Possible Punishment for a Ventura DUI
Ventura County is a tough place to get arrested for DUI. In many other counties DUIs are often reduced to lesser charges if the suspect enters an early guilty plea, but in Ventura the District Attorney’s position is that there are no “plea bargains” in DUI cases.
Depending on your BAC level, whether you have prior DUI convictions, and whether your case involves an accident, the penalties for a DUI conviction in Ventura County will include some or all of the following:
- Incarceration
- Fines and fees
- Driver’s license suspension or revocation
- Probation
- Mandatory participation in a Drinking Driver Program (alcohol school)
- Restrictions on drinking and going to bars
- Mandatory installation of ignition interlock devices on your vehicles
Penalties for a First-Time Ventura DUI
The punishment for your Ventura DUI will depend in part on whether you have any prior DUI convictions on your criminal record. On a standard first-time Ventura DUI, without legal representation the court will typically sentence you to:
- Forty-eight hours in jail or five days of work release,
- Fines and fees (totaling over $3,000),
- Paid participation in a three-month Drinking Driver Program (alcohol school), and
- Three years of Summary Probation.
In addition, the California DMV will suspend your license for six months, with credit for any time your license may have been suspended as a result of your DMV hearing.
Penalties for Second, Third and Fourth Ventura DUIs
The possible penalties for a Ventura DUI increase significantly for second, third, and fourth offenses within a ten-year period.
If you have recently been arrested for a DUI in Ventura and have one or two priors that are less than ten years old, you will likely be sentenced to five years of probation and thirty to 180 days in jail, in addition to other penalties. A fourth DUI conviction in any ten-year period is a felony under California law. If you are facing possible conviction for a felony DUI, you are facing incarceration for a significant period of time, and you should contact us immediately to discuss your case.
Ventura County DUI Penalties
The following is a basic summary of typical penalties for DUIs in Ventura County not involving injury or death. Your actual penalties may differ depending on the facts of your case, your record (if any), the judge hearing your case, and any recent changes in the law that may have gone into effect since this summary’s publication.
| FIRST CONVICTION | SECOND CONVICTION | THIRD CONVICTION | |
| JAIL TIME OR WORK RELEASE | 48 HOURS IN JAIL OR 5 DAYS OF WORK RELEASE | 30 TO 90 DAYS IN JAIL | 120 TO 180 DAYS JAIL |
| FINES AND FEES | IN EXCESS OF $3,000 | IN EXCESS OF $3,000 | IN EXCESS OF $3,000 |
| DRINKING DRIVER PROGRAM (ALCOHOL SCHOOL) | 3 TO 9 MONTHS | 18 MONTHS | 18 TO 30 MONTHS |
| LICENSE SUSPENSION | 4 TO 6 MONTHS; ONE YEAR FOR CLASS “A” LICENSES | 2 YEARS | 3 YEARS |
| PROBATION | 3 YEARS | 3 TO 5 YEARS | 5 YEARS |
| IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICE FOR 1 YEAR | ONLY FOR HIGHER BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS | MANDATORY | MANDATORY |
| ABSTAIN FROM DRINKING ANY ALCOHOL | ONLY FOR HIGHER BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVELS | MANDATORY | MANDATORY |
Contact a Ventura DUI Defense Attorney
To learn more about the specific penalties you may be facing in your Ventura DUI case, contact The Law Offices of David Lehr today. Located in Ventura, we serve clients in Ventura, Oxnard, Camarillo, and Santa Barbara County.
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