Drug DUI: A DUI Lawyer's Perspective

California Vehicle Code Section 23152 makes it a crime to drive under the influence of alcohol (alcohol DUI) or drugs (drug DUI). While most DUI arrests are for alcohol DUIs, drug DUIs are a close second. Although a drug DUI may have more of a negative social stigma than an alcohol DUI there are often some legal advantages to defending a drug DUI charge. These advantages can be used by a skilled DUI lawyer to get a better deal for client--maybe even a reduced charge such as a "wet reckless".



You see, under Section 236152, there are two ways for the Orange County District Attorney to convict someone of an alcohol DUI. Either show that their blood-alcohol level was a 0.08% at the time of driving or show that they were too impaired to drive safely. Thus, in the case of an alcohol DUI, if there is no bad driving or signs of driver impairment the DA can still convict with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% or higher. But in order to convict someone of a drug DUI the District Attorney must prove that the driver was too impaired to drive safely.



There simply is no "legal limit" for drugs--whether legal or illegal.

So in a drug DUI case, the prosecutor needs strong evidence of actual impairment. This usually consists of bad driving and/or poor performance on the field sobriety tests ("FSTs"). But even if there is evidence of bad driving or poor performance on FSTs, a skilled DUI attorney can often easily explain this evidence with reasons that have nothing to do with impairment. For example, a DUI defense lawyer can introduce phone records showing an incoming call or text message to the driver, thus distracting that driver and causing a weave or other instance of bad driving. Also, in a drug DUI trial, a DUI attorney can show that the defendant's "poor performance" on an FST may be due to an injury or other medical condition.



The point is that in a drug DUI case the "evidence" of impairment is often subjective and open to more than one interpretation. And without the "black and white line" of a measured level of impairing substance, the DA often has a much tougher case to prove. An experienced DUI defense lawyer can often exploit this and either get a "not guilty" verdict at a drug DUI trial or get a great offer from the DA to settle the case.