Felony DUI Penalties in San Diego

A DUI is considered a felony when a drunk driver causes injury to another driver or passenger.  Being charged with a felony DUI in San Diego is considered a misdemeanor charge and it’s likely that it will go on your criminal record.    You could also be charged for a felony DUI if you’ve had 3 or more DUI convictions within the past 7 years. 

In the county of San Diego there is a ten-year “washout” period.  What this means is that if you’ve had a previous felony DUI conviction within the past 10 years, the current drunk driving charge can be viewed as a felony DUI.  For example, if you were charged for a felony DUI on June 18, 1996 and you are guilty again of DUI on June 15, 2006, you could be charged with a felony DUI.  

Here is a list of possible penalties for a felony DUI in San Diego:

• Jail sentence of 6 months - 1 year

• Mandatory minimum term of incarceration:  48 consecutive hours, or 10 days of community service

• Fines from $390 – $1,000

• 4-year license revocation

• Vehicle may be impounded for six months and you could be required to have an ignition interlock device put on your car up to three years

• Alcohol or drug program for 18-36 months if you haven’t already attended one

Photo Credit:  Patrick Fitzgerald

Isn’t It Time to Change DUI Penalties?

I’ve always believed that simply throwing people in jail doesn’t stop people from drinking and driving…and for someone to be arrested for their 10th DUI means that they don’t know right from wrong.  A woman in Florida, Janet Landrum, has a sad DUI resume to include a 10th DUI arrest this past weekend.

It’s obvious that people with multiple DUI’s don’t have common sense.  After all, people who all these DUI arrests are alcoholics and they shouldn’t just be thrown in jail.  It should be mandatory that they get help.  In California people arrested for drunk driving are required to attend DUI programs or classes, but oftentimes that just isn’t enough.  People need one-on-one counseling to get to the root of their drinking problem.  Of course, all of this counseling would require money and the government really isn’t willing to fork over the money to back this type of initiative.  Instead they keep throwing people in jail which ends up costing more money in the long run.

Isn’t it time to change DUI penalties?  Obviously the current laws aren’t doing anything to deter people from drinking and driving…

If you keep doing the same things, you’re going to keep getting the same results.

If you’ve been arrested for a DUI in San Diego, make sure to hire a lawyer who specializes in DUI laws and procedures.

Related Post:

How Many DUIs Does It Take?

The Latest San Diego DUI News

Here’s some of the latest San Diego DUI news…

• A man has been put under arrest for suspicion of drunk driving after he ran into a fire hydrant near the intersection of Woodman and Imperial Ave. in Encanto. (Source:  SignOnSanDiego.com)

• I always find it interesting when a police officer is arrested for a DUI.  The latest felon is a veteran Oceanside officer who has been reassigned to administrative duties at a desk after injuring himself and a passenger in an accident while he was off-duty.  (Source:  North County Times)

• Safe Ride Solutions has found a way to save the careers of professional athletes.  The organization consists of off-duty and retired officers who pick up and drive clients safely home in their own cars.  Clients don’t have to deal with cabs or limo drivers, thus protecting their privacy.  (Source: DUI Daily)

• Although this news isn’t specific to San Diego, it’s something to think about.  College leaders are pushing to lower the drinking age limit to 18.  Yay or nay?  Put in your two cents over at the LATimes.com

Read more DUI News…

Remember to get help with your DUI in San Diego!

Drunk Driving Defenses

Photo Credit: Shashi Bellamkonda

If you’ve been arrested for a DUI, you’re probably feeling embarrassed or depressed and it’s likely that you’ll have to go to court. The smart thing to do would be to go to court with a defense strategy or explanation of the circumstances of your arrest. You going to have to prove to the judge and the court that you are innocent of the charges – if indeed you are. However, you do have legal rights. If you hired a DUI attorney, he/she will definitely help guide you through process. Here are some of the DUI defenses that may apply to you:

• The officer(s) who arrested you did not read you the Miranda Rights. If the officer who arrested you did not tell you your rights, chances are incriminating statements could be erased from your DUI case.

• The officers who arrested you have to show without a doubt that you were illegally drunk at the time of arrest. In most states, this means having a blood alcohol level greater than .08. What would help your case is if you have witnesses who could testify that you were not drunk or comment on your state of sobriety at the time you were driving. Also, the types of sobriety field tests could be proven to be incorrect.

• The breathalyzer device used was not functioning properly. There have been many cases in which it was proven that the device was not properly maintained. The factors that could affect the results of a breath analyzing test include radio frequency interference, what a person ate the day they were arrested (there are many chemical compounds in the body that could be mistaken for the alcohol compound), or how a driver breathes into the device could be done wrong.

• Medical or mental problems of a driver. Someone who has medical or physical disabilities could be mistaken for driving under the influence.

These are just a few of the DUI defenses that may apply to your case. Consult with your DUI defense lawyer in San Diego for help with your specific situation.

Photo Credit:  Shashi Bellamkonda

DUI Statistics

• First-time DUI offenders who were required to install ignition interlock devices in their vehicles were 60% less likely to be arrested for another DUI than those who didn’t use the interlock device (Source: Alcoholism Blog)
• Drunk drivers who were involved in fatal crashes and registered a blood alcohol level of .08 or higher were eight times more likely to have a prior DUI conviction than were drivers with no alcohol – 8% and 1%, respectively (Source: Alcohol Alert)
• Men between the ages of 18 to 20 reported drunk driving more often than any other age group (Shults et al. 2002, Quinlan et al. 2005)
• Alcohol kills 6½ times more youth than all other illicit drugs combined (Source: Mothers Against Drunk Driving).
• Alcohol-related traffic fatalities account for 41% of all traffic fatalities (Source: The Century Council).

These statistics will hopefully make you really think about the consequences of drunk driving. Is it really worth risking your life and the lives of others?

Get help with your San Diego DUI…Don’t make these common DUI mistakes!