DUI Speed Enhancement: Mandatory Jail Time

DUI Attorneys in Orange County know that If you are convicted of a
first-offense DUI in California you face up to six months of jail time. A
second or third offense DUI within ten years carries up to one year in jail. And
a fourth offense DUI within ten years can be punished as a misdemeanor or a
felony. If it is charged as a felony, as it almost always is in Orange County,
it is punishable by up to three years in the state prison.

Despite
these extremely harsh punishments, any Orange County DUI lawyer will tell you that the maximum punishment is rarely
given, especially in the case of a first-offense DUI. In fact, in Orange
County, a first-offense DUI will usually not draw any jail time at all.
However, there are instances where a judge simply MUST sentence a DUI defendant
to time in the Orange County jail. In certain cases, the law requires that a
judge “enhance” any sentence with actual jail time. One particular instance of
this is a DUI “speed enhancement” found at Section 23582 of the California
Vehicle Code.

Vehicle Code
Section 23582 states that any person who driver a motor vehicle 30 or more
miles per hour over the posted freeway speed limit, or 20 or more miles per
hour over the speed limit on other roadways, in a reckless manner, while they
are also driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs in violation of
Vehicle Code Section 23152 or 23153 [DUI with injury], must serve an additional 60 days
in jail on top of the sentence they get for the DUI. So, for example, if you
are convicted of a first-offense DUI and the speed enhancement in Orange
County, you may get sentenced to no jail for the first-offense DUI and yet get
sentenced to 60 days in the Orange County jail for the speed enhancement.
Unfortunately, as your DUI defense Lawyer knows, the judge’s hands are tied.
The law REQUIRES that the judge impose this 60-day sentence if you are
convicted of the DUI and the speed enhancement is found to be true.

However, it
is important to remember that speeding alone is not enough to establish the DUI
speed enhancement. It must also be shown that the driver drove in a reckless
manner. And the fact that the driver is DUI is NOT evidence of reckless driving
for this enhancement. Thus, a skilled DUI defense attorney can often successfully challenge the speed enhancement where
there is no independent showing of reckless driving. Another way your DUI
lawyer can defend against the DUI speed enhancement is to negotiate a
settlement with the Orange County District Attorney whereby the driver pleads
guilty to a wet reckless instead of a DUI.

A wet
reckless has many advantages to a DUI and it can be difficult to get the DA to
allow it. However, in the case of a DUI speed enhancement, the wet reckless
charge has the added advantage of avoiding the enhancement altogether.
Remember, the DUI speed enhancement only applies if the driver is convicted of
DUI, not a wet reckless.

If you have
been arrested for a DUI, DUI with injury or DUI drugs, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at
(949) 559-5500 for a confidential and free telephonic consultation. You can
also learn more about DUI defense at our website 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 92627.