Punishment for Drunk Driving In Los Angeles
Drunk driving is considered a serious crime by most law enforcement agencies. Punishment for drunk driving reflects the serious approach taken towards it by drunk driving prosecutors and drunk driving judge. Over the years, the lobby groups, such as MADD(mothers against drunk driving), influence tougher laws, lower legal alcohol limit and generally increased drunk driving penalties in the state of California and nationwide. As a result, a simply drunk driving, a victimless crime based on dubious science can be punished with extreme consequence not only in the criminal justice system but also in the collateral effect it can have on the immigration status, on professional license, and on California drivers license. For example, a recipient of a newly passed DACA or DAPA immigration benefit can be denied status if he or she was convicted of drunk driving. A nurse will be questioned by the nursing board if she was convicted of drunk driving. A commercial driver will lose his driver’s license for his entire life if he has two drunk driving convictions. As you can see, this relatively minor crime can have life altering consequences for many individuals.
The primary factor that will determine punishment for drunk driving in California is the number of prior DUI cases or an injury collision.
A DUI driver can face up to 6 month in the county jail upon his drunk driving 1st offense conviction. Upon a second DUI and third DUI conviction, the maxim punishment will be increased to 1 year. An arrest for a 4th offense DUI within ten years can result in filing of drunk driving felony charges which have a maximum prison sentence of 3 years. A felony drunk driving is a lot more serious then drunk driving misdemeanor and carry not only higher jail sentence but other felony consequences, such as lifetime restriction from owning firearms.
|
1st Offense |
2nd Offense | 3rd Offense |
4th Offense |
|
| JAIL TIME | No jail time to 6 month | 4 days to 364 days | 120 days to 364 days | 6 month to 3 years |
| FINES | $390 to $1,000 | $390 to $1,000 | $390 to $1,000 | $390 to $1,000 |
| ALCOHOL EDUCATION PROGRAM | 3 month to 9 month | 18 month | None required | None required |
| DRIVERS LICENSE SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION | 6 month | 2 years | 3 years | 4 years |
In addition to jail time, a punishment for drunk driving in California includes mandatory drunk driving programs, various drunk driving prevention programs such as MADD and HAM, and very high drunk driving fines. The drunk driving classes that a person would face after a DUI can range from 3 month alcohol education program to 30 month drunk driving class. A person who has multiple DUI on his record can face 18 month program. Factors in aggravation, such as high blood alcohol level will require longer punishment for drunk driving in California. To avoid drunk driving jail sentence a DUI have to be either a first offense or dismissed. Los Angeles drunk driving lawyer can provide quality defense at affordable price.
If you are looking for drunk driving help you can call Los Angeles DUI attorney for a free consultation. We will help you Los Angeles DUI cases and give you drunk driving tips on how to protect yourself during encounters with the police. Drunk driving attorney Los Angeles can help you defend any DUI, even with a high blood alcohol level or involving many priors or drunk driving wrecks. Call our office (818) 921 7744 to talk about your case and how Los Angeles drunk driving lawyer can help you.
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