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DUI - The Law

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Misdemeanor 23152.

(a) It is unlawful for any person who is under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle.

(b) It is unlawful for any person who has 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle.

What does it mean?

In California you cannot drive with a .08 Blood Alcohol or above, OR be under the influence of alocohol. In some prosecutions I have seen a jury has been known to convict with a Blood Alcohol as low .05 Blood Alcohol. My office however, has never had anyone convicted of a DUI with under a .08 Blood Alcohol. Although we can legally make no promises as to likelihood of success, I feel there is no reason to believe that is likely to change in the future. While a DUI conviction can be a life changing event, a good lawyer starts the case looking at the possible defenses. For more information please click the DUI Defenses link.
Felony 23153.

(a) It is unlawful for any person, while under the influence of any alcoholic beverage or drug, or under the combined influence of any alcoholic beverage and drug, to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.

(b) It is unlawful for any person, while having 0.08 percent or more, by weight, of alcohol in his or her blood to drive a vehicle and concurrently do any act forbidden by law, or neglect any duty imposed by law in driving the vehicle, which act or neglect proximately causes bodily injury to any person other than the driver.

What does it mean?

This is what is called a Felony DUI. This is where a person has caused injury to another person while driving under the influence. I have seen people convicted of the DUI in this instance with a much lower Blood Alcohol volume, since there was an injury. Many prosecutors feel the "need" to punish these offenders more vigorously since they feel the public would be offended if they were not to do so. The extent of a penalty will depend on the injuries caused, whether there was loss of life, if there were any additional aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and whether there was a history of previous DUI's. I have seen Felony DUI's get dismissed, and I have seen life sentences. One of those cases was sentenced in November of 2008, and this person will not be eligible for parole for the foreseeable future.

Wet/Wreckless 23103.5.

(a) When the prosecution agrees to a plea of guilty or nolo contendere to a charge of a violation of Section 23103 in satisfaction of, or as a substitute for, an original charge of a violation of Section 23152, the prosecution shall state for the record a factual basis for the satisfaction or substitution, including whether or not there had been consumption of any alcoholic beverage or ingestion or administration of any drug, or both, by the defendant in connection with the offense. The statement shall set forth the facts that show whether or not there was a consumption of any alcoholic beverage or the ingestion or administration of any drug by the defendant in connection with the offense. The extent of a penalty will depend on the injuries caused, whether there was loss of life, if there were any additional aggravating or mitigating circumstances, and whether there was a history of previous DUI's. I have seen Felony DUI's get dismissed, and I have seen life sentences. One of those cases was sentenced in November of 2008, and this person will not be eligible for parole for the foreseeable future.
What does it mean?

Many people feel a wet/wreckless plea bargain is the "Holy Grail" of DUI's. This is partially true, and partially false. It is true because the fine is significantly reduced. Some jobs can be saved with this plea bargain, since some employers will discharge an employee with a DUI conviction. There is no actual plea to a DUI. This conviction is "priorable". If you get convicted of a wet/wreckless, it counts as a prior DUI if you were ever to get pulled over for a DUI in the future. Many insurers do not differentiate between a DUI and a Wet/Wreckless conviction. Most importantly, you still are left with a criminal conviction.
Prior Convictions 23550.

(a) If a person is convicted of a violation of Section 23152 and the offense occurred within 10 years of three or more separate violations of Section 23103, as specified in Section 23103.5, or Section 23152 or 23153, or any combination thereof, that resulted in convictions, that person shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison, or in a county jail for not less than 180 days nor more than one year, and by a fine of not less than three hundred ninety dollars ($390) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). The person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle shall be revoked by the Department of Motor Vehicles pursuant to paragraph (7) of subdivision (a) of Section 13352. The court shall require the person to surrender the driver's license to the court in accordance with Section 13550.

(b) A person convicted of a violation of Section 23152 punishable under this section shall be designated as a habitual traffic offender for a period of three years, subsequent to the conviction. The person shall be advised of this designation pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 13350.
What does it mean?

A prior conviction will raise ALL penalties with a DUI significantly. It is harder to defend a DUI with a prior, and takes more time as an attorney. Feel free to ask our results with clients who have had more than one DUI. A DUI with a prior will raise the cost of representation, however, some lawyers have significantly different experience with this. Ours has been highly successful in the past and I believe that is not likely to change in the future.
Disclaimer:

No content on this site is intended to give you an evaluation (or likelihood of a particular result) based on your case specifics, nor does it create an attorney-client relationship. Please call our office at your earliest convenience for information based on your specific case.