How To Get A DUI Reduced To Reckless Driving

Many people
are arrested for DUI. But just because you are arrested for DUI doesn’t mean
you will be convicted of it. Even in cases where your blood-alcohol result is
over the legal limit of 0.08%, you or your DUI lawyer still have an opportunity to negotiate a plea to something
other than DUI. The most common “reduction” offered by most district attorneys in
California is the charge of reckless driving.





There are
two types of reckless driving pleas; a “wet reckless” and a “dry reckless”, found in
sections 23103 and 23103.5 of the Vehicle Code. Wet reckless means that alcohol
was involved and if the defendant is convicted of a DUI within ten years of the
wet reckless conviction, it will be punished as a second offense. Dry reckless
has no alcohol component and will not be considered a prior DUI offense.

The trick to
you, or your DUI attorney, negotiating a reckless driving plea
instead of a DUI is in the strength of the DA’s case. The DA does not hand out
DUI reductions to everyone who wants one. Rather, the DA is motivated pretty
much entirely by how they perceive the strength of the case against you. If you
or your DUI defense lawyer can point to a specific weakness in the case and
convince the DA that you are willing to take the case to trial, they may relent
to a reduction to a wet reckless or dry reckless.

If you would
like to speak directly to an experienced Orange County DUI Attorney, call The Law Offices of EJ Stopyro at (949) 559-5500
for a free and confidential telephonic consultation. You can also reach us
through 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.