Daily DUI Blog | California

If you are arrested for a crime, specifically a DUI in California, you will have your driver’s license taken and you will be issued a pink temporary driver’s license. You will also be issued a citation with a court date. This court date is your Arraignment Date in Superior Court which is your first court appearance.  At this court hearing, you will be notified or “arraigned” of the charges that the District Attorney decides to file against you. This is important because the charges may be different than what you were originally cited for. For example, you may have been cited for a DUI, but in court you could be arraigned for VC 23152(a) Driving under the Influence; VC 23152(b) BAC over .08, and VC 23578 -Excessive blood Alcohol Level (if your BAC was really high); or VC 23578 –Refusal to submit to a Chemical Test.  Typically, your first appearance can be very nerve-racking. However, you should keep in mind that your actual case will only take a few minutes once the judges

Under Penal Code Section §851.90 et seq ., a person arrested who later has their case dismissed can petition the court to seal their arrest records. Many times people are arrested and subsequently never charged with a crime, or they are arrested and the District Attorney’s office dismisses their case due to the advocacy of their attorney. In these instances, the client can petition the court to have their arrest sealed. Moreover, if the client enters a diversion type of program or alternative sentencing scheme which will ultimately result in a case dismissal, they can have their arrest records sealed. Upon the judge granting this request, the sealing of an arrest will include the removal of the arrest from the arresting agencies local criminal history; the arrest will be sealed and stamped: “ARREST SEALED: DO NOT RELEASE OUTSIDE THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SECTOR.” If this arrest is disseminated to the outside public that party is subject to a $500- $2,500 civil penalty.

VC 14601.1(a) Driving on a Suspended License . The majority of people convicted of a DUI offense in California will have to suffer a California Driver’s License Suspension. After said suspension, a person may very well still drive and ignore the license suspension law. If caught, a ticket will be issued for violation of California Vehicle Code 14601.1(a). This is essentially a traffic ticket that can be charged as a misdemeanor or an infraction. If it is charged as an infraction, the court hearing will be held in Traffic Court. However, if the case is charged as a misdemeanor the case will be prosecuted by the District Attorney in Criminal Court. To add, this violation usually will add 2 points to your DMV record.

Happy New Year! I wish that your 2018 is the best and brightest yet!  As for new laws this year, Uber and LYFT drivers will be subjected to a lower BAC level than a normal driver when calculating if a driver is in violation of California's DMV DUI laws. What this means is if you ever drive for UBER or LYFT and are stopped, ticketed or suffer an accident and it is determined by an officer that while driving for these companies your BAC was .04 or higher NOT .08, you will have your driver's license confiscated by the officer and the DMV will suspend your driver's license. This regulation will take effect this summer. 

With the new year approaching we are going to see some new laws on the books in California. An extremely hot topic is the usage of Marijuana, especially in vehicles. The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) wants to regulate the use of marijuana and marijuana products not only while driving; but also, for people riding as passengers in your car. If a police officer pulls a vehicle over for smoking or ingesting marijuana products while driving or views a riding passenger consuming marijuana, the driver can be ticketed. The consequences of this ticket will be "points" (negligent vehicle operator points) being added to your driver’s license. In addition to the ticket fines, "points" means a rise in insurance premiums.  *Please refer to the "Stoned Driving" Blog article below, for a discussion on Marijuana DUI in California.