Punishment for a First-Offense DUI

If you are arrested and convicted of a first-offense DUI in
California you face up to six-months in the county jail, court fines and fees
in the thousands of dollars, as well as the expense of a DUI defense attorney. However,
there is no mandatory jail time for most first-offense DUI offenders unless an “enhancement”
applies, such as a child in the car or the arrestee was driving at excessive
speeds of 20 or 30 miles over the speed limit.

Since there is no mandatory jail time for most first offenders,
the decision to impose jail time is left to the court system of each California
county. Some county courts have a set policy to impose some standard term of
jail time, such as 10 days, for a first-offense DUI. In Orange County, it is
the District Attorney’s policy to impose no jail time for a first-offense DUI
as long as there was no enhancement, accident, or egregious driving or
behavior. For most “standard first” DUI’s, the DA will agree to settle it with
a fine, probation, and alcohol class requirements.

 

The DMV, however, is not so forgiving. Whenever a defendant
is convicted of a DUI in California, the law requires the court to report the DUI
conviction to the DMV, who will then impose a suspension on your driving
privileges. The typical DMV suspension for a first-offense DUI is six months.
However, in most cases, you can get a “restricted” license after 30 days which
will allow you to drive to and from school, do any “work-related” driving, and
drive to and from the mandatory alcohol program.

For more information call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at
(949) 559-5500 for a free and confidential telephonic consultation with an experienced
Orange County DUI defense
lawyer. You can also go to www.ejesquire.com
or www.ejesquire.net. Our main office is
at 32072 Camino Capistrano, 2^nd floor, San Juan Capistrano, CA
92675.