What a DUI charge actually is.
A DUI arrest starts two separate processes on the same day, and most people only know about one of them. The criminal case is filed by the district attorney and heard in the superior court of the county where you were arrested. The licence case is run by the DMV, is decided by a hearing officer rather than a judge, and can suspend your licence whether or not a criminal charge is ever filed.
They run on different clocks and answer to different standards of proof. The DMV clock is the short one: ten days from arrest to request a hearing.
Almost every DUI is charged under Vehicle Code 23152, and almost every one of those is charged twice — once for driving while impaired, and once for driving with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or more. Those are two different allegations proved in two different ways, which is why a case can be strong on one count and weak on the other.
DUI charges I defend.
These are the DUI charges I defend across California. If what you were arrested for is not on this list, or you are not sure what you have been charged with, call me and I will read the paperwork with you.
Common DUI offences
- Driving under the influence (Vehicle Code 23152(a)). Driving while impaired by alcohol, regardless of what the test number says.
- Driving with a BAC of 0.08% or more (Vehicle Code 23152(b)). The per se count, charged on the test result rather than on observed impairment.
- DUI of drugs (Vehicle Code 23152(f)). Prescription medication counts. There is no per se number for drugs, which changes how these are proven.
- Wet reckless (Vehicle Code 23103.5). A reduced charge that exists only as a negotiated outcome from a DUI filing.
- Underage DUI (Vehicle Code 23140). Applies to drivers under 21 at a far lower threshold than the adult limit.
- Zero-tolerance suspension (Vehicle Code 23136). A licence action against drivers under 21 that runs separately from any criminal charge.
Serious DUI felonies
- DUI causing injury (Vehicle Code 23153). Charged where someone other than the driver was hurt; can be filed as a misdemeanour or a felony.
- Fourth or subsequent DUI (Vehicle Code 23550). A fourth offence within the statutory washout period can be charged as a felony on the prior record alone.
- DUI with a prior felony DUI (Vehicle Code 23550.5). Any new DUI following a felony DUI conviction may itself be charged as a felony.
- Gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated (Penal Code 191.5). The most serious charge arising from a DUI. This section was amended in 2025.
Related charges often filed alongside a DUI
Very few DUI cases arrive as a single count. These are the charges most often filed with one.
- Chemical test refusal (Vehicle Code 23612). A refusal allegation attaches to the DUI and triggers its own licence consequence.
- Driving on a DUI-suspended licence (Vehicle Code 14601.2). Commonly filed against people who did not know the suspension had taken effect.
- Vehicular manslaughter (Penal Code 192(c)). Filed where a death results and the intoxication element is charged differently.
- Boating under the influence (Harbors and Navigation Code 655). The same impairment standard applied on the water, with its own licensing consequences.
Enhancements, priors and licence consequences
- Second-offence DUI (Vehicle Code 23540). Sentencing exposure changes once a prior falls inside the washout period.
- Third-offence DUI (Vehicle Code 23546). A third offence carries longer programme requirements and a longer licence action.
- Child-passenger enhancement (Vehicle Code 23572). An enhancement added where a child under 14 was in the vehicle.
- High-BAC sentencing factor (Vehicle Code 23578). A markedly high test result, or a refusal, can be treated as an aggravating factor.
- Ignition interlock requirements (Vehicle Code 23575). Governs when a device must be installed and for how long.
- Administrative licence suspension (Vehicle Code 13353.2). The DMV action that runs alongside the criminal case and starts the ten-day clock.
This list covers the DUI charges that come up most often, but it is not everything. Charging documents are written for the court, not for the person holding them, and working out what you are actually facing is the first useful thing that happens in a DUI case.
What a DUI conviction can cost.
A DUI conviction reaches past the courtroom, and which consequences apply depends on the count, your record, and whether anyone was hurt.
- Custody. Exposure ranges from none to state prison, driven by priors, injury, and whether the case is charged as a misdemeanour or a felony.
- Probation conditions. DUI school, victim-impact attendance, abstinence terms, and search conditions in some cases.
- Your licence. Suspension and restriction, with ignition interlock requirements — partly through the court, partly through the DMV, on separate timelines.
- Professional licensing. Nurses, commercial drivers and contractors face reporting obligations to their own boards, which reach their own conclusions independently of the court.
- Immigration. Consequences depend on status and on what the conviction is for. This needs looking at early, not after a plea.
- Employment and housing. A conviction is public and searchable, and it shows up in background checks long after the sentence ends.
Where the exposure sits in those ranges is a question about your case, not about DUI in general. That is a conversation, not a webpage.
Why DUI charges are worth taking seriously.
The DMV deadline does not wait for you
Ten days from arrest to request the hearing. Miss it and the suspension takes effect by default, with no one having examined whether the stop or the test was sound. It is the shortest deadline in the case and the easiest one to lose by accident.
The evidence has a shelf life
Dashcam and bodycam footage is retained on agency schedules, not on yours. Calibration logs for the breath machine, dispatch recordings and blood samples all sit somewhere with a retention policy attached. Asking for them early is different from asking for them late.
A test result is a measurement, and measurements can be wrong
Breath machines need calibration and maintenance on schedule. Blood samples need proper collection and storage, and can be retested. Rising blood alcohol between the driving and the test is a real phenomenon with real arithmetic behind it. None of this is examined unless someone examines it.
What experience with this charge actually changes
It is knowing which of those threads is worth pulling in your case and which is a waste of your money, knowing what a given county's DUI filings usually look like, and having read enough calibration records to notice when one is irregular. I have been doing this since 1999.
Whether hiring an attorney is worth it depends on what you are facing. On a first offence with a clean record and no injury, there are people who reasonably decide to handle it themselves. Where there is a prior, an injury, a professional licence, an immigration question, or a refusal allegation, the consequences compound in ways that are difficult to undo afterwards. Call me and I will tell you honestly which situation you are in, and what representation would cost.
How I defend DUI cases.
- Case investigation — the reports, the footage, the calibration and maintenance records for the machine that produced your number.
- Testing the case — whether the stop was lawful, whether the testing was done properly, whether the reports match the recordings, and whether the evidence actually supports each count charged.
- The DMV hearing — a separate proceeding with its own record, run on its own timeline, and frequently the first place the evidence gets tested.
- Negotiation with the deputy district attorney assigned to your case, once there is something in hand worth negotiating with.
- Trial readiness where the offer does not reflect what the file will support.
- Personal attention — you work with us directly.
I have been licensed to practise in California since 1999, State Bar number 203402, and I defend DUI cases across nine Northern California counties from offices in Sacramento and Roseville. When you call, I will read what you have, tell you what the two clocks in your case look like, and tell you what happens next.
Where I handle DUI cases.
I appear in the criminal courts of all nine counties below. The court that hears your case is determined by where the arrest happened, not by where you live.
Sacramento County Placer County Yolo County El Dorado County San Joaquin County Butte County Yuba County Solano County Sutter County
Where a city has enough demand for this charge to warrant its own page, I have written one:
Auburn Fairfield Manteca Roseville Sacramento Stockton Vacaville Yuba City
DUI questions I hear most.
How long do I have to request a DMV hearing after a DUI arrest?
Ten days from the date of arrest. That request is separate from anything that happens in the criminal case, and if it is not made in time the suspension proceeds by default. It is the first deadline in a DUI case and the one people most often lose without realising it was running. See licence and DMV matters.
Is the DMV hearing part of my criminal case?
No. It is an administrative proceeding run by the DMV, decided by a hearing officer rather than a judge, under a different standard of proof. The two can reach different outcomes, and the DMV can suspend your licence even where the criminal case is never filed or is later dismissed. Which court hears the criminal side depends on the county — Sacramento County and Placer County run differently.
What is the difference between the two DUI counts I was charged with?
Most DUI cases are charged under both Vehicle Code 23152(a), driving while impaired, and 23152(b), driving with a BAC of 0.08% or more. The first is about how you were driving and how you presented; the second is about the number the machine produced. They are proved differently, which is why a case can be weak on one and strong on the other. More on how that plays out in DUI defence strategies.
Why would a breath test result be challenged?
Because it is a measurement produced by a machine that requires calibration and maintenance on a schedule, operated by a person following a procedure, at a time that is not the time you were driving. Each of those is a place where the number can be wrong. Whether any of them applies to your case is something that has to be checked against the records for that specific device. The stop itself is often the better question — see what the Supreme Court changed about bad traffic stops.
Can a DUI be reduced to something else?
A wet reckless under Vehicle Code 23103.5 exists only as a negotiated outcome from a DUI filing — it is not something you can be arrested for. Whether it is available in a given case depends on the evidence, the county, and the record. No one can tell you before reading the file. Where there is a prior, that changes the picture — see how prior DUI convictions are counted.
Will a DUI affect my professional licence?
It can, and the licensing board reaches its own conclusion independently of the court. Nurses, physicians, commercial drivers, teachers and contractors generally have reporting obligations that are triggered by the conviction, and sometimes by the arrest. If you hold a licence, say so on the first call, because it changes what the case is about. For nurses specifically, see Board of Registered Nursing licence defence.
What does a DUI defence cost?
It depends on the charge, the county, whether there is a prior or an injury, and whether the case is likely to be resolved or tried. Call and I will tell you what representation in your situation would cost, before you commit to anything. Two pieces that set out the general picture: what a criminal defence lawyer costs in California and whether it is worth hiring one.
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