DUI Arrest: Penalties For a First-Offense DUI

It usually starts with a traffic stop for some minor traffic violation or a random stop at a dui checkpoint. Then the officer detects an odor of alcohol, the redness in your eyes, and even perhaps a slight slur of your speech. The next thing you know the officer is conducting a full blown DUI investigation on you, complete with incriminating questions, field sobriety tests and a request for you to take a “voluntary” breath test. Then the cop puts handcuffs on you and tells you that you are under arrest for suspicion of DUI. The cop will tell you that you must submit to a breath or blood test and that you don’t have the right to consult with an Orange County DUI Attorney before taking the test.

Then the long uncomfortable car ride to the police station, the handcuffs digging into your wrists the whole way. In this situation most arrestees are wondering what will happen to them if they are convicted of DUI. Assuming their DUI Lawyer cannot get the case dismissed or reduced to a wet reckless, then the arrestee will be subject to statutory penalties for breaking California’s DUI law. (California Vehicle Code Section 23152/23153)

The penalties for a first-offense DUI include the following:

1)      Up to six months in the county jail;

2)      Fines and fees up to around $5,000.00;

3)      Completion of an Alcohol program at the driver’s expense;

4)      Three years of informal probation during which time the driver cannot drive with ANY alcohol in his or her system;

5)      Driver’s license suspension up to ten months from the DMV (unless your Orange County DUI Lawyer wins the  DMV hearing; and

6)      Restitution if there was an accident or injury.

These are the penalties for a first-offense DUI and they get much worse for a second-offense DUI or greater.

Clearly, the six months of possible jail time is the scariest of the penalties. However, this jail time is not mandatory but is subject to the discretion of the judge. In Orange County, most first-offense DUI defendants are spared any jail, unless there are particularly egregious circumstances such as an accident, a child in the car, greatly excessive speed, or fighting with the police. Otherwise, a first offense DUI is typically punished with no jail time, the minimum fines of around $2,200.00, and an ALCOHOL PROGRAM. The length of the alcohol program depends on the defendant’s blood or breath alcohol level. A 0.14% or lower will be punished with a three-month alcohol program. A blood or breath alcohol level of 0.15% to 0.19% will draw a six month alcohol program, and a level of 0.20% or greater must, by law, be punished with a nine month alcohol program.

If you or someone you love has been arrested for DUI, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500 for a free and confidential consultation with an experienced Orange County DUI Attorney. You can also visit us at www.ejesquire.com. We have offices in Costa Mesa and at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675.