The Short Answer
A first DUI in California is a misdemeanor, but a harsh one: probation runs at least three years under VC 23538, with fines, DUI school, and license consequences, and a separate 10 day deadline to request the DMV hearing that protects your license. The dispositions range from dismissal to reductions like wet reckless, and which of them is realistic depends entirely on the evidence in your case. Call within the 10 day window if you can.
DUI is one of the most common misdemeanor charges in California, and one of the harshest. Even with no jail, a misdemeanor DUI probation term runs at least three years under Vehicle Code 23538, where most other misdemeanors carry one. Add the fines, the mandatory alcohol program, the DMV suspension, the insurance increase, and the ignition interlock device, and the total cost of a first offense routinely reaches five figures.
There are also two separate cases, not one. The criminal case runs in court; the DMV runs its own administrative per se action against your license, and you have only 10 days from the arrest to request that hearing under Vehicle Code 13558. Farris Law Firm handles both across Orange County and Los Angeles. Call inside the 10 day window if you can.
DUI Charges We Defend
Driving under the influence (VC 23152(a))
The impairment count. No number attached: the prosecutor has to prove your driving was actually impaired, which is an opinion rather than a measurement.
Driving with a BAC of 0.08% or more (VC 23152(b))
The per se count, almost always filed alongside 23152(a). It rests entirely on a breath or blood result, and that result has to be produced under Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations to mean anything.
DUI of drugs or a combination (VC 23152(f), (g))
Prescription and over-the-counter medication both count. There is no roadside test for drug impairment, so these cases turn on officer opinion and toxicology that often shows past use rather than impairment while driving.
DUI causing injury (VC 23153)
A wobbler, filed as a felony when someone other than you is hurt. It requires proof of an unlawful act or omission beyond the driving itself.
Underage and commercial drivers (VC 23136, 23140, 23152(d))
Zero tolerance at 0.01% under 21, an infraction at 0.05%, and a 0.04% limit for anyone in a commercial vehicle.
The DMV administrative per se action (VC 13353.2)
A separate proceeding that can suspend your license even if the criminal case is dismissed. It starts with a written request inside 10 days (VC 13558).
How DUI Cases Get Defended
A breath number is a measurement of a machine, not of you at the moment you were driving. Nearly every part of a DUI case is testable:
- The stop itself: no reasonable suspicion for the stop or no probable cause for the arrest means the evidence that followed can be suppressed under PC 1538.5
- Rising blood alcohol: alcohol absorbed after you stopped driving can put you over the limit at the station and under it at the wheel, which is what VC 23152(b) actually requires
- Title 17 compliance: the 15 minute observation period, instrument accuracy checks, calibration records, and blood draw and storage procedure are all discoverable and all frequently defective
- Breath testing assumptions: mouth alcohol, acid reflux and GERD, dental work, and partition ratio variation between individuals all move the reading
- Blood evidence: fermentation in an improperly preserved sample raises alcohol content on its own, and chain of custody gaps make the result unreliable
- Field sobriety tests are voluntary, and poor performance is consistent with fatigue, injury, footwear, and nerves — not just impairment
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to save my license after a DUI arrest?
Ten days. Under VC 13558 you have 10 days from the notice of suspension to request a DMV administrative per se hearing. Miss it and the suspension takes effect automatically under VC 13353.2, whatever happens in court. Requesting the hearing also stays the suspension until it is decided, which is why we ask people to call before their first court date rather than after.
Is a first DUI a felony in California?
Not normally. A first offense under VC 23152 is a misdemeanor. It becomes a felony in three situations: someone other than you was injured (VC 23153), it is your fourth or later offense within 10 years (VC 23550), or you have a prior felony DUI (VC 23550.5). The first two are wobblers, so the prosecutor can file either way and the level itself is litigable.
Can I refuse the breath test?
The handheld device at the roadside is voluntary if you are 21 or over and not on DUI probation — it is a field sobriety test (VC 23612(i)). The evidential test after a lawful arrest is not. Under the implied consent law, VC 23612, refusing it adds jail time on conviction (VC 23577), triggers a one year DMV suspension for a first refusal (VC 13353), and lets the prosecutor argue consciousness of guilt.
What is a wet reckless, and is it better than a DUI?
It is a reckless driving conviction under VC 23103, entered under VC 23103.5 so the record notes alcohol was involved. The jail maximum and the mandatory alcohol program are both shorter, and it does not carry the license suspension the DUI statutes impose. It is not clean: under VC 23540 it counts as a prior DUI for 10 years. Whether it is on the table is the prosecutor's call and turns on the evidence.