative Hearings of all types, including fraud license, medical condition and DUI administrative per se hearings. Mr Tornes has a degree in Government Administration from Moorpark College and has completed classes in Administrative Law, Evidence and Criminal Law through the DMV program at University of Sacramento. He has been a Driver License Supervisor and holds a Teacher’s Credential in Driver Education. Mr.Tornes continues to attend seminars in DUI and DMV defense and has a Communication Management Certificate from the Univesity of Southern California.