Felony DUI Involving Injury
California DUI arrests are charged as either misdemeanors or felonies, depending on the facts of the case. If your drunk driving case involves injury to anyone other than yourself, you’re likely to be charged with a felony. A skilled California DUI lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm can review your drunk driving case, determine how it’s likely to be charged, and begin planning a strategic defense to the charges.
Under California Vehicle Code section 23153, it’s illegal to drive under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and do any other act forbidden by law, or neglect any act imposed by law while driving the vehicle. What this means is that you can be charged with a felony if you’re accused of driving under the influence and being the “proximate cause” of an injury to anyone but yourself.
VC 23153 is what’s known as a “wobbler,” meaning that it can be charged as either a felony or a misdemeanor. Misdemeanors are punishable by up to one year in county jail, while felonies are punishable by a year or more in state prison. How a particular case is charged depends on the facts involved.
If there are any other factors that elevate your case to the status of a felony, such as three or more DUI convictions (or one felony drunk driving conviction) in the past 10 years, your current case will certainly be charged as a felony.
If two or more people were injured as a result of your drunk driving, you can only be charged with one count of felony DUI under VC 23153. However, you can be sentenced to an additional year in prison – up to a total of three years – for each additional injury. Each of these sentencing enhancements must be proven, and you must be convicted of the underlying DUI offense, in order for you to receive additional punishment.
There are many ways that a skilled California DUI attorney can fight a drunk driving case involving injury. An experienced defense lawyer will employ pretrial motions to improve your prospects before your case goes to trial. Some common motions used in DUI defense are motions to suppress evidence, motions to strike prior convictions, and Pitchess motions, which are requests to the court to allow the defense to access the arresting officer’s personnel file to find records of prior bad conduct.
Your California DUI lawyer may also use a private investigator and/or an accident reconstruction expert to uncover additional evidence that supports your defense. Both of these professionals can be a tremendous asset to your defense. They will interview witnesses and examine the vehicles, accident scene, etc. to uncover information that supports your defense.
If you have been arrested for California DUI involving injury, you need a defense lawyer with the skills and experience to aggressively fight your charges. The top California DUI attorneys of The Kavinoky Law Firm are well-versed in fighting serious drunk driving charges. To learn more about comprehensive defenses to drunk driving charges, please contact a knowledgeable California DUI lawyer from The Kavinoky Law Firm today at 1-800-NO-CUFFS for a free consultation.
