top 10 questions: From Non-Residents

1. 6. Can I get a work license?
2. 7. What is a typical DUI sentence?
3. 8. Must I return to Mendocino County for jail?
4. 9. Must I complete DUI classes?
5. 10. Will my home state license be affected?

The best Napa DUI lawyers should explain that if you already have, or you intend to go and get, a California license, then in a typical first offense Napa County DUI case (arrest date after 1/1/19, alcohol-related, age 21 or older, no allegation of injury or refusal to give a chemical test), with no other aggravating circumstances, and no viable legal defenses or other mitigating factors, most drivers may avoid a suspension of driving privileges by obtaining either (1) an Ignition Interlock Device (IID) breathalyzer restricted license, or (2) a 12-month "work" license if the court doesn't order the IID breathalyzer. In either option, the restricted license may be issued at any local DMV office once the driver accomplishes certain tasks, all of which are discussed on this site under Getting Your License Back.

In a typical second or third offense DUI case, most drivers may avoid suspension by obtaining the same IID restricted license. Old law prior to 2019 typically required at least 30 days of no driving for most first offenders before getting a restricted license, and typically required 90 days or six months for most second or third offenders, respectively. Old law prior to 2010 typically required at least one year of no driving prior to any kind of restricted driving privileges.

Your Napa DUI attorney will likely tell you that if you do not have a California license, then the California DMV cannot issue a restricted license from your home state. This is one of the best reasons to obtain a California license prior to an anticipated suspension for a typical first offense DUI without viable defenses, if you intend to stay in California. Highly experienced Napa DUI lawyers know that it is still possible, but far more complicated, to obtain California restricted driving privileges on an out-of-state driver's license.

If you reside in another state, then it is likely that there are restricted or hardship driving privileges in certain cases (check this States Suspension Chart -- nearly all states permit some kind of limited driving), but availability depends on the local laws of your home state, and such advice may only be provided by a DUI attorney licensed to practice in that state.

California DUI laws and DMV policies and practice change often, so consult with a Napa County DUI attorney about your individual circumstances. There are also a large variety of special rules for drug DUIs, injury cases, minors, commercial drivers, out of state residents, etc. Click on Ten Tips for Getting Your License Back on this site for a more detailed discussion about getting your license back in many different situations. Consult with a Napa County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

In Napa County, for a "standard" adult first offense DUI where the alcohol test results show under 0.15% blood alcohol, and where there are no other aggravating facts or charges alleged (e.g., no collision, refusals, child endangerment, evading, bad driving, old prior convictions), and where there are no viable legal defenses or other compelling facts in mitigation, a knowledgeable local Napa DUI attorney will tell you that most defendants in a Napa County DUI case can anticipate two days of jail, a minimum 30 days driver license suspension, approximately $2100 in court fines (good Napa DUI lawyers routinely obtain affordable monthly payments as little as $50 per month for their clients), three years informal probation, and three months of once-weekly DUI program classes in Napa. Starting January 1, 2019, California courts join at least 28 Other States in requiring installation of an ignition interlock breathalyzer device for up to six months for a first offense DUI conviction. CVC 23575.3.

Many people convicted of a first or second DUI offense in California feel that the penalties imposed by California courts are overly harsh, but a new study comparing DUI penalties in each of the 50 U.S. states, conducted by WalletHub.com, finds that California was more lenient than many other states, ranking as only the 21st strictest state nationwide for DUI penalties, just about average among West Coast states, and about average for the entire western region of the United States, although penalties have tightened from only a year ago when California ranked only 34th strictest in the nation.

As of 2017, seven western states ranked substantially higher (stricter) than California, including Arizona (ranked the #1 strictest state in the country), Alaska (3rd), Utah (8th), Colorado (11th), Washington (15th), Oregon (16th), and Nevada (18th). Only five western states were found to be more lenient than California, including Hawaii (26th), New Mexico (29th), Wyoming (37th), Montana (40th), and Idaho (47th).

The best Napa DUI lawyers will resolve many first offense cases with better results (for example, a dismissal, or a "Wet Reckless" with no jail or license suspension), but cases may resolve with higher penalties if there are no defenses but aggravating factors are present, such as higher alcohol levels, collision, hit & run, evading, resisting arrest, refusal to give a chemical sample, or old DUI cases outside ten years from a current DUI arrest.

By contrast, a typical "standard" second DUI conviction in Napa County (prior DUI arrest within ten years of current DUI arrest), usually increases a defendant's jail exposure from two days to 10-30 days, increases court fines to approximately $2500, increases the ignition interlock breathalyzer device from six months to at least one to three years, increases the minimum three-month DUI program classes to the 18-month DUI program, increases the minimum 30 days no driving to 90 days to one-year license suspension, and may increase the informal probation period from three years to four or five years, often with some or all on formal probation (and sometimes adding additional probation conditions to refrain from alcohol use or possession, waive police search rights to enforce no-alcohol orders, and stay away from places where alcohol is the primary item for sale).

The best Napa DUI lawyers will focus their efforts for nonresidents exclusively on dismissing a DUI case, and at the very least minimizing the burden of any consequences by focusing on jail alternatives and avoiding any other requirement to return to California. Click on our Napa County DUI Lawyer Ten Tips for Easing the Consequences of a DUI on this site for a detailed discussion about typical Napa County DUI resolutions. Consult with a Napa County DUI attorney about your specific case.

The best Napa DUI attorneys should explain that most first and second DUI offenders in Napa County can avoid serving actual jail time through alternatives such as volunteer work release or home confinement.

In appropriate cases (no seriously aggravating factors alleged during the incident), a Napa lawyer may avoid a jail sentence altogether, or request that proof of legitimate community service or home confinement in another California county (or if you live outside California then in your home state) be permitted to satisfy any jail sentence, or we may inquire into other jail alternatives in your county or home state to avoid the necessity of your traveling back to Napa County to serve a jail sentence.

If you are not a California resident, then trying to avoiding jail in Napa County may be the best reason to hire a private Napa DUI attorney. If you are a California resident, then click on Ten Tips For Easing the Consequences of a DUI on this site to examine these various jail alternatives where there are no viable defenses or aggravating factors in a case. Consult with a Napa County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

In a typical Napa County adult first offense DUI case with no allegation of refusal, injury or other aggravating circumstances, and no viable defenses, most California licensees are required to complete a DUI program consisting of weekly classes for three months, in order to comply with mandatory court probation orders (CVC 23538), and to lift the driving suspension that results at the end of a DUI case (CVC 13352.4, 13353.3). If you live in a different California county, usually a routine referral to a suitable program in your own county is available. Click on Ten Tips For Getting Your License Back on this site for a more detailed discussion about DUI classes.

But the best Napa County DUI lawyers know that if you live outside of California, you cannot enroll in, or complete the state-mandated DUI program of classes, because the only officially licensed and permissible DUI programs are located in California, not in your home state. Therefore, to avoid a violation of probation terms, good Napa DUI lawyers will often request a commonly allowed Napa County court resolution called "'self enrollment' in any DUI program required" in your home state.

This kind of creative wording should allow a non-resident to avoid violating probation for failure to timely enroll in and complete the California DUI program, but Napa County DUI lawyers understand that the California DMV imposes a separate and independent secondary DUI program class enrollment and completion requirement in order to lift the DMV's separate and independent driving suspension. Therefore the law includes a procedure for non-residents to lift that suspension which would otherwise remain in place until the DUI program classes were completed. A good Napa DUI lawyer will explain to you that once any mandatory DMV suspension period has concluded (usually six or ten months following a first DUI conviction or two years following a second DUI conviction), the driver may contact the California DMV in Sacramento and request a form, attesting to out-of-state residency, to be mailed to your non-California address. CVC 13353.5. Most recently, as of January, 2019, the California DMV provides a compete online explanation of this process, with Instructions for Termination of Action for Out-of-State Residents, including eligibility information and application requirements online, and specifically including the new online Form DL 4006: Application for Termination of Action, complete with instructions and mailing address to send it directly to the proper Sacramento DMV office so that non-residents are no longer required to try to get through on the phone to Sacramento DMV to make a live request for this form. Click here to see an old 2012 Sample Form Requesting Termination of Suspension.

Proper completion and mailing of this DL4006 form and satisfaction of related DMV requirements (in most cases, simply signing the form, enclosing adequate proof of residency, and enclosing a fee payment), typically results in the California DMV relieving the driver of the requirement to attend and complete the California DUI program and is designed to clear the California DMV record by lifting any related non-resident California suspension (see sample "Notice of Action" successfully terminating a suspension -- effectively forgiving the requirement to complete the DUI program) so that the driver may deal directly with a home state regarding any remaining requirements to full reinstatement of driving privileges. CVC 13353.5.

If you are a non-resident, and the Napa County court is unwilling to allow self-enrollment, then your Napa DUI attorney may request that any DUI program requirement be satisfied with completion of an Internet DUI Program for non-California license holders. Although this type of program may only appease the court and does not satisfy the separate and independent California DMV program requirement, successful completion of the non-residency proof procedure above typically will satisfy the separate DMV requirement and accomplish the clearing of the California DMV record. There are other possible alternatives which your Napa DUI Attorney may discuss with you. Consult with a Napa County DUI lawyer about your specific case.

The best Napa County DUI lawyers will answer that, as discussed above in Question #4, the answers to any questions about consequences in another state, of a Napa County DUI arrest, conviction or adverse DMV action, require knowledge about your home state law. Therefore you must always seek the advice of an attorney licensed in your home state, or the state which issued your license, about such consequences before and after any California suspension or conviction results.

This is especially true because different states react differently to a Napa County DUI. For example, remember that there are two separate proceedings in a typical DUI case, Napa County criminal court and Napa DMV; some states typically do nothing to your home state license if the California DMV suspends your privilege to drive here, but may act against your home state license if you suffer a court conviction. As a general rule, according to the Interstate Driver License Compact, one may anticipate that your home state will act against your license the same as if the California conviction occurred at home. (CVC 15023), but the actual experience in most states vary widely.

The best Napa DUI attorneys fully understand that sometimes home state consequences can be quite severe. For example, Illinois treats out-of-state DUI convictions as the equivalent of a second DUI in Illinois with very long and cumbersome licensing suspension consequences, devastating to unsuspecting Illinois licensees. In many cases, such draconian results may be avoided with the right Napa DUI lawyer, working in tandem with a home state lawyer. Here is an Illinois lawyer email to one of Ryan's clients: Hey D.F., thanks for having the [California] statute forwarded to me. It appears to me that your California DUI lawyer has done an outstanding job. I am confident that the statute to which you are pleading no contest is not something that would cause Illinois to suspend or revoke your license. Your lawyer couldn't have done a better job given the circumstances. You ought to name your firstborn after him. Attorney Paul Heinrich, Geneva, Illinois. Although every case, and expected results, are unique to a particular client circumstances, it is important for your DUI lawyer to recognize and plan for these collateral consequences.

However, understand that your home state can only act against your license if your home state knows about an adverse action in Napa County. It is possible a state may never find out, or may decide not to act in a particular case. It is always wise to carefully examine any notice you receive from your home state licensing agency and consult with an attorney there. A knowledgeable Napa County DUI lawyer will often advise that it is best to end any California driving suspension as soon as possible after the minimum required time, by contacting the California DMV in Sacramento to request and return a form attesting to out-of-state residency. CVC 13353.5, 13 CCR 124.92-3.

In addition, California is only directed to inform your home state of this incident if a conviction actually occurs (CVC 15022) or if DMV actually suspends or revokes your driving privilege here (CVC 13552). This is why it is so very important to fight or carefully navigate through the court and DMV proceedings with a local Napa County DUI lawyer in order to try to avoid a Napa County conviction or Napa DMV suspension before California reporting requirements are triggered. Click on Ten Tips For the First 48 Hours After Arrest and Ten Tips For Fighting a DUI Arrest on this site for a more detailed discussion of how to avoid adverse consequences in your home state by avoiding adverse results here first. Consult with a Napa DUI lawyer about your specific case.