If somebody is convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles County, there are certain mandatory penalties that go along with that. There are certain statewide mandatory penalties on the DUI, and Los Angeles County actually has more severe penalties than the state in general. Many different courthouses have what they would consider mandatory penalties to go along with a DUI as well.
If somebody is convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles County, there is mandatory probation, which means the person is on probation to the court or maybe to a probation officer, and they have to stay out of trouble and not drive with any alcohol in their system at all. There’s a zero-tolerance for that. They cannot drive without a proper license and insurance and bail orders of the court. Generally they have to stay out of trouble. That usually is not too much of a problem for first-time DUI offenders, but it is a mandatory term both by the state and the county that somebody must be on probation. The probation period on a first-time DUI can be anywhere from three years to five years.
If somebody is convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles, they are also fined in fees that need to be paid to the court, and the minimum fines are $390. That number is not an accurate number because there are a lot of hidden costs and taxes and multipliers that go into that cost that increase it. So if somebody were to be convicted of a DUI and on paper the minimum fine looked like $390, by the time they got to the cashier’s office that number would probably be about $2,000 and getting higher.
In addition to probation and fines, there are mandatory classes. If somebody is convicted of a DUI, they will be ordered to do an alcohol and driver education class. The minimum class is once a week for three months, and there is a cost associated with that as well. In addition to the fines, the probation, and the classes, if somebody is convicted of a DUI in Los Angeles County, they are required by the Department of Motor Vehicles to install an ignition interlock device, which is the breath test machine that goes in the car.
These are barebones minimum terms if somebody is convicted of a DUI and is placed on probation. There is the possibility of jail time even on a first-time DUI. Although normally we are able to avoid that and keep our clients out of county jail, there are situations where even jail time is required on a first-time DUI. If there was speed enhancement that was alleged and proven and the person was going 20 miles an hour over the speed limit on the surface streets or 30 miles an hour or more over the speed limit on the freeway, there will be 60 days of county jail required if they are convicted of that.
Additionally, if there are other enhancements, like if somebody is convicted of a DUI and they had a minor in the car, then they would be required to do jail time because of that. So those are some of the minimum penalties if somebody is convicted of a DUI. The fines and fees can go into the thousands and thousands of dollars and alcohol classes can be extended to six-month classes, nine-month classes, or eighteen-month classes, and we can see those penalties even on a first-time DUI depending on the facts of the case.
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