California Vehicle Code’s Lesser Charges to a DUI
Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles & Orange County DUI Criminal Lawyer & Attorney
Your WILL & WILL, LLP DUI defense attorneys are always looking for ways to obtain a dismissal or offer to plead to a lesser offense than the initial DUI charges brought against you. Our DUI lawyers thoroughly review all discovery for any and all factors aiding a dismissal or reduction argument. In some cases, unfortunately, this may not be possible. However, in those where it is, our DUI lawyers will find it! Between a dismissal and a plea to a DUI charge exists several options. Each lesser offense carries with it fewer probation requirements and thus fewer penalties and responsibilities for our clients to be worried about. The following are some potential available lesser offenses that a D.A. can reduce the original DUI charge to:
Wet Reckless - VC 23103.5
The first “step down” from a DUI charge
is a plea to what is commonly referred
to as a "wet reckless." This
means simply that there was “alcohol-related”
reckless driving. It does not
impart any particular blood alcohol
level to the driver. Although a “wet
reckless” is considered a better outcome
than a DUI plea for many reasons, under
California law, the actual difference
between the two is minimal. Pleading
guilty to a “wet reckless” may result
in the payment of less fines, sometimes
a lesser amount of time spent in an
alcohol education program, and, if
it is your first offense, typically
no jail or alternative type of confinement
time. In addition, a “wet reckless”
may appear better than a DUI for insurance
purposes as well as for those who drive
a company car.
Also, while a “wet reckless” always sounds better than a DUI, there are certain things you should know when you agree to plead guilty to this type of lesser charge. First and foremost, a “wet reckless” can be used as a prior alcohol-related driving offense the same way as a 1st offense DUI would if you were to receive another one within ten (10) years of your first conviction date. In plain terms, this means that if within ten (10) years following a “wet reckless” conviction (the date the plea is entered and you are sentenced by a court of law, not the date of the initial arrest) you were to be arrested and found guilty of another alcohol-related driving offense, it would still be treated as a 2nd alcohol-related driving offense or DUI. Also, from the DMV’s perspective, because they are a separate entity from the courts, a plea to a lesser offense in the courts does not affect the outcome of your driver’s license status with regard to the DMV hearing. The DMV hearing officer will independently determine the status of your license and ability to drive based on the evidence/arguments presented at the APS hearing.
Dry Reckless – VC 23103
A California vehicle Code violation
that is considered to be lesser to
a “wet reckless”, is the offense commonly
referred to as a “dry reckless”. “Dry
reckless” means exactly what it sounds
like, a non-alcohol related reckless
driving violation. Obtaining
a reduction in charges from a DUI to
a dry reckless from the D.A. is a major
improvement that your DUI lawyers at
WILL & WILL, LLP can try and get
for you. While the goal for our
DUI defense lawyers is always to obtain
an outright dismissal of all charges
for our clients, sometimes (depending
on the particular facts of each case)
that is an unrealistic goal. If
your WILL & WILL, LLP DUI attorney
can negotiate a plea to a dry reckless
for you, we consider that to be a victory. However,
for this to happen, the facts usually
have to be on your side. The
District Attorney’s office and the
courts always prefer to have an alcohol
related conviction in these situations
in the event that the same thing happens
again in the future.
Traffic Violations
There are some rare cases where someone
is arrested and initially charged with
a DUI and the skilled DUI lawyers at
WILL & WILL, LLP are able to get
the charges reduced to simple traffic
violations. When a DUI case is viewed
as a potential “loser” at trial for
the prosecution, but for some reason
they are still unwilling to dismiss
the initial charges, it is sometimes
possible to get them to agree to a
plea to one or two moving or sometimes
even non-moving violations under the
vehicle code. These types of
pleas are to infractions, rather than
misdemeanors, and are obviously the
most preferable outcome next to an
outright dismissal. The only
punishment that the law can impose
when convicted of an infraction or
even multiple infractions are fines
(and even those are capped and thus
cannot be nearly as high as the fine
in a DUI plea).
