California DUI 1st/First Offense Penalties
What punishment am I facing for a first-time DUI?
Our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers point out that penalties only ensue from conviction. Conviction means that you have either entered a "guilty" plea... or been found "guilty" by a jury.
When convicted of driving under the influence in California for the first time, the potential penalties are as follows:
- informal (otherwise known as "summary") probation for three to five years,
- up to six months in a county jail,
- between $390-$1,000 in fines,
- a three- or nine-month court-approved alcohol and/or drug education program (AB541 class), and
- a six- to ten-month driver's license suspension.
While the California Vehicle Code allows all of these penalties to be imposed, maximum punishment is infrequent. In particular, our Los Angeles DUI Lawyers have been successful at eliminating jail time subsequent to arrest and keeping informal probation, alcohol programs, and license suspensions to a minimum.