Driving under the influence (DUI) in California is a serious offense, particularly when you are licensed in a different state. Be it visiting family, attending a conference, or simply passing through, the strict DUI laws of California apply to all persons using California roads, irrespective of the jurisdiction issuing your license.
California has a legal limit of 0.08 percent blood alcohol content (BAC), and the arrest for DUI is both criminal and administrative via the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV). When you have an out-of-state license, it will be even more complex. You are now at risk of losing your driving rights in California and back home.
With the Interstate Driver License Compact (IDLC) agreement, most states exchange DUI and other severe driving offenses with California. If you find yourself in this position, taking immediate action could be the difference between saving your driving record and suffering a long-term consequence. At San Diego DUI Attorney, we can defend you against a DUI charge if you are arrested with an out-of-state license.
Application of California DUI Laws Regardless of Residency
California DUI laws apply when you are stopped on a California highway and suspected of DUI. Whether your driver’s license was issued in Florida, New York, or any other state, you are subject to California laws as soon as you drive in California.
California Vehicle Code Section 23152(a) makes it a crime to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, and Section 23152(b) prohibits you from driving a vehicle with a BAC of 0.08 percent or greater. Your nonresidency status does not make you immune, and you are entirely subject to California’s strict DUI laws.
If you have flown into San Diego on a weekend trip or for business and have had a few beers, you would believe you are cautious and in control. Law enforcement officials can arrest you and initiate prosecution that has effects far beyond California should they suspect you to be impaired. The legal system in California does not differentiate based on your state of residence; it treats all drivers on its roads equally.
Therefore, if your BAC exceeds the legal limit, you will automatically have a criminal and an administrative case.
What Happens to Your Driving Privilege in California?
Upon arrest for a DUI, the officer will confiscate your out-of-state license and issue a “Notice of Suspension,” which begins an administrative process that can result in suspending your driving privileges in California. The California DMV can suspend your privilege to drive on state roads even though it does not have the power to suspend your privileges in your home state.
DMV suspension is not a criminal but an administrative process that takes effect quickly. As soon as the arresting officer serves you the “Notice of Suspension,” you are on a countdown. Your California driving privilege is usually suspended for only 30 days after your arrest. Your driving privilege will be suspended unless you take specific, timely action to contest it. It implies that even though you are returning home in a couple of days, your capacity to rent a car, drive to work, or drive through the California streets in the future may be impaired unless you act in time.
Since the suspension is limited to California, your home state might not take any penalties immediately, but that does not mean you are not subject to consequences. California is a member of the Interstate Driver License Compact (IDLC). Therefore, the authorities will report your DUI arrest to your home DMV. Such a report may have other consequences depending on your state’s laws, including suspension or even being required to appear before a hearing officer.
The actions you take immediately following your arrest are critical. Unless you fight the administrative suspension by petitioning for a DMV hearing within 10 days of arrest, you forfeit your opportunity to protect your right to drive in this state. And when that window is closed, you are losing convenience and letting the state declare you impaired without hearing your side of the story.
The DMV Hearing as Your First Line of Defense
After you are arrested for DUI in California, the DMV hearing is your opportunity to challenge the administrative suspension. It is not a criminal proceeding but an administrative process that only concerns your driving privilege. And here is the most important thing: the clock starts as soon as the officer gives you that pink piece of paper, the Order of Suspension/Temporary License. You only get ten calendar days to demand a DMV hearing. If you fail to meet that deadline, you lose your opportunity to challenge the automatic suspension of your driving privilege in California.
The three critical questions that the DMV will be interested in at the hearing are:
- Whether the officer had a reasonable cause to believe that you were driving under the influence
- Whether the arrest was legal
- Whether your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) was 0.08 percent or higher
It is here that the services of a skilled DUI lawyer can make a difference. You do not have to appear in person; your lawyer can appear and represent you, provide evidence, and cross-examine the arresting officer. It is your best bet to prevent the administrative suspension from taking effect.
You might be acquitted at the DMV hearing, but that does not mean the criminal case is resolved. The criminal case is on a different track. Whereas the DMV will decide whether you can drive in California, the court will deal with guilt, innocence, and criminal punishment. Consider the DMV hearing your initial challenge in a two-track legal process, which runs parallel to the criminal case.
Will My Home State Find Out About the Arrest?
It is a grave mistake to assume a California DUI will not affect you in your home state. California does not keep that information to itself, thanks to the Interstate Driver License Compact, also called the IDLC. The IDLC serves as a national communication medium among state DMVs. When you are arrested in California on a DUI charge and your license is not from California, California will send a formal report to your home DMV describing the offense and any administrative penalties.
Although California does not directly suspend your out-of-state license, the damage will be done as soon as the home state receives the notification. Most IDLC member states will treat the California DUI as if it occurred within their borders.
This implies that your local DMV can suspend or limit your license, add points to your driving record, or frequently report to your insurance company. The consequences differ depending on the state, but in most instances, the punishment is the same as the one you would have received had you been caught at home.
However, your case may develop differently if licensed in Georgia, Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee, or Wisconsin. These five states are not part of the IDLC and do not necessarily comply with California’s administrative actions. This does not mean you are free from consequences, but it may mean that there will be less automatic fallout unless the DMV in California pursues the matter more vigorously or your insurance company learns about the infraction on its own.
DUI Penalties for Out-of-State Drivers in California
An out-of-state license does not exempt you from California’s DUI penalties. The DUI laws in California are applied equally to all people, regardless of whether you are a San Diego resident, visiting on vacation, or doing business. This implies that you will be subjected to the full force of the penalties. There are no exemptions because your license was issued in another state.
As soon as you are charged, you will face the same consequences as a California resident. The court will fine you, which may cost thousands of dollars when you add the penalties and the court fees. You can also be jailed or placed on probation depending on the seriousness of the offense, the level of blood alcohol, and whether you have any previous convictions.
However, the penalty does not end at the courthouse. The California law requires a DUI offender to participate in an alcohol education or treatment program, which may last between three and nine months on the first offense. You may also be required to attend a California-approved DUI school. Even though you do not reside in the state, you may be able to participate in an out-of-state school with the court’s and the DMV’s approval in some circumstances.
Then there is the ignition interlock device, or IID. In California, most DUI convictions require you to install an IID on any vehicle you drive. This may also be necessary as an out-of-state driver if you intend to drive in California within the restriction period. In other instances, the court can mandate the IID whether you return to your home state, particularly when planning to restore your driving privilege in California.
And do not forget about the SR22 insurance filing. This is a financial responsibility certificate that the California DMV must have before you can be allowed to reinstate your driving privilege. Although your license is issued in a different state, California still has the right to revoke your driving privilege in its state, and you will be required to file the SR22 in case you want that suspension lifted. Even worse, many insurance companies report the SR22 filing to your home state, which triggers a domino effect that may lead to increased premiums or other administrative charges in your home state.
California may allow you to walk away without touching your real out-of-state license, but when the DMV back home discovers the DUI, it may impose its penalties. In that case, you would have twice the problem to contend with: fines in California and other penalties back home.
Can I Avoid Traveling Back to California for My Case?
When you are an out-of-state driver arrested in California on DUI charges, you are probably wondering whether you will be compelled to travel back to California to attend court. The brief answer is, it depends. The most crucial difference is whether your case is presented as a misdemeanor or a felony.
Most first-time DUI cases that are not aggravated by injuries or very high blood alcohol concentration are usually charged as misdemeanors. In such instances, the California law provides your attorney with the right to represent you in court under Penal Code 977(a). This implies that you can remain at home when your attorney is taking care of your arraignment, pretrial hearings, and even negotiating a plea deal, provided that the court does not explicitly require you to be present. It saves you the hassle of flying back and forth, paying hotel costs, and taking time out of work, particularly when traveling halfway across the country.
However, convenience should not be mistaken for simplicity. The fact that you do not have to appear does not mean the process will be carried out without effort. To achieve positive results, your lawyer should be aggressive, convincing, and well conversant with the local court practices. Judges demand prompt filings, properly presented arguments, and adherence to the rules of procedure. An experienced DUI attorney can bear that burden and appear in court, dispute evidence, and navigate the complex procedures of the California DMV.
However, the rules are different for a felony DUI case. Felony DUIs tend to be serious: it is a second or more DUI conviction, injury to a third party, or a prior felony DUI. Under such circumstances, the court will most likely need your physical presence. No lawyer, however competent, can appear in your place for a felony charge.
You must attend arraignment, pretrial conferences, and even the trial. A missing appearance may result in a bench warrant and additional problems beyond the state border. Therefore, with a typical misdemeanor case and an effective local DUI lawyer, it is often possible to resolve the case without returning to California. For a felony charge, your physical presence in court is almost always mandatory.
How Long Will My Home State Take Action?
Once you get back to your home state after a DUI arrest in California, you may find yourself taking a sigh of relief, particularly when nothing appears to change immediately. However, the silence is not a deception. The fact that your state DMV has not done anything does not mean that it will not. The reality is, the time frame of consequences back home in your home state will be incredibly different depending on where you live and how your state treats out-of-state crimes.
Some states respond fast. When the DMV or California court system informs them of the incident, they suspend your license or impose their punishment. Others will not take action until there is a formal conviction in court. It depends on the laws of your state, how well it works with the others based on the Interstate Driver License Compact, and the rate at which California forwards the information.
That lapse can give you a false sense of security, but relying on this delay is a significant risk. The more time you spend delaying the action, the more difficult it is to manage the outcome. California will not forget, nor will your state. It can be as innocuous as a California DMV notice, which can be as insignificant as a pink sheet in the mail, and the process has been initiated even without a conviction. Neglecting the deadlines it specifies may cause a suspension that will be honored by your home state. When your state hears about that suspension, it can create restrictions and harsh penalties.
Importance of Hiring a California DUI Attorney
When you are charged with a DUI in California and have an out-of-state license, you find yourself in an unusually confusing legal limbo. You are not only facing the laws of California and the administrative procedures of the DMV. You must navigate a difficult path between two state systems, each with rules, expectations, and timeframes. Attempting to manage this situation alone can be overwhelming; a single slip can cost you your driving rights in both states.
It is then that a California DUI lawyer comes in handy. You require an attorney familiar with the criminal court procedure and the administrative hearing system of the DMV. These are two distinct legal proceedings. One will impact your criminal record, and the other will decide whether you will retain your driving privileges in California and possibly your home state. A skilled lawyer will ensure that both ends are well taken care of and timely, reducing the possibility of a procedural hitch causing a domino effect back home.
You also do not want to waste your time, money, and energy commuting to California to appear in court. A local DUI attorney may be able to represent you in court, particularly in misdemeanor cases, without you having to make unnecessary flights and lose work. This can relieve the emotional and financial burden you are probably already undergoing following the arrest.
In addition to the courtroom logistics, a competent California DUI attorney will be your liaison when communicating with your home state. It implies adequate communication between states, premature license suspension is resisted, and you are not exposed to penalties that could otherwise spiral to a nightmare of legal problems. The stakes are enormous. The juridical environment is new. However, you do not need to go through it alone with the right attorney.
Legal Defenses Your DUI Attorney Could Use
The following are some of the robust legal defenses that can be used in the case of an out-of-state driver accused of DUI in California and that are designed to reflect DMV and criminal court issues:
- Insufficient or Lack of Probable Cause to Stop the Traffic
If the officer stopped you without a legitimate cause, such as swerving, speeding, or a mechanical offense, all the evidence collected subsequently can be excluded. The California law stipulates that officers must be reasonably suspicious of criminal activity before making a traffic stop. If the stop were illegal, all that transpired (including the DUI arrest) would be dismissed.
- Unreliable Field Sobriety Tests (FSTs)
Officers frequently use field sobriety tests to substantiate an arrest, but they are highly unreliable. Your balance or coordination could be influenced by fatigue, medical conditions, nervousness, or even the shoes you were wearing. The findings can be contested if the officer had not administered the test correctly or considered other possibilities.
- Rising Blood Alcohol Defense
You might have been driving with a BAC lower than the legal limit, but it increased to a level higher than .08 percent when the chemical test was administered. Alcohol does not immediately absorb into your blood. If there was a time gap between the stop and the test, such a defense of rising BAC may create doubt that you were over the limit when driving the car.
- Inaccurate Breathalyzer Tests
The breath-testing devices should be calibrated, maintained, and administered by trained individuals. Any slight mistakes in the procedure or equipment failure can yield inaccurate results. In case of any lapse in the chain of custody or the test log indicates anomalies, your lawyer may claim that the test is unreliable.
Find a San Diego DUI Attorney Near Me
Facing arrest for DUI in California is never a local problem when you have an out-of-state driver’s license. A California DUI charge will have consequences extending to your home state’s licensing authority. The DMV in California, the criminal courts of California, and your state licensing authority may all have a say in your driving future. This charge reverberates across state boundaries, and things can go out of control fast when left unattended.
The DMV hearing request window is available as soon as you are arrested, and once it is closed, you may lose your driving privileges without ever seeing a court. Hiring a trained DUI attorney who practices in California is necessary. You require a lawyer who is aware of the cross-state legal web you are in and a person who can take immediate action on your behalf.
Contact the San Diego DUI Attorney at 619-535-7150 if you are arrested for DUI in California and are not a resident.
