Legal Question in DUI Law in California

It depends on a number of factors, including your age, whether you have a California license, how and when you resolved your court case, how you resolved any DMV case, and other possible unknowns, but the typical case is a California-licensed adult with a recent misdemeanor DUI conviction (no injuries alleged), chemical test result below .20% alcohol, no priors, and a separate administrative suspension.

In such a typical scenario, if the court case is resolved as a DUI (rather than wet reckless or less than DUI), then in most cases the following is required to obtain a restricted Class C California license: a minimum 30 days off the road, DUI program enrollment, SR22 filing and DMV reissue fee. In most cases, DUI program completion is required to re-obtain an unrestricted license.

If you live outside California as your zip code suggests, then in the typical case described above, most non-California residents may sit out the classes (assuming the court did not order attendance as part of probation) and petition Sacramento DMV to remove the driving suspension and DUI program classes requirement after a six-month driving suspension (or ten months if over .20% or one year if refusal or under 21 years old, two years if second DUI, etc).

If your case resolves as a wet reckless or better, or is dismissed, but the DMV�s separate administrative suspension is still imposed, then if a restricted California license is not desired, one can usually sit out the classes (assuming the court did not order attendance as part of probation) and sit out the four-month administrative suspension for a common adult first offender misdemeanor DUI, and then re-obtain driving privileges. In this reduction/dismissal scenario, if one wins the DMV hearing, then typically there should be no suspension and no program requirement to re-obtain driving privileges.

You can see that the answer to your question depends on many factors; the outcomes discussed above may vary once the law is applied to your individual situation, and laws change and are subject to differing interpretations, so it is critical that you consult with a DUI defense attorney in order to obtain specific advice tailored to your unique circumstances rather than reading general discussions which may not apply to you. If you wish to hire a Sonoma County lawyer, or browse more information of this nature, please feel free to visit my website at http://www.sonomacountyduilawyer.com.

Good luck,

Jake