top 10 questions: From Multiple Offenders

From Everyone | From Minors/Parents | From Multiple Offenders | From Non-Residents

1. How old a prior still "counts"?
2. Will I go to jail?
3. Is it worse if my prior was recent?
4. What if my prior DUI conviction wasn't 
   in Napa County?
5. How long will my license be suspended?
6. When can I get a work license?
7. Do I have to take DUI classes again?
8. How much are the fines?
9. What can I do to minimize damage?
10. What about commercial licenses?

Ten years. Experienced Napa County DUI lawyers know that the "priorability," or "look-back" or "washout" period with respect to past DUI convictions (both wet reckless and regular DUI convictions count as prior DUI offenses) used to be 5 years under former California Vehicle Code section 23102. In 1981, penalties were increased and the current Vehicle Code section CVC 23152 was born.

In 1986 the period was extended to 7 years, and in 2005 the current 10-year rule was implemented. Your Napa DUI attorney should be able to explain that the period of increased risk exposure is 10 years from date of prior arrest; according to applicable law, courts must calculate DUI priorability from the date of prior DUI arrest to the date of new DUI arrest. The date of a past DUI conviction is not relevant except in date calculations for possible violations of probation.

The best Napa DUI lawyers understand that even if a prior offense is beyond the 10-year look-back period (an "out-of-time prior"), preventing a Napa County prosecutor from charging a new offense as a multiple DUI case with increased mandatory minimum jail time and longer DUI classes, nevertheless the prosecutor may use the old prior when fashioning the plea offer in the new case, and often demands additional penalties beyond a standard first DUI for a new Napa DUI conviction, such as additional jail time, imposition of an ignition interlock breath device for longer than would have been requested, and prohibitions on alcohol use or possession for the duration of probation in the new case. Of course the best Napa DUI attorneys will fight or negotiate against such increased penalties whenever weaknesses in the case may be pursued.

Ten-year priorability applies to the DMV as well, so that after ten years, the license suspension period is reduced as though the out-of-time prior never happened. However, Napa DUI attorneys often see a prior DUI incident inside ten years count for DMV suspension purposes but not in court, such as an under-age 21 prior offense with very low alcohol levels, or a prior DUI offense dismissed in court but the drivers license was suspended by DMV, or if the Napa District Attorney "misses" a prior DUI conviction which the DMV computers separately identify and use in a new DMV case.

DUIs can go in different directions in different cases with very different results. Click on Anatomy of a Napa DUI on this site and see the many different directions a Napa DUI case can take, some of which result in priorable offenses, and some of which don't for certain purposes. Consult with a Napa County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

Don't convict yourself yet! There are tons of ways to win a DUI case or reduce the charges after arrest. Click on Ten Tips For Fighting a DUI to see a sample listing.

But if no viable defenses are present in a case, usually second offenders can avoid actual time behind bars by arranging for a jail alternative.  However, the best Napa DUI lawyers know that the District Attorney's office is becoming increasingly insistent on actual jail time (no jail alternatives) when aggravating factors are present such as a violation of probation in a recent prior DUI conviction. It would not be unusual for the Assistant DA to seek actual jail time in most third offense DUI cases.

A careful and sincere demonstration of a multiple offender's commitment to sobriety after arrest, and no more driving, can go a long way to softening both the District Attorney and the court, particularly if alcohol levels are low in the new case, and driving behavior was relatively safe. Ryan nearly universally requires his multiple offender clients to attend a minimum of five AA meetings per week plus an additional layer of counseling or outpatient treatment, simply to keep clients out of jail during the case, not to mention mitigating any possible sentencing following the case if there are no viable DUI defenses.

For the third or more offender, day for day residential treatment credits are often an available alternative against any subsequent jail sentence. The services of a local Napa attorney following a DUI arrest are nearly always critical with respect to obtaining a bearable resolution if there are no viable defenses in a DUI case. Click here for Ten Tips for the First 48 Hours and look under "Fixing Trigger Problems" to find a more detailed discussion of actions which can be taken now to mitigate initial court concerns as well as the severity of any future jail sentence. Consult with a Napa County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

Yes, the best Napa DUI lawyers should explain that in most cases, if there are no viable defenses in the current DUI case, then additional hurdles will likely be present as a result of a more recent prior DUI conviction, such as a violation of probation charge in Napa County (usually at least an additional 30 days of jail exposure), and possible remand to jail or much tougher conditions of release during the progress of the court case due to heightened Napa County court concerns about community safety following a new DUI arrest if the repeat offender is out on bail or "own recognizance."

Tougher conditions may include the Supervised Own Recognizance ("SOR") requirements to check in periodically with a probation officer, random alcohol and drug testing, a "SCRAM" or "CAM" alcohol monitoring ankle bracelet and mandatory AA attendance. Sometimes an experienced local Napa DUI lawyer can work to successfully alleviate the court's concerns for community safety and avoid such additional conditions in particular cases. See Fix Trigger Problems below for a detailed discussion on this site about pretrial conditions and how you can help your Napa County DUI lawyer to avoid the worst case scenario, remand to jail for the duration of the case.

Even if the blood alcohol levels alleged in the current case are below .08%, the Napa DMV may act to suspend a driver license for a year (with no possibility of any work or other driving privileges) if a new DUI arrest occurred while the driver was on probation for a prior conviction. However, depending on the nature of the new case, it may still be possible to obtain an ignition interlock restricted license after a relatively short wait period, pursuant to new laws. Consult with a DUI lawyer in Napa County about your specific case.

Sometimes, prior DUI convictions from other jurisdictions, such as other California counties or other states, may not be properly seen by the Napa County courts, and sometimes even by the Napa DMV. Although it's not often that the Napa County DA misses a prior conviction, and this is not a development good DUI lawyers plan for, nonetheless it can and does happen and the best Napa DUI lawyers watch for it and then handle it extremely carefully.

Striking a Prior DUI Conviction. Good Napa DUI lawyers understand that if the prior DUI conviction, which is causing a new case to be considered far too severely, was in a different jurisdiction which has different laws than California's specific DUI laws (CVC 23626), then your local Napa DUI attorney may be able to cause the prior conviction to be ignored by filing a "Motion to Strike" the prior conviction from consideration. This is particularly true in cases where the prior DUI conviction was in another state where there are additional or differing ways to be convicted of a DUI offense as compared to California, such as "command and control" states, or "impaired to the slightest degree" states. Ask a Napa DUI lawyer about these concepts.

Violation of Prior DUI Probation. If a prior conviction was recent and an accused may also be in violation of probation for that prior conviction, but the probation is in another jurisdiction such as Napa or Solano County, or even in another state, then it is unlikely that an additional Violation of Probation ("VOP") charge will appear on the Napa County complaint following the latest DUI arrest, meaning that jail exposure is less in Napa, but a separate VOP case may arise in the other jurisdiction where the prior conviction occurred. Consult with a DUI lawyer in Napa County and any other applicable jurisdiction about your specific cases.

In a typical multiple offender Napa DUI case (noncommercial, age 21 or older, alcohol-related, no allegation of injuries or refusal to give a chemical test), with no aggravating circumstances, and no viable legal defenses or other mitigating factors, DMV will suspend a driver license for one year, regardless of what happens in court, and regardless of how many prior DUI convictions exist. In contrast, a Napa County court conviction separately results in a license revocation by DMV for two, three or four years, depending on the number of prior convictions.

But, starting with arrests on or after January 1, 2019, the best Napa County DUI attorneys know that the the latest laws allow most drivers to avoid a suspension of driving privileges by obtaining an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) breathalyzer restricted license at any local DMV office after accomplishing certain tasks, which are discussed on this site under Ten Tips for Getting Your License Back. From 2010 to 2019, older laws provided that a typical multiple offender could obtain an early IID restricted license after 90 days or six months suspension, following certain tasks, if the case resulted in a second or third DUI conviction, respectively.

See Tip #6 in this section for further information about multiple offenders and restricted licenses. For a detailed discussion on this site of the different types of suspensions resulting from the separate DMV and court proceedings, click on Ten Tips For Getting Your License Back. Consult with a Napa DUI lawyer about your specific case.