DUI attorney Nigel Witham goes over the penalties associated with DUI convictions.
DUI Videos: DUI Penalties
The minimum penalty for a first time DUI in California include three years of informal probation. That really means you promise not to do this again or not to commit any other criminal offense. Pay a fine, the fine totals approximately sixteen hundred dollars, together with all the assessments that they add to the base fine. A three month alcohol education program that involves weekly meetings for about three months. It costs about four hundred and fifty dollars and a license suspension from the DMV as a result of the conviction, for six months. Although that can be converted to a restricted license to allow work related driving.
The maximum however is six months in county jail and there are various penalties the court can consider such as, picking up trash on the freeway, community service, longer alcohol programs, a six month or a nine month alcohol program depending upon the facts of your case. As far as a second offense is concerned the minimal penalty does include ninety six hours of county jail.
The maximum penalty is one year in county jail on a second offense, probation again as before, fine again as before but this time an eighteen month alcohol education program, it's a longer alcohol program. Of course again the court has discretion to impose more jail time, or alternatives to jail time and one thing that attorneys do of course is try to persuade judges not to impose jail time or at least look to alternatives to jail such as home arrest or work in the community or rehabilitation.
On a third offense then the jail time gets worse of course, you're looking at a minimum of one hundred and twenty days in county jail on a third offense, an eighteen month alcohol program. A three year revocation of your privilege to drive in California for the conviction, although it is possible to reinstate early after a year and the maximum again is one year in county jail.
Once we get to a fourth offense that can be filed as a felony and the possibility with a fourth offense is state prison time as opposed to county jail time.
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If you have been charged with a DUI in Los Angeles, please call us today at (800) 716-6791.
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