California DUI Felony

Typically, DUI offenses in California are charged as misdemeanor crimes. However, after repeated DUIs or DUIs involving bodily injury, they will be charged as felony DUIs. Felony DUIs carry heavy criminal and social consequences, ranging from fines, jail time, loss of driver’s license, and a felony criminal record.

DUI offenses in California that relate to a Felony charge

A DUI in California will become a felony charge if one of the three following circumstances occur: the DUI results in a death or significant bodily injury, you have three or more prior DUI charges or “Wet Reckless” charges combined, or you have a previous felony DUI charge.

Under California Vehicle Code Section 23153, if you are driving under the influence or driving with a BAC of .08% or greater and cause bodily injury, you can be convicted of a felony DUI charge. If this is your first offense, punishment can result in imprisonment in the county jail for 180 days to 1 year(if charged as a misdemeanor), or in the state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3 years (when charged as a felony), and by a fine of $390 to $1000. You will be placed on a 3-5 year probation sentence, and be required to attend alcohol treatment/counseling programs.

Upon a third DUI/Wet Reckless offense, or prior DUI felony,  you can be charged with a DUI Felony pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 23152. Punishment can result in imprisonment in the county jail for 180 days to 1 year(if charged as a misdemeanor), or in the state prison for 16 months or 2 or 3 years (when charged as a felony), and by a fine of $390 to $1000. You will be placed on a 3-5 year probation sentence, and be required to attend alcohol treatment/counseling programs.

Should you not complete your required alcohol treatment program, it is a violation of your probation and can result in a subsequent criminal charge for violating probation and will result in further criminal penalty, most notably additional jail time.

Arrest and Court Procedures

At the time of your arrest, you may be placed in jail until bail is posted or you appear before the judge. If it is a simple DUI misdemeanor arrest, you will usually be booked and be free to leave, assuming you have someone who can drive you home. In the case of a felony DUI, you may be allowed to be released pending your hearing, or you will be taken into custody. At this preliminary hearing, called an arraignment, you will enter a guilty or not guilty plea. From there, you will go to a pretrial conference to negotiate a possible early resolution of the case, or go on to trial. Early resolutions are encouraged so as to get the case off the calendar and reach a solution that will please the prosecution and the defendant. Once at trial, you will present evidence in your favor, and the prosecution will present its evidence as well. If you are convicted, you will receive your sentence at the end of trial.

Effect on Records and Employment

A DUI in California will stay on your driving record for 7 years, and 10 years if you failed to appear in court, which may jeopardize any chances you have at getting a job that requires extensive driving. Also, because it is a felony, the DUI will show up on your criminal record when background checks are done. Once you have completed probation and paid your fines, it may be possible to have the court make an expungement of the DUI off your criminal record. While the court does not have to automatically do so, it will look at your criminal history and your performance on probation to see if you are deserving of an expungement. Until your record is sealed, you have to report the felony to your employer or potential employer if asked.

DMV/DUI Implications for Felony DUIs

If you are driving under the influence or driving with a BAC of .08% or greater and cause bodily injury and it is your first offense, you will lose your license for 1 year minimum.  If you have previous DUIs and are now being charged with a Felony DUI for your subsequent DUI, you will have you license suspended for 5 years. If it is being charged with a Felony DUI because of a previous felony DUI, then you will lose your license for 4 years so long as it is below 3 previous DUIs.

In all cases, the DMV may require you to have a vehicle ignition lock placed on ANY vehicle you own for a period of 1-3 years, depending on the charges. Also, the vehicle used in the DUI can be impounded from 1-30 days at the time of the violation.

Felony DUI Defense Options

At your hearing, you can plead guilty, not guilty, or no contest (essentially a guilty plea that you do not admit to). If you plea not guilty, some of the likely defense options will include: pleading to a lesser charge, challenging the results of the sobriety tests based on defect or error, medication effect that results in a false positive, and many others. These defense options are best explained and argued by experienced DUI lawyers.

Getting Help from a Lawyer

If you are charged with a felony DUI, the most important thing to do is to retain an experienced DUI lawyer to handle your matter and ensure that your rights are protected. Without a lawyer to help, you may plea to an agreement that is not in your favor, and jeopardize your chances of getting a lesser sentence and expunge your record at a later date. Having an experienced DUI lawyer may help you beat your DUI charge if the facts and circumstances support a defense possibility.