The California Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) is notified about any DUI arrest that occurs across the state. If you are charged with a DUI for the first time, the DMV may suspend your driver’s license for up to four months. Comparatively, if you have received multiple DUI charges, you can receive up to 18 months in county jail.
If you are facing multiple DUI charges in California, try not to panic. You can partner with a Los Angeles DUI attorney that can review the charges against you. From here, your attorney can help you build a legal strategy to contest these charges.
What Can Happen if You Have Multiple DUI Charges in the Same California County
You can receive two or more DUI charges in a California county. If this happens, the county consolidates the charges. This can be beneficial or hurt you, depending on the severity of the charges and other factors.
In a DUI case where a defendant is released under their “own recognizance,” the court may revoke the release grant if this individual was charged with a second DUI. In this scenario, the defendant may be taken into police custody. Or, the defendant may be required to follow additional terms of release, such as wearing an alcohol-monitoring device or attending AA meetings.
Meanwhile, the court may require a defendant to comply with the same terms of conditional release for all of their DUI cases. If the defendant is convicted of a DUI in their first case, the prosecutor of any other pending cases would be notified. At this point, the prosecutor may amend their complaint against the defendant.
What to Expect if You Have DUI Charges in Different Counties in California
If you are charged with a DUI in different counties, you can face severe penalties. A second DUI charge in California comes with a mandatory jail sentence of at least 96 hours. You may also be required to pay a fine of up to $1,000, attend DUI classes for up to 30 months, and receive other penalties.
For those dealing with a DUI charge in multiple counties, help is available. You can connect with a Los Angeles DUI lawyer that practices in these counties. This attorney may be able to keep the cases filed against you filed as a first offense.
The best DUI attorney in Los Angeles works diligently for their clients. In instances where an individual has been charged with a DUI in several counties, the lawyer looks at all of the facts surrounding the charges. The attorney then helps the client figure out how to contest all of the charges against them.
Charge You Can Receive if You Are Facing Multiple DUI Charges in California
In California, anyone age 21 or older can be charged with a DUI if they have a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08% or higher. The initial penalty for a DUI charge in California is a four-month suspension of a driver’s license. Each subsequent DUI charge within 10 years leads to a one-year driver’s license suspension.
You may refuse to take a chemical test administered by a police officer to determine if you are driving under the influence. If you do, you will have your driver’s license automatically revoked for one year for your first DUI offense. The second time this happens, you can have your driver’s license revoked for two years.
If you are arrested for a DUI in California one or more times, consult with an attorney. An experienced DUI lawyer in Los Angeles will learn as much as possible about the charges you face. Your lawyer will do everything they can to help you get any charges against you lowered.
What It Takes to Get Multiple DUI Charges Reduced in California
There are several legal strategies to consider if you want to get multiple DUI charges reduced.
Attack the Preliminary Alcohol Screening (PAS) Test Results
You may get pulled over during a traffic stop and complete a PAS test. Concerns persist about the reliability of a PAS test. If you are charged with a DUI on the grounds of a PAS test result, you may be able to dispute this result in court.
Drinking After Driving
To argue that you were drinking after driving, you must be able to show that you were sober or had a BAC under 0.08% when you were driving. You must also prove that only after you stopped your car did you start to drink. Thus, you can show the court that you were not driving under the influence and did not violate California law.
The Mouth Alcohol Defense
You may be able to show that you were chewing tobacco, had taken an herbal medicine that contained alcohol, or had done other things before you received a breath test. Any of these actions can impact your breath test result. Therefore, a mouth alcohol defense may help you get one or multiple DUI charges reduced.
There is no one-size-fits-all legal strategy for DUI charges in California. Your attorney works with you to build a strategy in alignment with your case. In addition, your lawyer may encourage you to consider a plea agreement to resolve one or all of your DUI charges.
How a Plea Bargain Works if You Face Multiple DUI Charges in California
With a DUI plea bargain, you accept responsibility for one or more DUI charges. Under the terms of the agreement, you receive a lesser punishment than the one that was originally proposed. This enables you to resolve your charges in less time than what would be required if you went to trial.
Your lawyer may urge you to propose a plea bargain to the prosecutor in any of your DUI cases. If the agreement is fair, the prosecutor may be inclined to accept it. By carefully crafting your plea agreement, your attorney will make sure the proposal is reasonable.
A Los Angeles DUI lawyer can help you assess plea bargains and other legal options if you are facing multiple DUI charges. For more information or to speak with an attorney, please contact us online or call.
