I agree with the second person, if its your first offense, then usually a fine and community service, and you get your license taken away, second time, six to a year in jail.
Well in BC Canada I got a DUI and have my license suspended for 5 months… You don’t go to jail unless you drive while your license is suspended and you definately go if your under the influence then… And I was also found with marijuana and got nothing for that. Having said that, I’ve heard cali is way stricter!
This info is for California only and applies to no other state.
Depends on the county you were stopped in. The minimum is 2 days in jail to be served all at once. In other words, if you served 1 day and then bailed out, you should have stayed in an extra day to get it over with, because now you have to do two days anyway.
If this is your first time DUI, I would expect you would do between 2 and 10 days depending on the blood alcohol level and other circumstances. However, if this is your second or third DUI in 10 years, it’s possible that you could do up to 9 months or even a year depending on your blood alcohol level. If this is your fourth time DUI, prison is a possibility.
Of course, you could do some or all of it on alternative sentencing like an ankle monitor. The DMV will likely suspend your license for at least 6 months (but you can apply for a restricted license so you can go to work). Moreover, you will have to pay lots of fines into the thousands of dollars. And you’ll have to do a 3 month DUI couse (a more serious course if it’s your 2nd or 3rd time DUI).
Additionally, there is greater punishment if you were driving on a suspended license.
Others were saying that they have no sympathy for you. That bugs me. The vast majority of us have been guilty of driving while intoxicated at some point in our lives even if we were never caught. And, on the off chance that one of those persons never drove drunk before, some person they cared about did and they would whistle a different tune when that person was caught.
Moreover, the DUI laws are so strict that there are many, many people who might not think they are breaking the law, but are. For instance, a lot of people think that 0.08% BAC is the cutoff and if you are below that then you are safe. WRONG!!! If you blow a 0.08 or higher, the DA just doesn’t have to work as hard at trial. If you blow a 0.08, you are presumed to be drunk and there is nothing you can do about it (except attack the science of the test). However, if you blow a 0.07 or lower, the jury can still find that you were too drunk to drive. The DA would just have to show bad driving and/or show poor field sobriety tests. And according to a cop friend of mine who has administered at least 1000 field sobriety tests in the field, the tests are designed to fail you. No one does them perfectly and they are very subjective.
Moreover, you can get a DUI even if you just took your normal prescription drug. Some pain meds do different things to us at different times of the day. And the cop just needs to get you in a bad moment, get lousy field sobriety tests, and then get a blood test that shows you took some meds and you get convicted of a DUI.
Considering that drinking is considered socially acceptable (and even cops drink and drive), I think the whole thing is horribly hypocritical. Even the President of the US was caught with a DUI once in his life. But we forgive him and treat everyone else like a criminal.
I’m just glad I was never caught during a few of my weaker moments in my life. I know everyone has them, but I was lucky and so were all the other people who have no sympathy. Good luck to you.
If this is your first offense, and you are placed on probation (and almost everybody is placed on probation), there is no mandatory custodial time. (Vehicle Code section 22538.) My understanding is that is is pretty uniform around the state that custody time is not imposed upon a first offense.,
I cannot argue with John S on this issue, but in my county the 24 hours in county jail is routinely imposed – almost without exception. I’m surprised to learn it’s not in most places.
So it would seem to be dependent on what county we’re talking about.
Probably not enough.
Ten years and it ain’t enough
Depends on if this is your first time. Normally, first time is a fine, community service and going though an alcohol program.
What ever time one gets, one deserves. I have no sympathy.
I agree with the second person, if its your first offense, then usually a fine and community service, and you get your license taken away, second time, six to a year in jail.
ask Keifer Sutherland
Well in BC Canada I got a DUI and have my license suspended for 5 months… You don’t go to jail unless you drive while your license is suspended and you definately go if your under the influence then… And I was also found with marijuana and got nothing for that. Having said that, I’ve heard cali is way stricter!
This info is for California only and applies to no other state.
Depends on the county you were stopped in. The minimum is 2 days in jail to be served all at once. In other words, if you served 1 day and then bailed out, you should have stayed in an extra day to get it over with, because now you have to do two days anyway.
If this is your first time DUI, I would expect you would do between 2 and 10 days depending on the blood alcohol level and other circumstances. However, if this is your second or third DUI in 10 years, it’s possible that you could do up to 9 months or even a year depending on your blood alcohol level. If this is your fourth time DUI, prison is a possibility.
Of course, you could do some or all of it on alternative sentencing like an ankle monitor. The DMV will likely suspend your license for at least 6 months (but you can apply for a restricted license so you can go to work). Moreover, you will have to pay lots of fines into the thousands of dollars. And you’ll have to do a 3 month DUI couse (a more serious course if it’s your 2nd or 3rd time DUI).
Additionally, there is greater punishment if you were driving on a suspended license.
Others were saying that they have no sympathy for you. That bugs me. The vast majority of us have been guilty of driving while intoxicated at some point in our lives even if we were never caught. And, on the off chance that one of those persons never drove drunk before, some person they cared about did and they would whistle a different tune when that person was caught.
Moreover, the DUI laws are so strict that there are many, many people who might not think they are breaking the law, but are. For instance, a lot of people think that 0.08% BAC is the cutoff and if you are below that then you are safe. WRONG!!! If you blow a 0.08 or higher, the DA just doesn’t have to work as hard at trial. If you blow a 0.08, you are presumed to be drunk and there is nothing you can do about it (except attack the science of the test). However, if you blow a 0.07 or lower, the jury can still find that you were too drunk to drive. The DA would just have to show bad driving and/or show poor field sobriety tests. And according to a cop friend of mine who has administered at least 1000 field sobriety tests in the field, the tests are designed to fail you. No one does them perfectly and they are very subjective.
Moreover, you can get a DUI even if you just took your normal prescription drug. Some pain meds do different things to us at different times of the day. And the cop just needs to get you in a bad moment, get lousy field sobriety tests, and then get a blood test that shows you took some meds and you get convicted of a DUI.
Considering that drinking is considered socially acceptable (and even cops drink and drive), I think the whole thing is horribly hypocritical. Even the President of the US was caught with a DUI once in his life. But we forgive him and treat everyone else like a criminal.
I’m just glad I was never caught during a few of my weaker moments in my life. I know everyone has them, but I was lucky and so were all the other people who have no sympathy. Good luck to you.
If this is your first offense, and you are placed on probation (and almost everybody is placed on probation), there is no mandatory custodial time. (Vehicle Code section 22538.) My understanding is that is is pretty uniform around the state that custody time is not imposed upon a first offense.,
I cannot argue with John S on this issue, but in my county the 24 hours in county jail is routinely imposed – almost without exception. I’m surprised to learn it’s not in most places.
So it would seem to be dependent on what county we’re talking about.