Felony & Commercial DUI
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Felony DUI
If you are arrested for your fourth DUI and/or a DUI that led to an accident with injuries, your DUI charged will be a felony. Call a DUI lawyer in Sacramento at the Law Office of Wing & Parisi now.
Usually DUI’s are misdemeanors, but there is one other classification that has harsher penalties. “Wobblers” are offenses that can be charged as either a misdemeanor or a felony, but it is usually charged as a felony based on the factors. If injuries especially deaths were involved to someone other than the driver, or if you have been charged with any previous felonies or if this is the fourth DUI within ten years, you will be charged with a felony.
The consequences of a felony DUI vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction and can include:
- 1 to 3 years in a state prison,
- mandated court-approved alcohol and/or drunk education program,
- court fines and penalties,
- restitution penalties to the injured party,
- 4 to 10 years of driver’s license suspension.
When deaths are involved, the crime can either be vehicular homicide, manslaughter, or second-degree murder. Factors complicate the conviction because the district attorneys have their own standard for determining the level of injury, the negligence or the implied malice for the death.
Commercial DUI
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) applies certain rules for driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol to drivers with a Commercial Drivers License while driving a commercial motor vehicle. A commercial DUI is defined as having a blood alcohol concentration of .04 or greater.
Police officers and the commercial driver’s employer are allowed to randomly test commercial drivers for drug or alcohol abuse before, during, or after driving a commercial vehicle. The state or local police may test a driver on suspicion of driving under the influence or following an accident.
Some states have a zero tolerance policy for drinking and driving. Additionally, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations require random drug tests for commercial drivers to test for marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates, and phencyclidine. The time during which you could test positive for any of these drugs vary according to the drug but some can remain in your system for a significant period of time after use. A commercial drivers license may also be suspended upon conviction for violating such rules while driving a non-commercial vehicle.
There’s no substitute for a strong DUI lawyer in Sacramento, call the Law Office of Wing & Parisi at (916) 441-4888.
Contact us online or call at (916) 441-4888 for a free and confidential initial consultation, available in Spanish. We appear in state and federal courts in the Sacramento and Davis communities as well as throughout Placer and San Joaquin counties.
