california wet reckless

wet reckless as reduced dui

In California, a reduced or lesser charge to DUI is sometimes plea bargained with the prosecution resulting in a "wet reckless" conviction.

The term "wet" indicates the offense was an alcohol and driving related incident, and although insurance carriers will treat a wet reckless charge as drunk driving related, a wet reckless conviction carries reduced penalties & consequences in criminal court sentencing and DMV Admin Per Se sanctions.

California Laws do not formally recognize wet reckless in the penal or vehicle code, so it is actually a plea to a charge of driving recklessly that is denoted a special court abstract indicating the charge was associated with an alcohol and driving related arrest.

benefits of wet reckless vs. dui conviction

• A wet reckless is considered more minor and less of a serious crime than DUI
• A wet reckless carries less severe penalties than a DUI conviction
• Does not initiate automatic license suspension by the DMV
• May not require filing an SR-22 Insurance Certificate with the California DMV
• Does not impose penalties upon a commercial drivers license
• Carries less professional and occupational consequences
• Is not typically fined as heavily
• Requires a shorter mandatory DUI School term of only 6 weeks

dry reckless reduced from dui

california dry reckless law

A DUI reduced to a dry reckless conviction in San Diego does not count as a prioriable DUI offense. A non-priorable offense does not fall under California's ten year washout period should you again be arrested for a DUI violation within this time frame, as opposed to a wet reckless conviction.

The ten year washout term applies to DUI offenses incurred within 10 years from date of arrest to date of arrest. For example, if you were arrested on a DUI related offense on September 1, 1997, and later convicted of DUI, pled guilty, or pled down to a wet reckless, and then subsequently arrested for DUI on September 2, 2007, the 2007 arrest could only be charged as a first offense. On the other hand, if your second arrest occurred on August 30, 2007, it would be charged as a second offense, and the 1997 conviction would count as a "priorable".

If your first DUI offense was reduced to a dry reckless, it will not count as a priorable regardless of its proximity to a subsequent drunk driving incident, a significant advantage to a wet reckless plea bargain.

a dui attorney's best dry reckless strategy?

If you have received a second or subsequent DUI charge within a ten year period, it is crucial that you avoid a conviction on a priorable offense. If the facts and evidence surrounding your priorable offense are more questionable than the circumstances involved in your second or subsequent arrest, your attorney's strategy may be to challenge your first offense, or prior conviction.

San Diego Lawyer Darren Kavinoky is an expert at dealing with prior convictions when defending subsequent charges. He recently delivered a seminar to other attorneys, teaching the "Stogner Motions" for the elimination of prior DWI convictions as a tactical strategy for presenting a subsequent case a first offense.

dry reckless vs. wet reckless

Insurance companies, law enforcement, the DMV, and the courts regard wet reckless as alcohol and driving related, whereas a dry reckless is defined as driving a vehicle in a wanton manner while disregarding the safety of other persons.