A felony DUI conviction can permanently upend your future. Even after facing substantial fines and years in prison, you may find yourself unable to get a job or secure housing. You have the right to protect yourself and your future opportunities. When in doubt, you can turn to a felony DUI lawyer in Westminster for help crafting your defense.
The team with Los Angeles DUI Lawyer has connected thousands of people accused of DUIs with legal representatives. You can reach out to us shortly after your arrest and arrange conversations with the Westminster DUI lawyers in our network.
If you want a chance to protect your future, work with the team that cares about you.
When Can You Face Felony DUI Charges in California?
California law enforcement has the right to charge you with a felony DUI if police officers believe that your blood alcohol content (BAC) exceeds the legal limit and that your subsequent behavior has resulted in the injury or death of another party.
You may also face felony DUI charges if you have three or more prior DUI convictions on your record, or if you’ve previously been convicted of a felony DUI.
How Will the Prosecution Argue a Felony Case?
If the prosecution involved in your felony DUI case wants to move your case forward, they need to prove that:
- You were at the wheel of a car at the time of your arrest.
- You were under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of your arrest.
- Your alleged impairment played a direct role in the injury or death of another party.
Proving a causal link between your alleged intoxication and the severe injury or death of another party isn’t a straightforward process. Lack of evidence or inappropriately handled evidence may allow your lawyer to challenge a prosecution’s claims, thereby making it harder to convict you of any crime.
Alternatively, if the prosecution wants to charge you with a felony DUI based on your criminal history, the prosecutor must indicate that those convictions were valid. Your defense attorney can weigh the circumstances that led to those convictions and either challenge the prosecution’s use of your history or arrange a plea deal that lessens the severity of your charges.
Consequences for a Felony DUI in Westminster
California wants to curb intoxicated driving and enacts severe penalties against drivers who the state believes have actively endangered the people on the road around them.
If you’re convicted of a felony DUI, you may face up to four years in state prison, with years added on to your time served based on a victim’s alleged injuries or passing.
If a DUI accident results in the injury or death of multiple people, California’s criminal courts may extend your sentence further.
The state can also charge you with fines exceeding $5,000 in addition to mandatory DUI programs. You may also see the revocation or permanent loss of your license. Circumstances may see courts require you to install an ignition interlock device at your personal cost.
How Can Felony Convictions Impact Your Everyday Life?
Unfortunately, the consequences of a felony DUI conviction aren’t confined to California courtrooms. Insurers will raise your premiums if you’re accused and convicted of driving under the influence.
Having a felony conviction on your record may see you lose your job and can make it harder to get a new one. Felonies also make it harder to secure housing.
If you work in a field that requires specific certifications or licenses, including education, law, healthcare, or real estate, a felony conviction may see you lose the right to continue practicing. You will also lose your right to own firearms, and you will not be able to vote while you’re incarcerated.
You may even lose the right to travel outside of the United States, as some countries bar convicted felons from crossing their borders. If you want to protect yourself from these consequences, let us connect you with a Westminster, CA, felony DUI attorney today.
How to Prepare for a DMV Administrative Hearing
If you want to challenge felony DUI charges, you need strong representation in criminal court. We also encourage you to seek out representation during a DMV driver safety administrative hearing.
These hearings prevent the California DMV from automatically suspending your license upon your arrest, but you only have ten days to request that they take place.
DMV administrative hearings strictly question whether or not you have the right to continue operating motor vehicles in the state of California. An attorney can represent you during your hearing and argue that:
- Your arrest was unlawful.
- Police officers misrepresented the nature of your intoxication at the time of your arrest.
- Officers didn’t have reasonable cause to pull you over prior to your arrest.
- The tests that determined your BAC at the time of your arrest inaccurately reflected your level of intoxication.
- Alternative factors, including your use of prescribed medications, influenced your perceived BAC.
While a DMV hearing does have a lower burden of proof than a criminal hearing, an experienced attorney can help you navigate this process and preserve your right to retain your license while your criminal case progresses.
Westminster Felony DUI Lawyers Can Build a Strong Defense on Your Behalf
Building a defense against felony DUI accusations will require a felony DUI attorney in Westminster, CA, to examine the specific circumstances that led to your arrest, as well as the factors that may have influenced interpretations of your BAC.
The legal professionals in our network have argued that:
- A driver’s medical conditions or prescription medications affected their perceived BAC, leading to false violations.
- Officers exhibited bias when pulling a driver over.
- Officers violated the rights of the accused, invalidating the charges brought against them.
- The equipment used to determine the accused’s BAC inaccurately interpreted the data that it gathered.
Your attorney may also want to work with expert witnesses to challenge the prosecution’s attempts to establish causality between your alleged intoxication and the injury or death of another party.
Let the Legal Professionals in Our Network Rise to Your Defense
You can invoke your right to an attorney and your right to remain silent immediately upon your arrest. Exercising these rights makes it easier to protect yourself, as you can prevent police officers from misrepresenting the nature of your arrest or manipulating you into admitting guilt.
The support that the lawyers in our professional network offer makes it easier to craft a defense against the felony charges brought against you. Those felony DUI attorneys in Westminster can stand with you from arraignment to the conclusion of your case and can even appeal a court’s decision on your behalf.
Contact our team today and let us put you in touch with the criminal defense attorneys who will go the extra mile to protect your future.
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