What Happens to People Charged with a Felony DUI?
This is a big crime now because what I see happening is, in addition to looking at a felony, prison time, and a loss of a license, a lot of times what I see is that the prosecutors will tack on a great bodily injury allegation against a particular person that is not warranted.
In other words, to have the great bodily injury allegations, the prosecutors have to show that the victim has a severe injury because great bodily injury is beyond the standard for a felony DUI, and it requires something more than just what's needed to make a DUI a felony.
You're usually going to have to have a severe injury. The reason this is such an impactful thing is that it adds three years to a person's sentence.
In my experience, it makes it a lot more likely that a particular person who is charged with a felony DUI is going to go to prison because it's tough to get the prosecutors to strike that great bodily injury allegation unless you can show that it's truly not great bodily injury.
This is where things get a little bit confusing because for a DUI you need a serious injury. For great bodily injury, you need to take it a step beyond that, and that's kind of a mirky line that the legislature has drawn.
Felony DUI is a “Strike” in California
Another ramification of that great bodily injury allegation in felony DUI cases in Los Angeles is a strike. Any time someone gets a great bodily injury attached to a crime, that crime becomes a strike for the three strikes law in California. This law mandates that if a person is convicted of three felonies, they will be sentenced to life imprisonment.
That is another reason a case will require somebody to go to prison rather than getting some county jail or non-jail sentence.
If you or a loved one is charged with a felony DUI and a great bodily injury allegation has been added, it's crucial to have an attorney who will provide the necessary support and guidance.
Even beyond great bodily injury, because not all felony DUIs require a great bodily injury allegation, you need some serious injury.
I had seen some weird cases where prosecutors had charged felony DUIs when they shouldn't have when they made the mistake of going too far.
It's a glorified misdemeanor DUI, which is a huge difference because the person is not necessarily looking at jail time, especially with a first-time misdemeanor DUI.
Mandatory Minimum 90 Days in Jail
The felony part of it causes a problem because if you get convicted of a felony DUI in Los Angeles, it's a mandatory minimum of 90 days in jail, and that's just a starting point. This means that even if the circumstances of your case are relatively minor, you could still be facing a significant period of incarceration.
A lot of times, depending on the injury and the circumstances, the prosecutors want prison time. It's not always easy to get probation in a felony DUI case.
That's why it's so important to get an attorney who has handled a lot of these cases and really has a feel for what a case is worth. I've been doing this for 26 years.
I've done thousands of DUIs and hundreds of felony DUIs, and I have a pretty good feel for when someone should be charged and convicted on a felony versus a misdemeanor DUI in Los Angeles County.
I encourage you to take control of your situation. Pick up the phone, make the call, and I stand ready to provide the legal advice and support you need.
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