California DUI: What are the Penalties?

California DUI: What are the Penalties?

What’s the minimum and maximum penalties for a first DUI conviction?

Assuming there is no bodily injury or death resulting from
the DUI, the minimum terms for a misdemeanor first conviction are as follows:

Assuming there is no bodily injury or death resulting from
the DUI, the minimum terms for a misdemeanor first conviction are as follows:

  • $390 fine plus over $1,000 in ordinary penalty
    assessments, plus additional DUI-only assessments for a total of approxi­mately
    $1,800.
  • 48-hour jail sentence or a 90-day license
    restriction allowing you to drive to and from your work—and for work—if
    required, and to and from an alcohol treatment program. If the 90-day
    restriction is imposed, it begins after your DMV four-month suspension or
    30-day suspension followed by a five-month restriction.
  • Attendance and completion of a $500, three-month
    alcohol-treatment program (nine months if your blood alcohol level was 0.20% or
    higher. Completing the program is a requirement for ever being able to drive
    again following a “per-se” DMV license suspension and for minimizing that
    suspension to 30 days (plus five or eight months of restricted driving) instead
    of the six- or ten-month flat suspension that would otherwise be imposed.
  • Loss of your driver’s license for at least 30
    days, followed by either a five-month restriction to drive to, from, and for
    work and to and from an alcohol treatment program, or an additional two-month
    restriction that allows you to drive only to and from the program.

The maximum
penalties for a misdemeanor first DUI conviction in California is a $1,000 fine
plus over $2,600 in penalty ­assessments, six months’ imprisonment in the
county jail, a six-month license suspension ;
ten months for blood alcohol level of 0.15% or more, having your
vehicle “impounded” (stored at your expense) for 30 days, and
being required to attach an “interlock” breath device to your vehicle that will
not allow the car to start if there is any alcohol on your breath. This will
cost you about $800.

What type of probation is required of a first offender?

Almost all first-time offenders are placed on probation for
three to five years. If you violate any of the terms of your probation, you can
face a nonjury hearing where additional penalties can be applied. The standard
conditions of probation include: (1) not driving with any measurable amount of
alcohol in your system, (2) submitting to a blood or roadside breathalyzer
(PAS) test upon the request of a police officer and (3) refraining from further
violations of the law (no further misdemeanors — ordinary traffic infractions
don’t count).

What’s the minimum and maximum penalties for a second DUI conviction?

If no one is injured or killed as a result of the DUI, the minimum penalties a judge will impose
for a second DUI conviction (within 10 years of the first DUI) include the
following:

  • a $390 fine plus penalty assessments for a total
    of approximately $1,800
  • ten days or 96 hours (including two 48-hour
    sessions) in jail
  • completion of an 18- or 30-month
    second-­offender alcohol-treatment program, which costs about $1,800, as a
    condition of probation. You must complete this program if you ever want to
    drive again. Enrollment in this program also allows you to reduce the two-year
    suspension to one year, followed by a two-year license restriction that allows
    you to drive to, from, and in your work, and to and from the program—after the
    first year of suspension, and
  • installation of an “interlock” device on all
    ­vehicles you own .

The maximum penalties
for a misdemeanor second conviction within ten years of a prior conviction
(counted from the date of the previous offense to the date of the second
offense) include: a $1,000 fine plus penalty assessments for a total of approximately
$3,000, one year in jail, a two-year license suspension by the DMV, impoundment
of your vehicle for up to 30 days at your expense, and

required installation of an “interlock” device on all
vehicles you own.

What’s the minimum and maximum penalties for a third and subsequent DUI
convictions?

Assuming there is no bodily injury or death resulting from
the DUI, the minimum penalties are as follows:

  • a $390 fine plus over $1,000 in ordinary
    ­penalty assessments, plus additional DUI-only assessments for a total of
    approximately $1,800
  • 120 days in jail for a third offense, 180 days
    for a fourth offense and
  • revocation of your driver’s license for three
    years (third offense) or four years (fourth ­offense), and completion of a
    30-month multi-offender program to get your license back.

The maximum penalties for a third and fourth offense within
ten years are as follows: a $5,000 fine plus over $13,000 in penalty
­assessments for a total of $18,000, one year in jail for a third offense; 16
months in state prison for a fourth offense, if charged as a felony,
impoundment of your vehicle for up to 90 days or even forfeiture and loss of
your vehicle, revocation of your driver’s license for three years (third offense)
or four years (fourth offense), and a 30-month alcohol treatment program before
getting your license restored.

What happens if someone is killed or injured in a DUI?

If someone is killed or injured as the result of driving
under the influence of alcohol, or while blood alcohol is 0.08% or more, the
driver can be found guilty of a felony and could go to state ­prison for over a
year, and possibly for up to five years, depending on whether it’s the driver’s first,
second, or third offense. Prior convictions for misdemeanor under-the-influence
or over-0.08% driving count as prior offenses for the purpose of increasing the
prison sentence. So do prior convictions of alcohol-related reckless driving. The
jury (and sometimes the judge) will have the option of reducing the offense to
a misdemeanor, but even in such cases, the person convicted could still spend
up to a year in the county jail—and probably will, since judges take DUI
extremely seriously under these circumstances. Also, a person faced with a
fourth drunk-driving charge over a ten-year period may be charged with a
felony, even where no one was ­injured as a result of the offense.

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