Felony DUI: Several Way For Prosecutor To Charge DUI As A Felony

Orange County DUI Attorneys                                



When A DUI
is charged as a felony, the driver will be subject to up to three years in the
state prison and will suffer a felony conviction on his or her record. So, when
does a DUI become a felony, you may ask. Well, any experienced DUI Lawyer in Orange County knows there are several ways. The first occurs when a
driver has three prior DUI convictions within ten years of the current DUI
arrest. In that case, the new case can be charged as a felony or a misdemeanor,
at the discretion of the prosecutor. In Orange County a fourth DUI in ten years
is almost always charged as a felony. The second instance where a DUI can be
charged as a felony is where someone, other than the defendant, is injured as a
result of the DUI. In that case, Vehicle Code section 23153, the DUI again
becomes a “wobbler” and the DA can charge it as a felony or misdemeanor. Again,
as any experienced DUI Attorney in Orange County will tell you, a DUI
with injury is almost
always charged as a felony in Orange County.

Other, less
well-known ways to elevate a DUI to a felony, even for Irvine DUI Lawyers, come from Vehicle Code section 23550.5. That section
allows the DA to charge a DUI as a felony if the driver has suffered any felony
DUI conviction within the past ten years. So, for example, if Dan had a
fourth-offense DUI nine years ago that was charged as a felony, and that is the
only DUI on Dan’s record in the past ten years, then any new DUI can be
prosecuted as a felony. Likewise, under this section, if Dan only had one other
DUI in his lifetime that was charged as a felony, then any new DUI within ten
years of the felony conviction can be charged as a felony.

The most
obscure ways of elevating a DUI to a felony, known almost exclusively by DUI DA’s
and Mission Viejo DUI Lawyers, include the instance where a driver
has been convicted of vehicular manslaughter under section 192(c)(1) within the
past ten years. A DUI charge within ten years of that conviction, even though
it may be the first DUI charge of the defendant’s life, can be a felony DUI
charge. And finally, if a driver has EVER been convicted of gross vehicular
manslaughter under Vehicle Code sections 191.5 or 192.5, then ANY subsequent
DUI charge, no matter how long after the initial conviction of gross vehicular
manslaughter, can be charged as a felony.

If you are
facing charges for a DUI in Orange County, whether charged as a misdemeanor or
as a felony, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free
and confidential consultation with an experienced Newport Beach DUI Lawyer. You
can also visit us at www.ejesquire.com.
We have offices at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan
Capistrano, CA 92675 and at 1901 Newport Blvd., Suite 350, Costa Mesa, CA
92675.