Second Offense Alameda County DUI

Alameda County Second offense DUI arrests carry severe consequences with both the criminal court and the California Department of Motor Vehicles. In Alameda County, a second offense DUI will be charged if a driver has been arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, medication or drugs within ten (10) years of having been convicted of a prior California Vehicle Code Sections 23152 (DUI), 23153 (DUI causing injury), California Vehicle Code Section 23103 within the meaning of 23103.5 (reckless driving with alcohol involved), or most out of state DUI convictions. Actual jail time and a one year driver's license suspension are a possibility.

Penalties

The penalty provision of the Vehicle Code relating to the DUI criminal case provides that any person convicted of a second or subsequent driving under the influence offense shall be required to serve not less than 48 hours of imprisonment or, in the alternative not less than 10 days of community service. The penalty provision does recognize that a inpatient treatment program will account as credit towards any actual jail or community service if ordered by a Judge pursuant to Penal Code Section 2900.5. The maximum penalty for a second offense DUI conviction is one year in the Alameda County jail.

Additionally, a separate consequence for a probation violation can be imposed in the county where the first DUI conviction occurred if the person arrested for a second offense DUI is still on probation for the first DUI conviction. It is not necessary for the second DUI to be proven. Rather, the District Attorney need only prove by a preponderance of the evidence (more likely than not) that the person violated a term or condition of probation.

On January 1, 2008, California Vehicle Code section 23154 became law. This statute makes it unlawful for anyone on probation for driving under the influence in violation of Vehicle Code Section 23152 or 23153 to drive a motor vehicle with any measurable amount of alcohol in their system. The Judge must determine that the person accused was lawfully detained, had consumed an alcoholic beverage and was driving a vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.01 percent or greater as measured by a Preliminary Alcohol Screening Device, evidential breath alcohol test, or blood test.

Separately, the California Department of Motor Vehicles will suspend the driving privilege of any driver who within ten years of the current arrest was arrested and subsequently convicted of driving under the influence, driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more, or reckless driving with alcohol involved (wet reckless) for one year.

The DMV will also suspend the driving privilege of any driver who within ten years of the current offense suffered a license suspension following a DMV Hearing where the DMV Hearing Officer concludes a person was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.08 percent or more. If the driver is on probation for driving under the influence, the Department of Motor Vehicles need only prove that the driver was lawfully detained and was driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.01 percent or greater as measured by a Preliminary Alcohol Screening Device, evidential breath alcohol test, or blood test.

Refusal or failure to submit to a Preliminary Alcohol Screening test or other chemical test subsequent to a lawful detention will result in a driver's license suspension of one year to three years pursuant to California Vehicle Code Section 13353.1.

Office Location and Areas We Serve

The office is conveniently located in downtown San Francisco at 505 Montgomery Street, 11th Floor San Francisco, California 94111.

Contact The Office

The Law Office of Robert Tayac has been helping people charged with DUI in San Francisco for over a decade. If you hire Robert Tayac to handle your case, you will know that you are retaining the services of a knowledgeable, experienced, and trustworthy San Francisco DUI lawyer.

Resources

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