felony dui charges in san diego county

A fourth or subsequent San Diego County DUI conviction within a ten year washout period will be charged as a felony DUI. The 10 year washout period counts the dates from the previous DUI arrests to the most current DUI related offense date, or date of most recent arrest.

In California, the prosecutor in a criminal case may elect to charge a crime as a felony if it is considered a "wobbler". A wobbler DUI, sometimes referred to as a "gross misdemeanor", is a crime that could be classified as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the severity of the circumstances surrounding the offense, such as degree of injury to others, or priorable offenses and the defendant's criminal background, if any.

california felony dui vs. misdemeanor

California Vehicle Code 23152 defines a misdemeanor DUI violation as a first, second, or third Driving Under the Influence offense not resulting in bodily injury to someone other than the defendant. In contrast, VC 23153 describes a felony DUI as an offense resulting in serious bodily injury or death.

Examples of DUI offenses typically charged as felonies are fourth or subsequent DUI offenses, vehicular manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and second degree murder. Due to increased efforts by MADD, SADD (Students Against Drunk Driving), and other activists group lobbying their political causes, and law enforcements full-scale allotment of resources to enforce drunk driving laws, the murder charges are becoming more common in California DUI cases. Prosecutors have also been successful in gaining convictions for "assault with a deadly weapon", where the vehicle is determined to be the weapon and no intent has been established.

felony vs. misdemeanor procedural differences

COURT APPOINTED ATTORNEY: Depending on the seriousness of a misdemeanor charge, as well as the potential for punishment in the event of a conviction, a person charged with a misdemeanor may or may not be appointed an attorney at no cost, if determined to be indigent. In a felony case, the defendant the defendant will always be afforded counsel, regardless of ability to pay for a private lawyer.

MANDATORY ATTENDANCE AT COURT HEARINGS: In many misdemeanor cases, an attorney can appear in court on the defendant's behalf. In a DUI case charged as a felony, the defendant must almost always appear in person before the court.

felony vs. misdemeanor punitive differences

THREE STRIKES LAWS: California felonies that are considered violent crimes, such as DUI, fall under the state's "3 Strikes" law, with the third violent strike, or felony, resulting in a lifelong prison sentence. Misdemeanor crimes do not count as strikes.

INCARCERATION: A felony drunk driving conviction is usually punishable by up to several years in a state prison, whereas a misdemeanor DWI is typically penalized by no more than one year in a city or county jail.

consequences of being a convicted felon

LOSS OF CREDIBILITY BEFORE THE COURT: Convicted felons are typically disqualified from providing sworn testimony as a witness in a court proceeding or serving as a juror.

LOSS OF CIVIL RIGHTS: A felony conviction may result in relinquishment of the right to vote and participate in politics.

LOSS OF PROFESSIONAL LICENSE AND OCCUPATION: Many occupations, professions and related organizations prohibit employment and licensing of convicted felons. Some fields that may be affected include teaching, medical, law, financial, military, law enforcement, civil service, and government agencies, to name a few.

RELINQUISHMENT OF FIREARMS: Persons convicted of a felony crime are prohibited from owning firearms under California legislature.

california felony dui penalty chart

offense	probation	1st felony dui	2nd felony dui	3rd felony dui
jail	yes no	5 days-1 year 90 days-1 yr	30 days-1 year 120 days-no max	1 yr min-no max
excessive speed+	yes no	60 days 60 days	60 days 60 days	60 days 60 days
test refusal+	yes no	48 hours 48 hours	96 hours 96 hours
prison	yes no	16 mos - 36 mos	16 mos - 36 mos	up to 48 mos
multiple victims+	yes no	1 - 3 yrs	1 - 3 yrs	1 - 3 yrs
hit run+	yes no	5 years	5 years	5 years
offense fines	yes no	$390-$1,000 $390-$1,000	$390-$5,000 $390-$5,000	$390-$5,000 $1,015-$5,000
penalty assessment	yes no	$663-$1,700 $663-$1,700	$663-$8,500 $663-$8,500	$663-$8,500 $1,725-$8,500
restitution	yes no	$100-$1,000 $100-$1,000	$100-$1,000 $200-$10,000	$100-$1,000 $200-$10,000
license suspension	yes no	1 year 1 year
license revocation	yes no		3 years 3 years	5 years 5 years
treatment program	yes no	3 months no*	18-30 months no*	30 months no*
vehicle impound	yes no	no no	1-30 days 1-30 days	1-90 days 1-90 days
ignition interlock	yes no	no no	1-3 years 1-3 years	1-3 years 1-3 years
+ = added incarceration for penalty enhancement * dmv may require mandatory school or program completion for license reinstatement