Misdemeanor or Felony

Most Ventura County DUI arrests are misdemeanors. Technically, a misdemeanor is defined as a crime that can be punished by up to a year in jail, but do not fall prey to the Los Angeles DUI attorneys who tell you this to scare you into giving them exorbitant amounts of money. An accurate description of misdemeanor Ventura County DUI penalties, including jail time, can be found by clicking here. If this is a first offense, unless there was an accident causing serious bodily injury, then your case is a misdemeanor, regardless of your alcohol level. Unless you have a prior felony DUI conviction within 10 years, then any second or third DUI within a 10 year period is also a misdemeanor, unless there was an accident causing serious bodily injury.

There are a couple of things that can make a Ventura County DUI a felony. First, if there was accident which resulted in serious bodily injury to somebody other than yourself, even if the injured person was in the car that you were driving, then you may be facing felony DUI charges. Because Ventura County is the toughest county in the state on DUIs, cases that should not be felonies sometimes are initially charges as such, and your need to hire an experienced Ventura County DUI attorney is even more important. Second, if you have a previous felony DUI conviction, then any subsequent DUI within 10 years will be charged as a felony. Third, if you have 3 DUI convictions that are less than 10 years old, then any subsequent DUI will be charged as a felony. If you are possibly facing felony DUI charges in Ventura County, then you absolutely must hire an experienced Ventura County DUI attorney.