DUI Criminal Penalties

 

Judges in San Diego County have put together a list of the punishments that they will generally give to people who plead guilty to a particular charge, such as a DUI. When a person enters a plea of guilty, Judges will usually only deviate from the "Standard Sentence" in uncommon circumstances. If a person does not plead guilty to DUI in San Diego, and is instead convicted after a trial, the sentence is often worse than the Standard Sentence; this is a big reason a lot of people plead guilty instead of going to trial.

The Standard Sentence for person who pleads guilty to a first-time DUI in San Diego is: 1) five years probation, 2) attendance to a first conviction program (FCP) 3) Public work service (PWS)  if your Blood alcohol concentration (BAC) is 0.15% or over, 4) $1834 in fines, 5) a referral
to the Substance Abuse Assessment Unit (SAAU), which may require you to go to AA meetings, 6) a $100 fine that you must pay only if your probation is revoked, 7) a 3 hour presentation by Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD), 8) a one year license suspension if you are under 21, and 9) a requirement that you surrender your license (if not previously surrendered to law enforcement).

The probation is Summary, not Formal. The main difference between Summary and Formal probation is that with Summary probation you do not have a probation officer to report to. But, because of your probation, you can't drive with any alcohol at all in your blood, you have submit to any alcohol/drug test at the request of  a peace officer, you must not violate any laws regarding driving a motor vehicle while under the influence or in possession of alcohol or drugs, and you must not drive without a valid license and proof of insurance. If you violate any of the conditions of your probation, your probation may be revoked, and the judge may put you in jail. The length of the FCP generally varies from 3 months to 9 months, depending on whether your blood alcohol level is above or below .20% and/or you refused to submit to a test of your BAC. The amount of PWS you are sentenced to is generally: 5 days if BAC between .15% and .19%; 10 days if BAC between .20% and .24%; 15 days if BAC .25% or above.