If you get a fourth DUI in California, you may face substantial fines, up to three years of prison time, and the loss of your license. Those consequences can get worse if your fourth DUI gets compounded by accidental manslaughter, trespassing, theft, or other felony charges.
However, you’re not out of luck. You can work with a Los Angeles DUI lawyer to have the charges brought against you reduced or dropped. Our Los Angeles criminal defense lawyers have decades of experience helping people like you fight back in the face of fourth offenses.
Let’s break down how your case may progress so you can determine what defense you can use to protect your future.
What Happens at Your 4th DUI Stop
If law enforcement officers pull you over on suspicion of drunk driving, they need to indicate that they have probable cause before they can arrest you. All officers are expected to perform field sobriety tests and, in some cases, chemical tests to assess a person’s alleged drunkness.
If this is your fourth time contending with DUI charges, you likely understand how DUI stops play out. However, there are protections in place designed to prevent officer bias from impacting your treatment. Officers may not arrest you without completing the aforementioned tests, even if you have a criminal record.
In other words, officers can’t use a person’s history of DUIs against them at a roadside stop. If officers try to arrest you without reasonable cause, a criminal defense attorney can have the charges brought against you dropped.
The Penalties that Come with a 4th Felony DUI
What happens when you get a fourth DUI in California? You’re going to face consequences that dramatically outstrip the ones you faced for your previous charges. A fourth arrest with a blood alcohol content of 0.08 percent or higher can see you tried for felony misconduct. Unchallenged felonies tend to result in up to five years of jail time, compounded fines, and license revocations.
The extent to which you’ll be penalized will be affected by the facts of your case, how you act from the time of your arrest through the trial, and how well you’re represented throughout the process.
While public defenders do valuable work, we recommend you work with a private criminal defense lawyer the fourth time you’re arrested for a DUI. Our law firm doesn’t have the same caseload as a public defender, meaning that we can offer a more individualized approach to your defense.
Fines and Fees
As with other DUI offenses, you’ll receive a fine between $390 and $1,000. However, you’ll also be given fees by the court to cover the costs of processing the charge. These fees can bring your total to around $18,000, which does not include any other expenses you may incur from the court’s orders.
If you’re dealing with compounded charges, including reckless driving, damage to a commercial vehicle, or manslaughter, your expenses may grow. There are some courts that may even require you to pay for an injured party’s legal fees should circumstances call for it.
Imprisonment
If you have priorable offenses on record, you will face between 16 months and three years behind bars for your fourth DUI conviction. Unlike with prior misdemeanor offenses, the judge will most likely sentence you to serve your time in a state prison.
The conditions at the prison will be harsher than those of the local jail, meaning you will be farther from your family, face more restrictions while there, and be potentially less safe.
Losing Your License
You can lose your driving privileges for four years as a result of a fourth DUI conviction. Rather than facing a license suspension, you’ll have your license revoked.
When you’ve completed the time of the revocation and any additional requirements put on you by the court, you’ll have to head to the DMV to reapply for your license. However, you may not receive a full license. The state of California may instead offer you a restricted license, which allows you to drive only under certain circumstances.
Additional Penalties for Habitual Traffic Offenders
You will have to pay for DUI education classes for 30 months and the installation and maintenance of an ignition interlock device on any vehicle you regularly operate. You will be classified as a felon, which will make getting a new job difficult and comes with restrictions on certain rights.
You are also likely to be sentenced to some kind of addiction treatment, though you may be better off if you initiate that on your own before the trial. Early initiation can reduce your time in prison.
If you reapply for and receive a new license, you may even be subject to electronic monitoring when you get behind the wheel. Ignition Interlock Devices require you to breathe alcohol-free breaths into a receptor if you plan on driving.
How Aggravating Factors Complicate a DUI Offense
When you get a 4th DUI in California, officers have to consider what other factors in your case might compound the penalties you face. The aforementioned fines and jail time assume you’re accused of a “simple” DUI. DUI. However, other factors can enhance the penalties you receive. These factors might include:
- Injuring another person
- Causing a fatal accident
- DUI with a minor passenger
- Refusing a chemical test after your arrest
These factors may cause new penalties to be added to your sentence or simply make the existing penalties worse.
How Los Angeles Criminal Defense Lawyers Challenge DUI Charges
Our defense attorneys know several different ways to challenge accusations of driving under the influence of alcohol. Some of the defenses we use for our clients’ benefit include the following:
- Lack of reasonable suspicion
- Police officer bias at the time of arrest
- Incomplete or inaccurately-performed chemical tests
- Incomplete or inaccurately-performed field sobriety tests
- Improper handling of subject samples, including blood test results and breathalyzer equipment
It is always worth your time to discuss your legal defenses with an experienced criminal defense attorney. While we can’t counteract your previous convictions, we can take steps to ensure this fourth drunk driving offense doesn’t further restrict your personal freedoms.
What to Know About Plea Bargains
Our DUI defense attorneys in Los Angeles always fight to have the DUI charges brought against our clients dropped. However, if circumstances don’t look favorable, we can also advocate for your right to a plea deal. Plea bargains allow you to provide information about criminal subject matters or admittance to certain crimes in exchange for a reduced sentence.
Our lawyers will never accept a plea deal in a criminal case without consulting you first. Our staff will clearly define the staples of a plea deal before recommending that you pursue an agreement. If the deal doesn’t work out, we will recommend against accepting it.
A DUI Lawyer Can Help You with Your 4th Offense
Our attorneys know what happens when you get a fourth DUI in California – your fines, jail time, and limitations all increase. However, we believe that your previous DUI convictions shouldn’t limit your right to fair treatment. A prosecutor must still prove the case with the same level of evidence as they would for any other DUI charge.
There are things you can do to help your case and reduce the possibility of the harshest penalties. For example, the courts will look more kindly on individuals who seek addiction treatment prior to a court order. This shows remorse on your part, which will be factored into many decisions that are made.
Another decision you could make to improve your outcome is to hire a DUI lawyer. Our Los Angeles representatives can challenge any weak evidence brought against you, negotiate more favorable terms for any penalties you could face, and even have the charges reduced or eliminated.
