UNDERAGE DUI

3 THINGS YOU SHOULD DO AFTER AN UNDERAGE DUI

You should highly consider hiring an experienced DUI defense attorney to represent you with your UNDERAGE DUI Case due to the complexity of today’s DUI laws and POSSIBLE JAIL time

Don't talk about the facts of your arrest to anyone, but an experienced DUI defense attorney. Attorney-client privilege only applies between you and your attorney, meaning anything you say to a non-attorney can be used against you in court

Don't wait. Act immediately or you may risk waiving certain legal rights forever. For example, you only have 10 days from the date of your arrest to request a DMV hearing (which is basically a trial of whether your driver's license should be suspended). If you fail to reserve a date within 10 days of your arrest, you may lose your rights to a hearing and your DMV license will be automatically suspended

CALIFORNIA'S "ZERO TOLERANCE" DUI LAW [VC §23136]

In a nutshell, if you are under 21 years of age, it is illegal to drive with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) of .01% or more, thus the label "Zero Tolerance" DUI law

California Vehicle Code §23136. (a) Notwithstanding §23152 and §23153, it is unlawful for a person under the age of 21 years who has a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test, to drive a vehicle. However, this section shall not be a bar to prosecution under §23152 or §23153 or any other provision of law. (b) A person shall be found to be in violation of subdivision (a) if the person was, at the time of driving, under the age of 21 years, and the trier of fact finds that the person had consumed an alcoholic beverage and was driving a vehicle with a blood-alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater, as measured by a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test. (c) (1) Any person under the age of 21 years who drives a motor vehicle is deemed to have given his or her consent to a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test for the purpose of determining the presence of alcohol in the person, if lawfully detained for an alleged violation of subdivision (a). (2) The testing shall be incidental to a lawful detention and administered at the direction of a peace officer having reasonable cause to believe the person was driving a motor vehicle in violation of subdivision (a). (3) The person shall be told that his or her failure to submit to, or the failure to complete, a preliminary alcohol screening test or other chemical test as requested will result in the suspension or revocation of the person's privilege to operate a motor vehicle for a period of one year to three years, as provided in §3353.1

MINIMUM PENALTIES FOR ZERO TOLERANCE UNDERAGE DUI

Infraction

Up to 1 year DMV license suspension

CALIFORNIA'S UNDERAGE DUI [VC §23140]

If you are under 21 years of age, it is illegal for you to drive with a Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) between .05% and .07%. It has harsher penalties than "Zero Tolerance" DUI law due to the higher BAC

If you are charged for under age DUI per VC §23140, you will be charged with Zero Tolerance DUI as well

First Offense

Up to 6 months in jail

$100 fine with court fees

1 year DMV license suspension

Possible alcohol/drug treatment program

Second Offense

Up to 1 year in jail

$200 fine with court fees

1 year DMV license suspension

Possible alcohol/drug treatment program

Third Offense

Up to 1 year in jail

$300 fine with court fees

1 year DMV license suspension

Possible alcohol/drug treatment program

YOU CAN BE CHARGED WITH REGULAR DUI AS WELL [VC §23140]

Even if you are under 21 years of age, you can be charged with regular DUI or VC §23152. Unfortunately, you can be charged with both underage DUI and regular DUI at one time

PENALTIES FOR REGULAR DUI

FIRST DUI

SECOND DUI

THIRD DUI

FOURTH DUI

5 THINGS ABOUT DRIVER'S LICENSE SUSPENSIONS AFTER A DUI

Your court DUI case and your DMV License Suspension case are separate matters. The court case is processed by the criminal court system and the DMV case is processed by the DMV administrative agency

After a DUI arrest, you will be given DMV Suspension Notice (DS-367), a pink colored form

This form allows you a 30 day temporary driver's license

After the 30 days, you will be subject to a DMV License Suspension

Depending on which county you were arrested in, you may have a option of a restricted license or installing an Ignition Interlocking Device or IID

10 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE A LAWYER FOR A DUI

The complexity and harshness of modern DUI laws and penalties

The complexity of modern California DMV laws including Ignition Interlock Devices or IID

Unfortunately, but true, prosecutors are more likely to listen to an experienced DUI defense attorney than you

An experienced DUI attorney can assess whether you have legal defenses to the Field Sobriety Tests or FSTs

An experienced DUI attorney can analyze your Blood Alcohol Content or BAC

An experienced DUI attorney can assess whether law enforcement had probable cause to arrest you

An experienced DUI attorney can assess whether you have legal defenses to the Preliminary Alcohol Screening or PAS

An experienced DUI attorney can provide creative and alternative options to serving jail time

An experienced DUI attorney can assess whether your driver's license can be saved

If you hire an attorney, you may not have to appear at court. This allows you to not miss work, saving you money